And the tour didn't disappoint. Well, it did because we weren't able to see the players dressing rooms and tunnel because there was a game that evening, which we also couldn't get three tickets together for. Double the sadness. But it was awesome being inside this masterpiece and walking the same ground as so many wonderful players! And especially worth it to get a picture with Ronaldo, even if it was only via green screen.
Caught by the paparazzi: me and Ronaldo! Then posing with the Champions League trophy
Carissa and I were not amused by some of the questions from the press/Inside the stadium!
Next it was time to find our more cultured side so we took the metro to El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. This is the museum of more modern art in Spain and it definitely showed. While it had some cool paintings and sculptures, the first one was not a winner. They had a special exhibit called the Invention of Concrete and to sum it up, I'll provide a quote: "Um we could do this. So can I be in the museum?" But maybe I'm just not a good appreciator when it comes to some of the modern art:
Other snippets of commentary from the Reina Sofia (as you can tell, we weren't huge fans of some of the modern art):
Eric works to understand the meaning of the yellow room; Eric's favorite of the modern art; An artistic haystack?
Other snippets of commentary from the Reina Sofia (as you can tell, we weren't huge fans of some of the modern art):
- He's French, he has a beret
- That one looks like gollum from the side
- What's the name of this one, camel toe?
- Children with plants--why is the one naked? They're hobbits.
Camel Toe; a Picasso; and a Dalí
Then because it was close and also recommended by the guide book, we walked to El Museo del Prado. And you know what? It was FREE because it was after 6pm. I always love free. However, maybe it was the after effects of 7 hours of walking the day before but I had a low tolerance for art today. We went and saw the "masterpieces" but that was about as much excitement as I could muster. Some of the paintings, like Goya's "Saturn" were cool but it was a lot of art overload. Which led us to more comments like "Is that water she's shooting at him?" "... that's not water..."
Then we grabbed dinner at a place called Estado Puro which had some delicious food. I tried octopus for the first time, kind of scary, but tasted like calamari--which I love--so it gets a passing grade.
The octopus risotto! And then "Ali-Oli potatoes" that were delicious!
Hamberguesas and jamon, a winning combination; Salud!
And then we were off back towards the apartment with one goal in mind: gelato. Carissa has made it we goal to have gelato every day that we are here. And what kind of person would I be if I didn't help a sister out? A bad one. So if I must, gelato it is :)
Santiago Bernabeu
Around town
The press love us
View of the pitch, VIP seats, players tunnel
They love each other
We had some fun with the player's bench
On the pitch!
A view from the corner; I meant to look up vomitario and see what it means because... surely its a false cognate
The cute couple and then I made the team photo!
Players and their shoes
The Real Madrid crest and then countries who have had players to play for Real Madrid. You'll notice the US is not represented...
Individual awards won by players; the FIFA player of the year won by Ronaldo; more trophies--there were so many!
Like I said, so many trophies, so little time
Around town
Don't know what this building is but looked cool; entrance to the gardens by the Prado; and the facade of the Prado
Fountain by the Prado and then the Cibeles fountain
Can you guess what this building is?
The post office. Yeah.
Premiere of City of Bones in Madrid! Sadly we didn't get to see any of the actors but I cannot wait to see this when I get back!
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