We embarked on a mega-walk today through many lovely Madrid neighborhoods. We stopped for amazing chocolate dipped churros, lots of people watching, and pauses in the shade. (Have I mentioned the blazing summer heat?)

Eventually, we made our way to the Royal Palace where we had 4:30 tickets. After running into one of my students in the plaza, we wended our way through the security line only to learn that our tickets were for tomorrow. They wouldn’t budge. Fortunately, we are on vacation, so who cares? We’ll try again tomorrow.

It was a great adventure, but after more than 20,000 steps, we were worn out by the time we got home.