We started with a self- guided tour at The Royal Palace; we saw about 20 of the 3,418 rooms. I was saddened to see the flag indicating royalty’s presence was missing; King Felipe is MIA.
Keagan was taken by the colors, ornate design, and ostentatious decor. It’s hard not to be.
We crossed the street to see Cathedral Almudena, of considerable importance to the locals because it was blessed by PJP II and contains the effigies of their patron saint Isidro.
We found the Christmas market in Plaza Mayor. I still claim Germany has Spain beat in this category. Very few items were handmade; it was mass production of junk.
We crossed the city to see the Egyptian ruins dating back to 2nd century BC that were gifted to Spain after their support in saving Nubia from flooding. The Temple of Debod was disassembled, shipped, and reassembled in Montana Park.
Strolling down and around Calle Arenal, we found a store that specializes in soccer gear. I think the boys could have spent 500 Euros here. They settled on 100 each. I bet we return for additional purchases before we head back home.
All of this walking had us hungry, so we stopped with all the locals to grab a fried calamari sandwich. This was an hit! Only a glass of sangria could have made this better.
We stopped for dessert because why not? These bakeries call our names when we walk past.
We are living like the Spaniards and returned home to nap during the afternoon rain shower. The boys napped; I did laundry. Then we headed back into the square for tapas and sangria. El Matador had a great sangria with pears.
We made our way to the next bar for more sangria and more tapas and were surprised to hear Alan Jackson playing. A few streets are decorated with lights, but it was nothing like Barcelona’s Christmas decor.
Sangria is our friend tonight. I hope he’s still friendly tomorrow morning.
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