The Beginning of the End...MADRID!!!

We had a very eventful trip back to the states with two great weddings that brought Drew and I back to California.  We almost missed the first wedding (our friends Nicole Moon and Eric Deyke which Drew was a part of the wedding party) due to a torrential rain in Buenos Aires that shut down the city, killed numerous people and made us a day late to our destination.  We enjoyed every minute back home and were excited to see all of those we got to see and hope to see those we didn't get a chance to see next time.

A few days after my best friends wedding we embarked on our final few months abroad which by the time we are done will have reached one full year gone.  We arrived in Madrid a few days ago and have been enjoying the perfect weather and sightseeing.  We are saving the majority of the tourist attractions for when our friends arrive here in Madrid who have never been to Spain.  Each day we get up and just wonder the streets and are amazed at how clean and well preserved Madrid is as well as how vibrant.  There are always millions of people out in the streets at all hours of the day.  So here is what we have been doing:

This is us flying over Madrid!  Madrid has a great airport and great public transportation and it is so easy to maneuver around:

This is inside our apartment building and it doesn't look like much but it is part of the old city wall that went around Madrid and is from the 1100s.

This is Plaza Mayor which seems to be the main focal point of the city and is only two short blocks up from our apartment that we are renting on Cava Baja.

More pictures of Plaza Mayor:

This is the Palace in Madrid which is also just about a ten minute walk from where we are staying.

This is a view at sunset from our apartment window!  Not a bad view!

This is one of the main walking streets in the city but I think all of the streets are this busy at all hours.

The Madrid Open happened to be in town while we are here (it just ended today with Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal taking the titles).  We were jet lagged and woke up early one morning and out of boredom checked the line up and found out that if we got there by 1030 in the morning we could watch Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all play on the same court.  We watched about 8 hours of tennis including a doubles match with the Bryan Brothers (number one team in the world who played two other Americans Isner and Querrey).  I couldn't have asked for a better day of tennis and don't think seeing that line up will ever happen again!  Here are some pictures below.

This is us out at a restaurant.  We ate at a good tapas place called Lateral that was recommended to us.  Tons of great tapas and cheap sangria and a line out the door.

Sites like this below are around every corner!

Drew went in this church which was packed and people were making so much noise I thought maybe the pope was inside.

Mercado San Miguel.  We haven't gone in yet but will for sure be stopping in several times in the next week.

This is the street we live on.  It is called Cava Baja and is famous for its tapas.  I have said it before and I will say it again it is literally this crowded at all hours.  The shocking thing is that as I write this blog I cannot hear a single noise.  Its shocking to me how crowded the street is yet how quiet and peaceful it is in our apartment.  I never hear so much as a peep!

We love to sit out in the plazas with locals and drink Cañas of beer.  They are usually around 1 Euro and usually come with a little snack like peanuts or something.  We are also fans of the tinto de verano which is summer wine and is pretty similar to a sangria.

Today, Sunday, was beautiful so we walked over to Parque de Retiro which is a giant park near the Prado Museum and just spent several hours walking around and people watching.

On Sundays they also have the El Rastro which is a flea market.  I am sure its cool but I was getting Claustrophobic with all the people around so we had to leave.

Picture of the Cathedral from our window at night.

Boats in the parque de retiro!  We are renting one of these when our friends arrive and paddling around (weather permitting).

So far we are off to a great start in Europe.  Our friends arrive on Wednesday and we will post more pictures.  After that we had to Barcelona for a few days.  We are both so excited to be here and just wish we were better at jet lag.  Last night I stayed up all day!  Went to bed at 2 in the morning and woke up an hour later and was up the rest of the day.  I can barely keep my eyes open as I type this and I hope to sleep a few more hours tonight!  With that being said, Happy Mother's day to all of you mothers out there especially ours and goodnight.