Last week we had the pleasure of having visitors from Houston. Our good friends, Jenn and Mike Magner, came to visit us. This was no small feat, as they had to call upon friends of theirs to come to Houston to care for their 4 kids for over a week. Their odyssey actually began before they arrived in Spain, because their flight from Newark was cancelled and they had to come by way of Munich, Germany. About 48 hrs after they had left Houston, they finally arrived -what a relief! And the fun began...
On Sunday, the day they arrived, we decided to take it easy as they were exhausted. In the evening we went to the Basilica of San Miguel (which I have mentioned in previous posts), which is where St. Josemaria Escriva celebrated his first Mass. From there we peeked inside the Mercado de San Miguel, and then had tapas at the Museo del Jamon and the Meson del Champinion (best mushrooms in town!!).
Monday we began by visiting the city center: Plaza de Sol (seen above) where Madrid showcases the city emblem -a bear eating berries off of a tree (ok, maybe that's not the official description, but it works). This emblem is to be found just about everywhere, from signs to sewer ditches and sidewalks. It is also the meeting place for locals: "Meet me by the bear at Sol" they say. The weather was glorious that day and perfect for being out and about.
From Sol we walked down the Calle Mayor (main street so to speak) to the Plaza Mayor to look at little shops and take pictures. This plaza is a short walk from the Cathedral of the Almudena and the Royal Palace (all seen above). We heard Mass at the Cathedral, which was a real treat.
After some tapas for lunch and a nap, it was time to pick up the kids from school at 5pm and from there we took the short walk to Ventas (the Plaza de Toros), which visitors find pretty breath-taking.
Tuesday was Martha's birthday, and we started the day right by having breakfast at a Lisbon Pastry shop. They have these incredible little cream tarts and delicious coffee. We saw the Plaza de Colon and walked down Serrano street (known for it's shopping) while Mike took pictures. By the way, almost all of the pictures on this post are courtesy of Mike!!
We picked up the kids for lunch to celebrate with them at home and then took them back to school and we continued shopping. Later in the evening, the babysitter showed up and we went to a place near Sol called Villa Rosa to watch Flamenco --it was absolutely riveting! The energy, conviction and emotion that the singer, musicians and dancers pour onto the stage is absolutely contagious. Flamenco dancers are all from the South of Spain and you can just tell that it runs in their blood; this is not just a performance for them, it's like this ritual trance that takes them over. We were all impressed.
The mushrooms at Meson del Champinion were no less impressive, I have to add! We ended up going back for round two because they were so delicious (yum yum!). Some close friends of ours, Jason and Carolina, joined us at the last-minute for tapas in the Cava Baja, which was terrific. Right now it's the season for Setas (another type of mushroom) and these are one of our favorite tapas.
Wednesday we actually had a General Strike here in Madrid -- so we basically had no bus service and practically no metro (subway) either...thus, the natural choice was to enjoy the morning walking through Retiro Park. This is without a doubt the best time of the year to see Madrid, as the fall colors are bursting everywhere. Mike's pictures, above and below, certainly capture the essence of our magnificent "Central Park."
Just outside the northwest corner of Retiro Park stands the majestic Puerta de Alcala (it's Madrid's Arc de Triomphe!) and Mike managed to capture it perfectly as we scrambled across the busy traffic.
Walking along the northern border of Retiro, we came to one of our favorite churches: San Benito y San Manuel. This church is pretty unique because it seems to have Eastern Orthodox origins. The Altar is patently orthodox and the whole inside is mosaics. The dome, seen above, is exquisitely crafted. After visiting this church, we walked along Goya street to another church "Parroquia de la Concepcion" -another gem in the heart of the city (the gilded altar is shown in the above right picture) where we heard Mass.
Mike and Jenn reserved Thursday for a day trip somewhere near Madrid. They were torn between Toledo, Avila and Segovia, but in the end they cast their lot with Segovia and I think it was the right pick. Segovia's castle, Alcazar, the Cathedral and the Aaqueduct make it a strikingly beautiful place to visit.
Above you can see the Royal thrones at Alcazar, Mike standing next to a mini knight, Jenn in front of Alcazar and the famous Castille and Leon coat of Arms.
Friday: their last full day in Madrid. So, I think we saved some of the best for the last day of their stay. We began by hearing Mass at the Basilica of the Milagrosa (above), which to the untrained eye, looks like an ordinary church (like so very many throughout the city), but this church is very special. It was here, on Oct 2, 1928, that St. Josemaria saw the Work of God that he was called to found. Indeed, this place holds an importance that can hardly be described for those of us who love Opus Dei. Inside the basilica, one finds a plaque (top right) that commemorates this historical moment. The other plaque above lists all of the holy men and women who have received special graces there (St. Genoveva, and several founders of other orders, bishops, and martyrs).
From there we hopped on a bus and zipped down the Castellana (one of the main avenues) and got of at the Prado -Madrid's most famous museums. Some people find the Prado, like the Louvre in Paris, just too big and even a bit boring, since it lacks the more modern and impressionist art. However, I have to say that after 3 visits this year, I like it more and more every time. I have a deep admiration for artists like Velazquez, Murillo, Zurbaran, Sorrolla, Caravaggio, the Madrazos, Pradilla, Rubens and several others --all of whose works are here. It has incredible religious and historic art. I do have to say that I'm not altogether fond of some of Goya's work or El Greco though :) Anyway, we did a power-run through the museum, stopping at some of my favorites and glossing over the rest in order to be out of there in under 3 hours.
After lunch we met up at the Opera House and then visited the Royal Palace. While it was very impressive, ultra decorated, baroque, colorful and regal, by the end, all the rooms kind of blurred together! And finally, we were able to squeeze in a visit to the Roayl Basilica of San Francisco El Grande, which is just down the street from the Royal Palace.
San Francisco El Grande I already mentioned in the post on Francisco's birthday, but I'll just say it again: I love it!!! Every time I walk in there, I am just blown away by the dome, the blazing, life-like statues of the 12 Apostles (similar to the ones in San Giovanni in Laterano, for those who have been to Rome) and the frescoes. To our good fortune, we stumbled upon a tour of the basilica at that hour and we were able to learn a lot about it. It is named after St. Francis of Assisi.
With low-lighting it was very hard to capture the dome of San Francisco El Grande, so you guys will just have to come and see it for yourselves!
As we dragged our tired feet home that evening, thinking that we were going to finally kick our heels up, Fede and the kids had one final outing in store for us: dinner at Caceres and Badajoz (aka "Chimichurri" as we have named the Toro that hangs on the wall). This is the local hangout on the corner of our street. It's always packed with people because the tapas are good and cheap, and the service is nice. It's a recipe for success. Believe it or not, it was the first time that our kids had ever been in there (we've ordered out several times to eat it at home) but they were tickled pink that this time they actually got to sit on the stools and eat on the big wine barrel tables. Now I almost feel guilty that all year we made them walk by this place, to and fro, never letting them go in to eat!! Alejandra has insisted that we go back for her birthday, which is a request that we will make good on :)
This past Saturday Mike and Jenn left for Houston again and so things are returning to business as usual. We want to thank them, their cooperative kids and generous friends from Alabama for making this trip possible.
We want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving ahead of time and I will certainly post something this following weekend about our Turkey Day in Madrid!
