A little boy’s dream! We started our day in Madrid with a tour of San Bernabeu stadium, where the Real Madrid soccer club plays. It was amazing that the line was just as long here as it was at the Vatican:) It was very cute to see all of the little boys with their eyes aglow, kinda like Marshall. As part of the tour, we got a panoramic view of the stadium from the upper deck, a walk through the museum with team videos, photos, and relics from the beginning days of the team, all of the trophies, and the jerseys and equipment of some of the current players. Then we got to walk the perimeter of the pitch, sit in the players’ seats, view the visitor’s dressing room, and the press room. As Marshall said, the only thing that would have been greater was actually seeing the team play!
After lunch in Chueca, we started to shop, but ran into many closed stores due to the siesta time here in Madrid. Most shops close for an extended lunch with many closed from 2-4:30. With that, we decided we needed a siesta too! That afternoon, we explored the highly acclaimed shopping area of Salamanca. The neighborhood had every expensive shop you can imagine. Obviously we didn’t walk away with a new Prada bag, custom made boots from John Lobb or $200 coin purse from Loewe, but it was nice to look around. It was also fun to practice our Spanish- we were surprised at the number of store associates that continued to talk to us in Spanish, despite our very jumbled questions and best efforts to do the same. From there, we made our way to Gran Via- a Madrilleno street known for great architecture and beautiful ornate buildings. Very true! We had a table booked at La Barraca, a restaurant that had been around since the 1930′s, and known for their paella dishes. Our queen’s dish of paella with tons of different shellfish was awesome!
Views of the stadium from our tour:
The sunshine equipment....
Inside the San Bernabeu Museum- the trophies
The club seats
In the players' seats
The press room
The therapy pool in the dressing room for players
Inside the San Bernabeu Museum
Outside the stadium
Streets of Salamanca
A movie being filmed in Salamanca
Scenes from Gran Via
