Day 4: Madrid

We had churros for breakfast again… yum! I noticed this morning that we lost Ruby’s hat yesterday :( so she is wearing C’s for a while. He hardly ever kept it on, anyway.

We started the day early and got to the park again, to take a rowboat out for a spin on the lake before it got too hot. There was a max of 4 people per boat, though, so Ruby and I stayed ashore. Lauren and Chris had lots of fun in the boat, rowing and teasing each other. I thought C would enjoying boating, but he didn’t seem to really care so much that he was in a boat.

After rowing we had a picnic and played at a playground for a bit. I discovered a second-hand store for children’s clothes (called Segundo Manito, how cute!) that was near the park so we went there. The prices are definitely better than in Norway, though I found better prices at big department store sales in Barcelona.

When we got home, we decided that Ruby seemed really too hot and she had been sleeping a lot of the day and was listless when she was awake. So I went to the pharmacy and got a thermometer and some aspirin. Her temperature was 39.4 C (almost 103 F) and I decided it was time to bring that fever down. We gave her some aspirin and she slept for 4 hours, then awoke and seemed fine. After a small meal she went to bed and slept through the night.

Chris and Lauren went out tonight. They went to a cafe around Calle Carretas, south of Puerta del Sol. They had much fun and Lauren met a guy named Leo who claimed to be in charge of the “Lista de Leo” which he put Lauren’s name on. The “Lista de Leo” granted free entrance to the something-Joy Disco (a very popular local disco).

Ruby is trying to climb the fence around the boating area. I think she would have like to have gone. But there’s no way I could have taken her in a boat by myself!

Not the best picture of the three of them… but Chris and Lauren both thought it was funny, so who am I to delete it?

There was lots of “wildlife” in the lake — it looked mostly like released domestic pets: goldish, ducks, and we even saw a turtle.

Ruby and I walked around the edge of the lake to the other side, where there is a big monument and steps down to the water. There are also fountains splashing into the water and Chris threatened to get Lauren wet.

Lauren does not want to get wet!

Chris was no expert rower, and it seemed harder to navigate around these fountains. He ended up just getting himself wet!

I love the look on Chris’s face in this one (click on this medium sized picture to see the largest version).

Yes, that woman is riding a lobster. Tally-ho!

A beautiful day in Madrid. It’s so sweet to remember… the sun, the warm air, the good food…

There were only two swings at this little playground, and they were a hot commodity. We put both children in one swing, so as not to hog them all.