Home again, home again

Human Highlighter Suit Tally: 8

Yesterday we got smart and started out the day at the Reina Sofia, while the kids were still fresh.  I really enjoyed it.  I think for all of us it’s a better fit than the Prado.  The museum’s focus is modern Spanish art.  It is a fabulous collection, and its jewel in the crown is Picasso’s Guernica.  Guernica is one of those works of art that, no matter how many times you’ve seen it reproduced on coffee mugs and postcards and other tchotchkes, still packs a wallop.  Even the kids stood looking, transfixed, for awhile, and then asked us many questions about war and why anybody would start such a thing.  One of the truly valuable things about being a parent is having your kids ask you these basic, unanswerable questions.  It helps you remember the importance of qualities like humanity, and compassion, which are sometimes hard to call up on a daily basis.

The day was beautiful and sunny, and we decided to check out some neighborhoods we’d heard were good for walking around.  So we took the metro to Malasaña, and found a playground in a plaza for the kids to run around in while we people-watched.  From there we walked through Chueca, which has lots of cool shops and restaurants.  We poked into a few and then had a yummy lunch at La Kitchen—I had a zucchini soup and pasta with mushrooms (more mushrooms!) followed by a jasmine flavored, carmelized arroz con leche.  Alec had a dish of sautéed mushrooms, and then a plate of poached eggs, brioche toast and foie gras.  The kids?  Hamburgers.  I need to make some arroz con leche.  And some mushroom risotto, before the mushrooms disappear.  Both, for me, are pure comfort food, and that is what I crave when the air gets nippy.

We retreated to our hotel for a siesta, and then went out again around 6:30 for more exploring.  We started out at Valor for chocolate and churros—to sugar up the kids before our long walk—and then walked to old Madrid, and then to another neighborhood called La Latina.  We were partly in search of a lecheria—an old milk shop.  Casa Lucas was closed by the time we arrived, so we just took photos of the kids in front of its tiled front sign.  Madrid is full of beautiful and elaborately tiled interiors and exteriors.

Alec gave his talk today.  It was gorgeous out, so the kids and I elected not to go to the famous monastery right next to our hotel—you could only visit it on a 50 minute tour—and returned to Retiro Park instead.  On the way back we popped into the shop at the Thyssen Bornemisza which has a lot of jewelry and other things made by Spanish artisans.

C.C. voted for lunch at a Japanese place where you grab your food from magnetized conveyor belts that pass by the tables, which was fun and pretty tasty.  And now we are on the Ave, on our way back to Barcelona, which is starting to feel like home.