Madrid
We pre-purchased the city bus tour for a two-day pass before arriving. We decided to do this on our third day since we wanted to attend a free-walking tour our hotel receptionist suggested. The tour was free, but tips for the guide were welcome, close to required, at the end of the tour. We had a large group that was fun to travel around the city with. We met a couple from London that we will be having dinner with in a couple weeks when we arrive in London. On the walking-tour our guide, Manuel, was a funny and kept everyone on their toes, even the girls had fun. Chris’ highlight of the tour was visiting Botin, which is the oldest restaurant in the world. It still served its main dish succulent pig. It is also where Ernest Hemingway would go to write, whose table is still there.
Enjoying his tour, we decided to purchase a tour with him to a Flamingo dance/singing performance. The girls loved this! They loved the dresses, the singing, and their own table they sat at together. They even got to go on the staged and dance with the performers. The best part, they even got along the whole time!
During our third and fourth day, we rode the double decker tour bus around the city learning more about the history and places to stop and see. I (Elizabeth) noticed the statue of Christopher Columbus on the first day of touring. I got very excited about the Columbus statue, because I teach it, so I had to get some pictures. We decided to make a list of the stops we would stop at on the second day. Even the girls added to the list, they spotted a park with playgrounds and a different type a swing we had never saw.
Our second day of the city bus tour we made it to the statue of Christopher Columbus and the park the girls wanted to go to. As soon as we made it to the park the girls wanted to go straight to the big swing like a teeter-tauter. The park was a nice stop, it gave the girls a chance to run around and burn energy and Chris and I a chance to just lay in the grass and relax. In the park, we also saw beautiful green Quaker Parrots. They were colorful and exciting to see. I tried to get as close as I could to get a good picture of the pair of birds. Little did we know, after some research, that these birds are not indigenous to Spain but other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. The birds are released or escaped pets that have been introduced and have since reproduced. They are creating issues in the ecosystem by both competing with other birds for food and building large nest that are destroying trees.
We were on the run for several days and covered miles of Madrid on foot. It was a fun city to explore.
