Paris

It was a quick 48 hours in Paris, and although exhausting, very worth it. Chad came in for work, and we all stayed with Katie and Derek in the Bastille neighborhood.  I will fully blame Chad for the debauchery that was Friday night.  We are far too old for the clubs, and we all realized that Saturday morning.

 Family portrait

 Parisian clubbin'

 Meeting the locals

 Annie doing tough - cool pose

 Derek even tougher and cooler

 We were "iced"...if you don't know what that means, ask someone what "being Smirnoff iced" is...

 Versailles market

 Opulence!

 Amazing gardens

 A little rowing to work off the wine, cheese and other fresh food from the market

 We're not sure on the timeline, but we think this was either right before or right after I was attacked by bees...

 This was definitely after...

 How do I say "I look like a duck" in French?

 We're still in the gardens after it closed because of my giant lip...that was my plan all along.

 time for happy hour (notice I'm hiding my beak...more than a few children were horrified/amused on the Metro)

 City of Lights

Sailing Race

Josh has been racing aboard the sailboat Dreamtime.  I finally got out to take pictures of the boats circling as they were waiting for the race to begin.  A perfect night for a race with plenty of wind.  Unfortunately they had to forfeit because a member of their crew fell overboard and had to be taken to the hospital - a broken wrist, nothing too major.

Madrid

Madrid blew us away.  What a great city with amazing culture.  We got very used to the daily life of the Spanish. 

11:00am - wake up
12:00 to 2:00 - sight see
2:00 to 4:00 - tapas lunch with canas (small beers) or sangria
4:00 - siesta
6:00 - sight see some more
8:00 - happy hour with cava
10:00pm - long dinner with more tapas and wine


 We arrived late on Friday night. An 11:00 reservation at Ten con Ten, and the place was still hopping!

 

One of the best bike tours we've been on. We saw all of Madrid's main sights in three hours and capped it off with a stop in Retiro Park for an Estrella.

 

Temple de Debod

 

Almudena Cathedral

 

The Royal Palace

Plaza Mayor

The gardens of Retiro Park

The Glass House

 

Lunch at the highly recommended Mercado San Miguel

 

Thanks to a few family members we were able to spend some time in the famous Prado Museum for free (as well as the Reina Sofia)

 

 

Followed by a drink on top of the Thyssen Museum

Madrid at night

 

Some live music to accompany our cava

 

Dinner at Lamucca

 

Museum Reina Sofia- my personal favorite!

Dali

Picasso

 

El Rastro- Europe's largest flea market

 

Tapas in La Latina neighborhood- Since we couldn't read the menu, we were unaware that you get a free cana for every tapa ordered.  Unfortunately or fortunately, we are big eaters, and 6 canas showed up on our table.

After our siesta, we were off to Las Ventas to watch a bullfight.  A great experience, a bit gory, but the epitome of Madrid culture! And it eased my mind that the horse never got hurt.

Another great dinner out at Baazar

 

Our last healthy lunch of a cheese plate, deep fried cheese balls, a loaf of bread and beer :)