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Madrid

(Oct 26 - Nov 1) 

I had intended something more elaborate for Sam's fall break such as Greece or Cyprus but that was not to be.  Limited vacation time and late planning required us to keep it simple.  Sam and I headed to Madrid.

More Madrid photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/gxZGVJaVyrE48uCz7

Our activities included a food and wine tour, a tour of the Royal Palace of Madrid, a day trip to Avila and Segovia, Temple of Debod, a Flamenco show and the Prado Art Museum.

Food tour:


Royal Palace of Madrid:

Avila (this medieval town has almost 100% of it's original city wall still intact):


Castle in Segovia:

We did a big bus excursion for the Avila and Segovia day trip (note to self to not do this again).  It was a long day of travel and guided tours so I rewarded Sam with Minecraft time on the bus from Avila to Segovia. I have since realized that Minecraft is a very chaotic game so a car-sick prone kid + Minecraft = vomit on the bus.  That happened right as we got to Segovia and I awkwardly had to ask the tour guide to have it cleaned up. I will say that even though the tour was not my favorite, I am impressed with the willingness they had to do this and their concern for Sam (I didn't tell them it was partially Minecraft-related vomit).

Sam's favorite activity was a tour of the Bernabéu Football stadium where Real Madrid plays. We were able to get this fake picture of Sam and Mbabbe (for the low price of 15 euro 😒) which is now Sam's most cherished possession. He is officially obsessed with football.

Sam insisted that we go to the Prado Art Museum now that he is interested in art and taking art classes through school.  I am generally not very interested in art museums so I reluctantly booked this.  As soon as we walked in the museum he stated "oh, I didn't know it would be like this".   By "like this" he meant a lot of religious and historical art and sculptures. To make the most of it we googled the best art to see in the Prado Art Museum and did a scavenger hunt of 13 paintings which took awhile since it was a huge museum.  My personal favorite is this piece called "Saturn devouring his son, by Goya" portraying Saturn eating is son so he would not dethrone him.  I am not certain if showing this violent art to Sam is the best parenting I've done. 🤷

Since we were in Madrid for almost a week, we were able to have some down time and get to know the neighborhood where we were staying.  In my desire to have a glass of wine before the Flamenco show we came across a place called The Social Hub.  It was a membership-based club where people could work, go to the gym, eat, drink, etc.  Certain parts were also open to the public and that included a piano.  Sam was nervous at first but then played piano to a small crowd and never wanted to stop. He insisted we go back the next night which we did.  He even made me make him a set list so he didn't forget any songs. He is kind of a diva when it comes to his performances. 🤴

Video of Sam playing piano.









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