Madrid, Spain - Day 1

This past weekend we visited Madrid, Spain.  Since we first arrived in Switzerland last year we had been to Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and of course Switzerland, but we hadn't visited Spain yet.  This time of the year in mid-February the kids have a "winter break" from school, so we thought it would be a good time to fly south and get away from all the snow and see what Spain is like.

Madrid is the capital of Spain, and with over 3 million people the city is the 3rd largest in the European Union.  The city is very modern, with several historic areas nestled throughout in between.  We began our first day with a short walk to the Prado Museum, which is Madrid's equal to the Louvre in Paris.  The museum is home to one of the largest collections of European paintings in Europe, and features a special collection by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya, who is a national hero.  After that we had lunch at Museo del Jamon, which is a local chain that specializes in "Jamon," or spanish ham.  The restaurants are favorites among locals.  You can see by the picture that the place is lined wall to wall with large pig legs.  The butcher will slice the ham right off the leg and serve it to the customer.  Ben called this place "a pig's worst nightmare" and I would say he's right.  You can also eat at a table and be served by a waiter.  That's what we did and we tried a sample of a few different kinds.  Ham is a delicacy in Spain, and the locals are very serious about it.  Supposedly you can tell where in Spain a pig was from based on what the ham tastes like.  Of course I'm no expert but I can tell you the ham was delicious.  Anyway, from there we walked toward Puerta del Sol, which is the center of the city.  The area is like a mini Times Square, complete with shops and restaurants and street performers.  From there we continued on toward the more historic Plaza Mayor, which is a beautiful open plaza decorated with old buildings.  That was pretty much our day.  In the afternoon we all took a "siesta," and then later went out to eat.  It was a nice first day in Spain.