Monday in Madrid

After our late Sunday night dinner, we rose the next morning wanting to explore the neighborhood, check out the "free" internet and possibly get a pastry.

Liam and I headed off to Plaza Mayor, the major square about 30 yards from our apartment. We found that while there was internet access, it wasn't quite free. So we quickly set up our FONero accounts and for 3.99 Euro per day had access to the wonders of the internet. For Liam, that mostly meant Skype chats with Anna (she's in Greece); for me, checking email, attempting some blog activity, uploading photos, etc.

After about an hour at Plaza Mayor, we re-grouped with the rest of the family at the apartment and headed out in search of the Napolitana pastry at La Mallorquina - favorite Madrid bakery highlighted in the Ramos guide, located just a couple of blocks from our apartment on the Puerta del Sol. Sadly, the proprietors had decided to take the month of August off and the bakery was closed!

We quickly regrouped and headed off to Chocolateria San Gines for chocolate con churros. Churros are 8 inch lengths of fried dough and the chocolate is a coffee cup of warm chocolate, just this side of pudding in thickness. Dip the churros in the chocolate and you have one fattening breakfast.

We started our sightseeing in Madrid by heading to the Reina Sofia modern art museum, about 15 minutes walk from Puerta del Sol. We realized that our apartment location was nearly perfect - walkable distances to most of the major sights in Madrid. While there are great modern masters at the Reina Sofia (and some modern art that leaves you scratching your head), the highlight by far was Picasso's Guernica. It is an amazing work, with great supporting detail nearby, like the photo study of various stages of its creation. Seeing it was worth the price of admission alone. I tried to take a photo (they are allowed, but not from inside the room where the painting is hung), but it did not turn out very well. You'll have to come see it for yourself.

It's amazing the appetite that you can build after just a couple of hours of wandering through a museum. We left the Reina Sofia in search of a place in the neighborhood for lunch. Taberna de Dolores (as found in Rick Steves) hit the spot. Cold cerveza, jamon iberico, in a cozy little tavern. We were ready for our next sightseeing venture: the Bernabeu!

The Bernabeau is home to Real Madrid, number one enemy of our beloved Barca. After a short metro ride (Madrid's system is great), we were at the stadium. The tour is well organized, starting you near the top of the stadium for a panoramic view, winding down through a museum with the history of the team, their trophy room, visitor dressing room, press conference room, and down next to, but not on, the pitch. Took a ton of photos which can be found under the Madrid link. Here is just one, with the kids sitting on the bench:

After an exhausting day of sightseeing, we headed back to the apartment for a late siesta. Naps and showers completed, it was time to eat again. Ali decided to stay in, so the boys, Jenny and I headed out to find another recommended spot near the Santa Ana square. Guess what? Closed for August. This was becoming a trend. So we started to wander a bit, and came across a relatively new restaurant called Lamucca not too far from the Prado.

Lamucca was an incredible find. It was open and airy, more like something you might find in San Francisco in terms of ambience, including the music. The food was spectacular: blood sausage & apple pizza, jamon iberica and pear pizza, padron peppers, phenomenal Sangria and my own bucket of Hendricks. Giant glass, ice, cucumber spear, and Hendricks poured from the bottle tableside. Check these out: