(12/24/2012 – 1/1/2013)
This was a family vacation during the school winter break in December 2012. We booked an apartment in Madrid and spent the week sightseeing in Madrid and the surrounding areas.
In the early 2000’s, people mostly stayed home for Christmas. Therefore, we were able to get very cheap tickets to fly to Europe during the winter breaks. This is no longer true nowadays. Traveling during the holiday season has become very popular.
Day 1: Madrid
We arrived in Madrid yesterday. After we picked up the rental car and drove to our apartment in Madrid city center, it was already late. Therefore, we didn’t do much last night.
After a delicious churro and chocolate breakfast, we went to visit the famous Prado Museum, which is a world-class art museum with a lot of artworks by famous artists. The most “interesting” painting in the museum was probably Nude Maja, a painting of a nude lady by renowned artist Francisco de Goya. It was said that after the lady’s husband requested to see the painting, Goya quickly did a clothed version of the same lady. Clothed Maja was displayed together with Nude Maja, and of course people all considered the nude version superior to the clothed version 🙂
We could have spent the entire day in Prado admiring all the magnificent artwork. However, a couple of hours in the museum were enough for the children. (Brother, when he was younger, once commented that there were only 3 kinds of paintings in Louvre Museum: dead people, naked people, and people not doing anything interesting.) We went to lunch afterwards. The famous Iberian ham meal was delicious!
The famous Bear and Berry Tree statue was at a corner of Puerta del Sol. There were many bakeries and dessert shops around the area, and their merchandise all looked very tempting! It was holiday season, so we saw Christmas trees and many other holiday decorations. The place and the nearby Plaza Mayor were full of visitors.
Day 2: Segovia
I always wanted to see the famous aqueduct in Segovia. Rei was more interested in the (probably even more famous) roast sucking pigs. So that’s where we were going today.
We first visited the Segovia Cathedral. It was not a big cathedral, but there were beautiful stained-glass windows and religious artworks.
Then we walked to Alcazar, a fortified palace or castle located on the north side of the town. Alcazar was relatively small but very elegant. There was an armory inside with many medieval weapons and armors, where the guys all posed for photos.
We had a lunch reservation at Meson de Candido. The restaurant was located right beside the Roman aqueduct and was famous for its roast sucking pigs. Besides the pig, we also ordered shrimp and mushroom dishes. They were all very delicious. We especially enjoyed the mushrooms.
After lunch, we toured the nearby Roman aqueduct and took many photos. This was a magnificent and beautiful ancient infrastructure. It definitely deserved a side trip from Madrid to visit.
Afterwards, we went to La Granja Palace, a few miles south of Segovia. It was a majestic royal palace with fantastic gardens. I really loved the gardens!
Day 3: Toledo
Toledo was about one hour’s drive from Madrid, another great destination for a day trip. Famous attractions in Toledo included the Cathedral, Santa Cruz Museum, Santo Tome church, and artworks by El Greco (a very talented Greek artist).
We first visited Santa Cruz Museum at the historic center of Toledo. The museum had a serene cloister with beautiful arches and tiled artwork. The building was also famous for its intricate ceilings, besides many artworks by El Greco.
Then we went to the vast and opulent Toledo Cathedral. The High Altar inside the cathedral was stunning! It was definitely one of the most glorious cathedrals we’ve visited.
We also walked past the impressive Army Museum, but we didn’t enter. Instead, we went taking photos along the Tagus River. We were on a higher ground, which allowed us to take some fantastic pictures of the surroundings.
Toledo was also famous for sweets. There were many bakeries and candy shops. It was too difficult to resist. We bought some delicious treats, but they were all super sweet!
Day 4: El Escorial, Valley of the Fallen
We had another day trip from Madrid. In the morning, we went to El Escorial. El Escorial was an interesting mixture of past royal palace, monastery, museums, and royal pantheon. Many Spanish kings and queens were buried in the royal pantheon. There was also a pantheon of royal children. The child mortality rate was high in the old times, so it was little wonder that many royal children died young and were buried there. The famous royal library was closed at the time we visited.
We finished the visit around noon and wanted to have lunch before going to Valley of the Fallen. However, restaurants there wouldn’t start serving lunch until 1pm! We finally found a Chinese restaurant that was open for lunch. To our surprise, the food was delicious.
Valley of the Fallen was a controversial site, because it was the burial ground of dictator Francisco Franco and fallen civil war soldiers from both sides. (Franco’s remains were later removed from the site.) The place was melancholy. There was a giant cross above and statues below. We entered through openings on a pair of giant black doors. The inside was just a giant tomb. Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was one of my favorite novels that covered the Spanish Civil War.
After we returned to Madrid, we went to Plaza Mayor. The Christmas Market was still going on, and there was a big crowd. I loved Christmas Markets, but Rei was not a big fan, though he did enjoy the food. Even though the weather was gloomy, we could still feel the jolly holiday atmosphere.
Day 5: Madrid
We were done with all the side trips and would focus on Madrid for the rest of this trip.
We visited the Royal Palace this morning. The palace was a huge building (one of the largest palaces in Europe), and the self-guided tour allowed us to visit many rooms inside. Royal bedrooms had intricated wooden carvings. Some carvings looked like castles. We heard a guy exclaiming: “There’s an entire Hogwarts on the top of this bed!”
We walked around Campo del Moro next to the Royal Palace afterwards. It was drizzling, so we didn’t spend much time there. We also entered the adjacent Cathedral of Almudena to take a quick look.
Day 6: More Madrid
We went to Retiro Park this morning. The park was very popular with the locals during warm weather. People came here to take a walk, have a picnic, or take a boat ride on the big lake inside the park. However, the weather was cold and gloomy today, so there were few people in the park.
We then walked to the nearby Cibeles Fountain, a famous landmark of goddess Cibeles riding a lion-drawn chariot, to take more photos. Afterwards, Cutie suggested having churros and hot chocolate at a famous shop. He ordered a big plate of churros!
There were still a few places we wanted to visit such as Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (where you could see Picasso’s famous painting Guernica) and Templo de Debod. However, we decided to save those for the future.
Amy 'n Rei 