We had a lovely time in Madrid. We spent five nights located close to the Parque De El Retiro, also known as Madrid Central Park and “the lungs of the city”. It was a great location, and I loved visiting the park multiple times a day as we walked through it into the city centre and the things we wanted to visit. The park is full of people running, walking, playground, children playing, musical buskers (incredibly talented) and even a children’s puppet show. In the centre of the park there is a large man-made lake, surrounded by columns and statues. There were always people out enjoying nature, there are a few outdoor cafes, you can even rent a rowboat.
During our time in Madrid, we were grateful for the opportunity for the kids to catch up on schoolwork as this had not been prioritized in Morocco due to the heavy travel schedule. Alastair and I also enjoyed walking extensively, taking numerous random paths throughout the city. Sophia and I benefitted from doing a Tapas cooking class, while Aiden and Alastair enjoyed a stadium tour of Royal Madrid. We all attended Mamma Mia the musical (in Spanish), which was quite a unique experience. Everyone else was a little bit burnt out from sightseeing in Morocco, so I headed to a beautiful art exhibit featuring the Simon Perez collection. This was an amazing feature exhibit showing many famous, 19th century artist and some of their lesser-known artwork. We all enjoyed seeing Tim Horten’s in such a beautiful building – Aiden was disappointed with the selection of Timbits (all too fancy)!
