Madrid - el primer dia en Espana

Estamos aqui en Espana!! After a long flight, with little sleep for me, we finally arrived in Madrid. In an effort to save a little dinero, we took el metro to the hotel (in lieu of a taxi = 40 Euros!). We are veteran subway folks so we found the metro system very easy to conquer. We arrived at our hotel, ME Madrid, near the Plaza del Sol and we were VERY impressed. I thought it was a nice choice from the website, but words cannot describe the sophicated glamour of this fine hotel. Let me just say George Clooney stayed here. Yes, it's that swanky! Marta, who greeted us at the desk, was delightful and chose a spectacular room for us with a magnificent view. The picture below was taken with Chris' IPhone (which has been so useful for navigating through the city!)...more digital camera pics to follow soon.

We were pretty exhausted and immediately got cozy in our hotel room and took a nap. It was just what we needed to revive ourselves...and we were ready to explore! We walked through the streets (our hotel is in an IDEAL location) and we ended up at the Prado Museum. After a good dose of Goya, El Greco, Valesquez...we went for some cafe con leche at a local coffee house (delicioso!) and headed back to the hotel. Then we took the advice of friends on chowhound and ventured to Cava Bajo for the best tapas in Madrid. We ended up at Taberna Tempranillo where we indulged in local favorites: un plato con jamon y manchego con pan, un plato de pato cocido con cebellas pequenas, y cerveza & vino de Espana. Fantastico! After our delicious meal, we strolled back towards Plaza Mayor - enjoying shops, street vendors, and performers along the way. We took a short break for churros con chocolate (can not miss that!) and got back to the hotel by 1am. I can't believe how exciting our first day has been, how relaxed and happy we are, and how wonderful it feels to be back in Spain.

(Of course, it's easy to enjoy ourselves knowing the kids are in excellent hands! We only hope they don't ask to return to "mama's house" when we return!)

Stay tuned...more to come :)