Final Day in Madrid

Our last day in Madrid was all about reliving my experiences as a college student when I studied here.  I got to study in the Prado every week, and I fell in love with Spanish history and art.  We started the day with Churros and Chocolate at San Gines, because you can't come to Madrid and not eat them at least once.  Yum!! 

 We walked off the churros by walking all over Madrid starting at the Palacio Real.  It's the 3rd largest palace in Europe.  

 From there we went to the Reina Sofia.  This art museum is focused on mostly modern art.  It has great collections of Salvador Dalí and Miró, but the jewel of this museum is Picasso's Guernica. 

 It covers an entire wall in real life.  It's Picasso's response to Franco's bombing of the town of Guernica in Northern Spain during the civil war.  It was Hitler's testing ground for his weapons before the start of WWII.  The painting only came to Spain after Franco's death.  You learn a lot about the Spanish Civil War at this museum.

We ate lunch learn the museum.  The Arroz con Carne (rice with meat) was our favorite.  From there we walked to the Prado.  This is an absolutely incredible art museum, and walking through it transported me straight back 20 years when I was there studying.  It was so fun to see so many familiar works of art.  Velazquez and Murillo are my personal favorites but Goya is fascinating.  I loved showing all of these to Joel.

 We rested our tired feet in Parque Retiro afterward.  It's the largest inner-city park in Europe. 

We headed back to Plaza Mayor, because Joel and I both had one thing we wanted to eat before leaving Spain.  Joel wanted Croquetas (think small Spanish versions of Corde en Bleu), and I wanted Arroz con Leche (Rice pudding).  It was a perfect finish to a great day.  We headed back to our piso (apartment) to pack and then we flew out the next morning.

 Goodbye, Spain!  I hope it doesn't take another 18 years to come back!