We slept in a bit this morning before heading over to the Reina Sofia. While there, we made it
to two traveling exhibitions. The first was a selection from Wifredo Lam’s
work, which I loved. His style was modern meets tribal and seemed to be
inspired by global issues. The second was called Campo Cerrado
and it was a collection that told the story of Spanish art during the complex
and controversial 1940’s. I could have spent hours in this exhibit, but it
required a lot of attention and there was just no way to do it with two small kiddos
in tow. My visit in this gallery was brief, but if you happen to be in Madrid
anytime soon, both of these are worth the look!
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| Joan, Saca, and Keller outside the Reina Sofia. |
We also made it to several Dalí pieces and Saca and Joan made it to the Picassos, which I saw last time I was here. By the time we hit our “Picasso point” Keller and Lochlan had hit their breaking points, so the three of us headed out in search of a café while the girls kept looking.
Although the Reina Sofia building itself and the art
displayed there are spectacular, my highlight from our visit had to be Lochlan
dribbling her Swiss soccer ball through the halls. (Note: she dribbled through
the halls, not the galleries
themselves! Still questionable museum behavior, no doubt, but what do you do
when a 12-month-old starts shouting “out” and “ball” over and over. And let’s
not forget, the Reina Sofia used to be a hospital. In some ways, I feel like
its original architects would be quite proud to know that a little American
girl is learning to walk, and dribble, in their grand hallways.)
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| She shoots… |
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| And she scores! |
Post museum meant siesta time, so while the gals went
shopping my duo went down for a much-needed rest. I am quickly realizing that
their schedules are going to have to change in Spain. It is impossible to eat
dinner at 5:00pm when the restaurants don’t open until 8:00pm. When in Spain,
do as the Spaniards do, right? I guess I will worry about the aftermath of 10pm
bedtimes once we return home.
After naps and shopping we headed back towards Plaza Mayor
to the Mercado de San
Miguel. The place was bustling with people from all over the world. It is a
fantastic spot to grab a bite and a drink, but bring cash; most of the vendors
do not accept credit cards. Also watch for pick pockets and people selling their
wares. One guy kept trying to put a bracelet on Keller’s wrist. The look of
confusion on Keller’s sweet little face… I could just see his mind racing,
trying to process what was going on. “Who is this strange man? Why is he giving
me a present? I like presents. But my mom clearly doesn’t seem to like this
man. Now my mom is yelling at me to come with her and get away from him. What
in the world is going on?!?!”
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| A quick photo outside the main market entrance. |
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| What beats a mango sangria with a side of olives? |
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| At the el Martín fish company stall. |
Speaking of living like the Spaniards, Joan and I took
Keller to the late showing of El Rey Leon
at the Teatro Lope De Vega. (Thank you Saca for watching Loch.) This was Joan’s
first time seeing the musical and even though she does not speak a lick of
Spanish, she thought it was spectacular – and it was! I have seen the show
three times now and I am telling you this was the best. And my little dude did
not miss a beat. He bounced up and down in his chair at the start of the show,
clapping his hands, and squealing, “This is so exciting! This is so exciting!”
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| Waiting for the show to begin. |
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| Making friends and starting to speak a little spanish. |
Looking back on our first full day in a Spanish city, here
are a few reflections from a mom traveling with littlies. I'm sure there are many more to be learned in the coming days.
- Bring a bike lock so you can lock your stroller/pram downstairs
and avoid lugging it up and down (in our case 4 flights of) stairs ten times a
day. No elevators in this apartment.
- Check to see if you need to weigh your produce before you
spend 20 minutes waiting in line to check out at the corner grocery. (I should
have remembered this from shopping in Switzerland!)
- Inserting a quick park visit between adult activities works
wonders.
- There's a lot you can do with a pack of diapers… including rigging up a computer cord and adaptor. :)
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| My jerry-rigged adaptor and cord - only a mom could do this! |
