Madrid: Flamenco Dancing

Nightlife in Madrid was my favorite. Tucked away in this area of the city known as the Huertas barrio are tons of local live-music establishments. Most are famous for their jazz music and flamenco dancing, so we perched ourselves at Cardamomo for a show.

Madrid: Museo del Jamon

Marc and I watched Andrew Zimmerman describe the "must eats" of Spain before I left and I promised Marc I would seek out a Museo del Jamon (a Ham Museum-basically). They specialize in ham, ham, and more ham. So Arianne and I tried some.

Madrid: Around Town

We ate dinner with the locals, which ended up being between 11pm and 1am each night.



One of the first nights we ate, we decided to simply order randomly from the menu. This is what showed up on one of the plates!



And yes, we ate a little of it. Not bad, despite how it looked!





As you walk through Madrid, you will randomly come upon huge plazas. Each is lined with restaurants and vendors. Great for people-watching and relaxing.









This is the Kilometre Zero, a point of reference for measurement throughout the city.

Madrid: Exploring on Foot

We spent the first afternoon exploring Madrid on foot. We visited the Parque del Retiro and saw a number of monuments and Madrilenos enjoying and afternoon in the sun.



The Crystal Palace



Jenny and Arianne enjoying a back and foot rub...became the sight of interest for a bus of tourists. ;)

Plaza de Oriente - Royal Palace aspiring to be the Spanish Versailles at one point in time.

Our hotel in Madrid

Vacation Pictures

I posted a bunch of vacation pictures below...just learning how to organize the blog-thing...so hopefully this worked and they are in some sense of order. Hope everyone is having a fantastic 2008! M&M

Day Trip to St. John

Taxi Ride




Our "quick side trip" which turned into a 4 mile, uphill hike through the National Park to see the "petroglyphs."





Salt Pond



Red Hook Harbor where we caught the ferry.

Out and About at Our Hotel: Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort

Our beach:


Voodoo Juice...available by the bucket only. :)




Cruise ships passed directly by our hotel window




Marc and his wonderful trivia skills won us a bottle of rum.






Iguanas