Madrid for Kids

We fell in love with Madrid as soon as we arrived. In fact, I went right to the hotel reception and asked if we could book our room for an extra day because we knew that we wouldn't have enough time in this great city. While in Madrid, we did a good job of balancing our time between kid friendly activities and educational ones that the kids also enjoyed.

We had an afternoon and evening and then one full day in Madrid, which we began at the Real Madrid Soccer Stadium. We toured the playing fields and stands, the trophy room, the locker rooms, the media room, the presidential seats and were able to sit in the players seats right on the field. We picked up a Real Madrid golf shirt for Ezra as we left, because after our tour, we couldn't help but be huge fans of this soccer club.

One of our favorite spots was Retiro Park. The kids loved the performers and the row boats, Annie loved the sunglass hawkers and the playground was the perfect spot for everyone to run around. One thing that we have noticed in Spain, is that everyone is out having a good time, and the city park on a Sunday afternoon was no different.

We have found that in Europe, public affection is very acceptable. I could not resist snapping a photo of this couple. I am sure they were unaware, but I would have been so embarrassed if they would have caught me!

We stopped at the Madrid LDS Temple grounds. The mission training center was on the left and the stake center was on the right. It was good to see familiar statues and signs on the other side of the world.

It was intersting to see the Royal Palace and point out to the kids, that like France, Italy, England, and even places like Bagdad, Spain too had it's day as the world power. This was evidenced by the grandure of the palace and the history that took place within it's walls. We also took note that the grandson of Louis XIV built the palace, trying to replicate Versailles. We would see the Sun King's palace in a couple of weeks. The square around the building was full of street performers. Mia is getting really good at saying, "More money in" and running up to plop a few coins in the container.

We visited the Prado, where we hired a guide to show us the top 30 paintings in an hour and a half. He explained each one and told about the painter. This was the perfect world-famous-art-museum-experience for a family with six small children.

Portrait of a Cardinal by Raphael

The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest El Greco

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch

Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez

We then ran over to the Reina Sophia museum to see the Guenerica by Picasso. Although this museum houses roomfuls of treasures, we arrived just before closing so we just glanced at works by such artists as Dali, adding this museum to our must-see-next-trip-to-Madrid list. Guenerica is Picasso's most famous painting. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the Nazi's bombed the tiny Basque town of Guenerica at the behest of the Nationalist Party, which was a group of communists, socialists and anarchists. For the Nazi's it was basically a target practice and a chance to try out their new weapons. 1,600 people, mainly women and children due to the men being away at war, were killed or injured. When Picasso heard of the news, he immediately abandoned the painting that he was working on for the Paris Worlds Fair and began painting a Guenerica. After the fair, it went on tour around the world representing the autocracies of war. Picasso would not allow the painting to return to Spain until Spain became a republic, which occurred two years after Picasso's death. Until then, it hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

After the museums, we grabbed dinner at a little cafe. I finally was able to try paella, a Spanish dish of rice. I chose vegetables and shrimp to be mixed in. I hope to find some recipes for home because we all loved it.