Sometimes plans change. Not because they have to, but because things change based on new information. Today was one of those times. Late last night there was a recalibration about what today would hold. Some things weren’t open, one was a garden that likely wasn’t in bloom. I have to say, it was for the best.

We stuck with the plan to visit the Prado Museum first, which made sense. It was roughly a 30 minute walk from our Airbnb to the museum and our tickets were for an entry at 10:30am. After the typical challenge of using an email as an entry ticket – this being more difficult than most due there not being a QR code for scanning or instructions on where to be – we went into the museum and picked up our audio guides.

Not to be arrogant, but the audio guide and map combination wasn’t super intuitive, and it took the adults a little but to figure everything out. The girls decided to venture off on their own (which was smart). Once we had it figured out we did a modified version of the “One Hour Tour”. A couple hours later we had that wrapped up and had run into the kids.

In general, Prado contained art that was unique and definitely worth seeing to appreciate, but the overwhelming themes seemed to be largely dark and a bit depressing. In most museums I can walk away feeling inspired, maybe even uplifted by what I’ve seen. That definitely wasn’t the case here. I certainly think that Goya and Bosch and Velazquez and El Greco were certainly phenomenally talented, but they favored styles and topics which that just didn’t resonate with me positively. That said, if art is to illicit a response, mission accomplished.

The layout of the museum was also a bit confusing, it took us a while to find our way out. All in all, not sure I’d recommend it unless someone has a deep understanding and appreciation of art and wants to specifically explore some dark topics.

Given that we skipped breakfast, we made food a priority. The girls found us a really cool outdoor cafe not far from our next stop, and we were able to get a table for lunch. Cafe Cappuccino had a basic but really delicious menu and we were all happy to see food. We relaxed a bit before paying the bill and heading across the street to Retiro Park.

Retiro Park is a large city park, not much smaller than Central Park in NYC. It has wide walking paths, a pond with row boats, and plenty of places to hang out in the sun or the shade. It was quite pretty and really well maintained. While we were primarily there to see one specific thing, it was hard not to be distracted by the park itself.

Right at the lagoon is a monument to Alphonso the 12th, the King of Spain in the 1870’s to the 1880’s. He was a young king, his rule ending at the age of 28, which was very unfortunate because was very well liked. The monument is a half round structure with columns and sculptures which seemed to be a popular place to sit and take in the park.

We walked past the lagoon and headed to the Crystal Palace, the main purpose of our visit. It opened in 1887 and was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the past several years it has primarily done duty as a location to host art exhibits for the Reina Sofia National Museum of Art which owns the building. Unfortunately it is currently closed with no official word as to why, but based on what we could see, looks like it is going through some internal structural repairs. The building was unique, truly special, and in a really fantastic setting. Once the work is done, I’m guessing it will be amazing.

We were so happy to hang out there taking pictures, which we did for longer than we realized, that it took us a bit to move along.

On our way out of the park, we stopped to enjoy a little more of the fresh air and sit courtesy of King Alphonse XII. We watched the people row around the lagoon, listened to the musician, and just enjoyed the sun. This was the nicest day we’ve had here at almost 70 degrees, so it totally made sense to take advantage.

From the park we had a long walk to our next stop, but it was a lot of fun. We got to walk past the congressional building and listen to a particularly talented string group playing on the sidewalk.

As we returned through the Puerta del Sol, we had to stop and visit a statue of the symbol of Madrid. Story goes that the symbol started when Alphonso XII was negotiating for land with the Church. The bear and the tree were meant to signify which party got which things, and now the image has been set as the emblem on many things around the city.

On our way to the next stop we passed by a monument for Miguel Cervantes. No need to go tilting at windmills if you don’t immediately know who that is. The man who wrote Don Quixote certainly deserves the admiration of his country, and the statues of its protagonists which are heavily featured. The book has broad and timeless themes which are relevant to all people. It was a nice surprise to be able to visit this place.

After the statue we made our way over near the Palace and to the Temple of de Bod. It was a gift from the Egyptian government and is a series of small structures set up in line with the setting sun. The reflecting pool was empty, but the site was still really special and unique. It’s likely the closest I’ll get my wife to visiting Egypt, so we will go ahead and check that box here.

Leaving the Temple of de Bod we were on a different sort of holy mission: nun cookies. Apparently there is a convent in Madrid where if you go at the right time, with the right amount of money, you can buy cookies from a group of nuns. They don’t advertise, there is no website, just some social media lore. The girls thought they had figured out, and we were on a limited clock to get there before they closed for the day. And, due to a clever counterfeit on an adjacent street, we missed the window by a few minutes. We’re putting a bookmark in this one for now in case we can make it happen on our return to Madrid this Friday.

Dejected and without cookies we decided that we could make ourselves feel better at San Miguel Marketplace with some snacks and sangria. And you know what? It worked! We all had sangria and either empanadas, mini paella, or shaved iberico ham. It was great, and we did feel better.

Since the market is literally steps from the house, we went back for a quick siesta before dinner.

Dinner was at a place only steps from our Airbnb. The meal was good, but not on par with what we’d had elsewhere (which was admittedly a high bar). There was pasta and octopus, steak and sea bass, and of course a bottle of wine. We also introduced our friends to shishito peppers, so that was a high point. The meal was good, and everything on the check was marked with “40% off” which is why I’m not naming the place, I don’t want people expecting the same deal.

After dinner we completed a “dessert progressive” which started by acquiring amazing chocolate chip cookies at San Miguel Market, then churros at San Ginés, and finally gelato right near our apartment. We may have also completed a candy tasting back in the apartment. It was a lot of sugar. But we’d had a long day, over 22,000 steps and lots of new places to process.

Definitely the most activity we had in one day on this trip so far, but totally worth it.

Tomorrow our friends head back to the States and we hop a train to Seville. Getting a little farther south and seeing a bit more of the influence of Northern Africa should be fun.