Semana Santa

I just had the best week and it was so sad to see it come to an end!! For spring break, or Semana Santa, my parents and Graham came to Madrid. It was so great to see them, I can't even describe it! The whole time was wonderful and certainly something I'll never forget. Putting an entire week's worth of events into full paragraphs sounds a little daunting to me so this is going to be more like a photo journal. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? (Unfortunately this probably means I will forget to mention things I don't have a picture of :/ ) Thank you so much for coming ... I could not have asked for a better week! Come back next week?!

Day 1:

Jeff & Champ arrived in the morning, got to meet Cristina and Greta, and then we took a walk after some cat naps. The palace was right next to our apartment!

Had lunch at Mercado de San Miguel

Plaza Mayor 

Went shopping on Calle Fuencarral, drooled over the clothes in Hoss Intropia

Day 2: 

Woke up early for a tour of the Royal Palace

Went for drinks with Zara's family and then enjoyed a huge lunch at Zara's dad's officers club! It was so special to have my two "families" together! 

Had a beautiful night in Madrid, saw the Almudena Cathedral all lit up, and grabbed some beers with Elena! 

Day 3: 

Went to the Sorrolla Museum and then walked around the corner to my apartment

Champ got some knitting in while I picked Graham up from the airport 

Graham arrives! 

Enjoyed dinner and the best sangria in Madrid at La Tosta (the second time we went there in 3 days)

Celebrated Champ's birthday with churros con chocolate 

Day 4:

Took a day trip to Segovia

Had a picnic in Segovia's Plaza Mayor 

Cathedral in Segovia 

Wandered around beautiful streets all afternoon

Went to Isabel and Ferdinand's Disney Castle

Day 5: 

Returned to Mercado de San Miguel after some shopping





Walked along Paseo del Prado

2 de Mayo Monument 

Saw some important sites and a beautiful sunset on Calle de Alcala and Gran Via








Puerta del Sol





The symbol of Madrid

Day 6: 

Spent the day at Parque del Retiro 














Ended the day with a trip to the Prado and a fun dinner at Zara's house 

Day 7:

Took a day trip to Toledo 

Had paella for lunch

Got lost ... a lot 

Day 8: 

Couldn't stay away from Retiro 

Hung out on the steps by the pond and ate the best sandwiches ever from the Mallorca Bakery 

Sabatini Gardens

Good Friday Procession in front of Palacio Real

Graham took a lot of pictures of this guy... and then we went out for some amazing tapas and returned to Tosta one last time!