Vale!

We arrived in Madrid with a buzzing excitement to touch up on our Spanish...little did we know our "Mexican Spanish" wouldn't cut it in Spain (it's Ecuadorian Spanish, ok). After landing and realizing we didn't need an entry stamp (M was thrilled since she has ONE page left in her passport!) since we were coming from an EU member nation, we made our way over to the neighborhood called La Latina to meet up with our friend, Sheila, whos place we'd be staying at for the week. Upon overcoming the inital shock of the size of the apartment the 3 of us would be sharing for a week, Sheila showed us a proper Madrileno time: a few copas of vino and tinto de verano and a lazy stroll through Plaza Mayor as well us discussing the Madrileno way to say everything we knew how to say "the mexican way" as we were told. Our week in Madrid flew by quickly as we explored each neighborhood of the city, poked into some art museums and of course doing the obligatory tapas bar stops. We visited the famed Prado museum and the more modern Reina Sofia. The Reina Sofia was great and we widdled away many hours there. We spent a good chunk of time staring at some famous Picasso and funky Dali pieces and amazingly, M held up very well. The Prado was interesting as well, but we certainly preferred Reina Sofia since the Prado was filled from floor to ceiling with religious art, some of which was quite interesting no doubt, but the Reina Sofia suited us better. We also happened to be in Madrid for the gay pride parade so, of course, we attended in style. We also had a chance to experience an authentic "Spanish Sunday" as Sheila's Madrileno crowd threw a paella party on our last day in town, which proved to be a great last night as plenty of wine was shared over some great food.

Gracias a todos!! (we're thinking of adopting this Sunday routine)

Ten days flew by faster than ever and we didn't get a satisfying fill of Madrid, but luckily we'll be back for the last 3 nights of our journey!