Yesterday we went to the Museo del Prado. Needless to say, since this is Madrid, it was yet another place where I couldn't take pictures. Therefore, my nice camera got to take a vacation and my phone came out to play in the meantime, so please excuse the lower quality of these photographs.
The Museo del Prado was absolutely fantastic! I got to see Las Meninas, The Third of May, Goya's Black Paintings, the Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, a lot more artwork by El Greco, and just a general assortment of fantastic artwork. This is by far one of my favorite art museums. Granted, I'm a little bit biased. Goya is one of my favorite artists and a very decent portion of the museum was dedicated to him. However, regardless of how much you know about art, this museum has something for just about anyone.
After going to the museum, we took a walk through the Parque de Buen Retiro, but decided to turn around and return to the hotel when it started to hail on us. That evening, umbrellas in hand, we ventured out to fulfill a personal dream of mine: eating hot chocolate and churros in Madrid. I first learned about this incredible Spanish dish from my favorite tourist, Samantha Brown, who used to have a show on the travel channel called Passport to Europe. After moving to North Carolina, I would watch Samantha travel to all different countries, stay in fancy hotels, eat strange foods, and visit the top tourist attractions, and one day I vowed that I would be here. Well, my favorite thing that she did in Madrid: chocolate y churros.
Just a few steps from our hotel was the Chocolatería San Ginés, a very famous place to get this delectable desert. For 3.80 euros you get six churros and a cup of hot chocolate, which is really like hot chocolate pudding. In Passport to Europe, Samantha Brown used her spoon to show how thick the hot chocolate is. I didn't quite believe her, but folks, it's true.
We took a moment to do the cheesy American selfie. Along the wall are all the pictures of the famous people who have visited.
Best food all day.
Instead of driving to Barcelona from Madrid, we took the AVE, the high speed train that runs through Spain. Yes, Samantha Brown did this too. Look at all my childhood dreams being fulfilled.
The train got up to about 300 kph, but runs very smoothly and takes you through a wide variety of the Spanish countryside.
There were some tiny towns nestled in mountains that it looked like the world had forgotten, and then other times you would see a small city with a castle on a hill. No big deal. This is Europe folks.
Now we are settled into Barcelona. I can't wait to see all of the Gaudi architecture and listen to some Catalan.
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