¡El Primero!

¡Hola! So I finally made it. ¡España! The first day consisted mainly of trying to get everyone situated in the hotel. We did take a night bus tour of Madrid, which leads me to one thing that I have learned already on this trip: Spain is gorgeous at night. I've only been to two different places at night (Madrid y Toledo), but they are both really stunning.
On Day 2, we took tours of El Museo del Prado y El Palacio Real. I was so excited! I was able to see Velasquez's Las Meninas up close and personal, as well as some Goya works! In the afternoon, we had free time, so a group of us set out to explore the city. We walked over to Parque del Retiro (Madrid's equivalent to Central Park, as we were told) and wandered through it. One of the best memories of the day was finding a playground in the park!

After the hanging out in the park, we decided to walk back to our hotel because we wanted to be able to see Madrid. And do you know what we happened to come across on our way home? The Hard Rock Cafe Madrid. Yep. And of course, I stopped in and got the shirt to add to my collection. (For those of you who don't know, I collect the Hard Rock shirts that are made especially for each location.)

There was one other thing that should be mentioned. There are cows. Everywhere. Painted cows. Cowparade.com.

Today we visited Valle de los Caídos and El Real Monasterio de El Escorial de San Lorenzo. Valle de los Caídos was not at all what I expected. The inside was awesome, but we weren't allowed to take pictures. :( But the huge cross was pretty cool, too.

Tomorrow is Toledo! Talk to you soon! ¡Chau!