My Switzerland Adventures: Dad visits and Madrid!

Well, for those of you that don't know...My Dad was originally scheduled to visit me in December, but there were some complications and he wasn't able to make it. I was very much looking forward to seeing him, so I was a little down when he wasn't able to come and I know he was too. Anyway, it turns out that he was able to plan another trip out to see me. He came to Switzerland in late January and spent about a week here. Unfortunately, the airline lost his luggage, and he had only the clothes he was wearing. Thankfully, they were able to locate the suitcase and ship it to our hotel in Geneva, so he was without his suitcase for just one day. He was only able to see one of my matches against a lower ranked team in our league. BUT, my coach gave us 2 days off that weekend and we were able to book a flight to Madrid, Spain! I was very excited because I had been to Barcelona and loved it, so I thought Madrid would be a neat place to visit as well. We stayed in Geneva the night before we flew to Madrid, so I was able to show him around a little. Everything was smooth sailing on the way to Madrid until we had a make an emergency landing for a passenger that had a medical problem. We had to land in Toulouse, France, for about 45 minutes before we were en route to Madrid. We arrived in Madrid around siesta time, so almost everything was closed. We found a Hard Rock Cafe and had a good meal and some drinks. After, we walked around all of the big plazas and stopped periodically for drinks or a snack. We found this neat tapas market that had everything you could imagine...olives, fruit, potatoes, bread, seafood, meat, desserts, and bars that served a sorts of different drinks. It was a food lover's paradise where you could sample little bits of delicious food. The next day, we woke up early and walked all over Madrid. Unfortunately, it was Monday, and all of the big museums were closed. But, we were still able to see and do lots of things like taking a stroll in Retiro Park, visit the Palacio Real, Plaza Mayor, and walk around the streets of Madrid. We made a stop in Plaza Mayor where there was a headless street performer, needless to say...I had to take a picture with him haha. I've seen all sorts of street acts here in Europe, but this was the first headless one, so it was a must! We also sat down outside at a restaurant called Las Cuevas and enjoyed a nice late lunch, where we shared a pitcher of sangria and some good food. Later that night, we asked our hotel for dinner recommendations and we figured we'd have to walk pretty far, which was perfectly ok with us. Luckily, he said that the best seafood restaurant in all of Madrid was just 2 doors down. We went and checked it out...and it was the real deal. It had all of the fresh seafood displayed in the entrance and had waiters everywhere. We sat down and must of had 3 different people helping us throughout dinner. There was even a designated wine server that would refill your glass after a few sips. We had some soup, salad, and sauteed shrimp to start. When our fish was ready, the waiter presented it to us and then proceeded to de-bone the entire thing before setting the plate in front of us. The fish was probably the best fish we've ever had! We had such a nice dinner, indulging in good cuisine and conversation. After dinner, we took the metro into downtown and walked to San Gines Chocolateria. This place is famous for serving chocolate con churros. We sat down and split 1 order, we dipped the churros in the chocolate, which was like hot pudding. It was so tasty! It was a great way to spend our last night in Madrid :) My Dad and I enjoyed Madrid so much, but had to head back to Geneva the next morning. He spent a few days in Switzerland, mainly just hanging out and watching some of my practices, before he headed back home. It was so nice to see my Dad...as I haven't had anyone close to me come visit this season.