First day in Madrid

Wonderful morning! We got up in plenty of time to have a nice breakfast downstairs and enjoy some pancakes and Adam had fried eggs. My favorite part of Spain is their fresh squeezed orange juice! They don't serve orange juice from concentrate like we do in the states or even in Italy. MMM... so refreshing. I know we have said this in past blogs but the hotel in Barcelona was our nicest one yet because of all of the amenities. Having fresh fruit (pineapple, kiwi, orange and grapefruit)  24 hours a day is amazing and hits the spot!!  
This morning we took a taxi to the train station. We try to ride the subway and emerge in the culture and public transportation as much as possible... but I will admit I was lazy this morning and just wanted to get to the station with no hassle with the bags! It was so nice to relax and not have to watch our bags so closely :) Once at the train station we found our platform #2. The train between Barcelona and Madrid is called the AVE. It is a high speed train so it was handled much more like an airplane flight. We had to go through security and they checked our boarding passes before we got on the train. I really liked that! Now, when I say high speed train... I mean it. We traveled up to 289 km/h... which translates to 179 mph. I have been trying to drink more because I think I am a bit dehydrated but that just means you have to go to the bathroom more... which is very difficult on a train going 250 km/h... I know from experience!!!
This train was double the price of our Italy trains and now we can tell why. Along with getting us to our destination quickly without any stops they also have a lot of perks... they brought us headsets to watch a movie "Social Network"... in Spanish. They brought us newspapers... in Spanish. Hot towels to wash our hands and a breakfast menu which told us we would be getting a full breakfast "Scrambled eggs with courgette accompanied by grilled chicken breast and tomato" :) WOW!!! Even though we had a nice breakfast at the hotel, I did accept the breakfast... Adam did not because he was sleeping. I was really curious to see what it was like. It was beautiful and I can't believe it came from a train! Over all very impressed with this train experience!!!
Once we arrived at the Madrid train station we found the Metro and were on our way to our hotel. This system was pretty easy and we only had to switch trains once. We arrived at our hotel and the room wasn't quite ready. It was pretty warm in Madrid so we wanted to change into shorts... but didn't have a room. We changed downstairs in the Water Closet (bathroom) and when we got back upstairs our room was ready!!! So we headed up and unpacked quickly.
On our way to Madrid today we realized that our reservation to the Reina Sofia Museum was for today at 10 am... but our train didn't arrive in Madrid until 11:15 and then had to get to the hotel before heading over. Luckily the hotel made a phone call for us and we were able to use our tickets in the afternoon.
We headed over to the Museum Neighborhood where the Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen Museum are all located within 10 minute walks of each other. Before going into the museum we had lunch in the Reina Sofia square. It was nice and relaxing. We ordered the typical local lunch, Calamari sandwich and a Cod and Tomato stew. It was wonderful! At lunch I had my first Tinto Vino which is red wine with orange flavored Fanta. It is SO good and very reminiscent of my Sevilla days!!
After a long lunch we headed over to the Reina Sofia! Wonderful exhibit with Modern Art which included more Picasso paintings and the most popular Guernica. Although Adam and I are not art buffs we do appreciate the art and history behind it. If you look up this painting you can see that it is very dark. This is from a period of dictatorship in Spain. It was a very dark time. After seeing paintings from that time period you can feel the pain and suffering of the Spanish people by their dictator Franco. Although, not as bad as Hitler he was very close. We have heard stories from locals about Franco and his leadership that makes us very happy to be Americans and live in a "Free" Country. We continued to walk around the museum for awhile before heading back out to the streets.
We walked around a bit longer heading over to Plaza Mayor where I remember lots of artist hang out selling art. I was excited to return to possibly purchase a painting that I wanted so bad years ago... only to find out they don't really hang out in this square anymore :( Maybe I will find some artists in front of the Prado tomorrow... I am crossing my fingers!
Then we headed back to the hotel. Adam and I are starting to feel the long vacation take a toll on us. We are tired!!! We took a really long nap before waking up and skyping for a bit with family! I needed to hear my moms voice :) it was REALLY nice!!
We headed out for Tappas around 10:30 (typical for Madrid) and found a really cute place!! We enjoyed Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes with spicy sauce drizzled on top) and also grilled prawns in olive oil and garlic. Needless to say it was wonderful!!! And hit the spot.
We headed back and stopped in front of our hotel for a quick ice cream before heading up for bed. We have a full day tomorrow with the Prado and visiting the Royal Palace so we need to rest up :)
Night night everyone!!