First we had a visit from our friends from high school, Jacqui & Allen. Jacqui & I were in each other's weddings and I think we´ve known each other since we were in 4th grade! We were laughing because, although they live in Houston, we only made it down to see them once and they never made it up to see us in Dallas. But we got to see them in Madrid!! (how much more fun than either Houston or Dallas?!?) Allen comes to Madrid frequently for business, so Jacqui got to tag along this time. They came over to our house for lunch Sunday (where I managed to forgeFirst we saw our friends from hight to take any pictures at all!) and then Jacqui & I ran around Madrid on Monday while the guys worked. We went downtown to see the Oso y El Madrono (the bear) in the Puerta del Sol and then walked over to the Plaza Mayor. We wanted to go see the Royal Palace, but we didn't have enough time to wait in the line before I had to go pick Katie up from school. So instead, we went into the Catedral de la Almudena that is just across the courtyard from the palace. We had never been in it before, so it was fun to see it. 
The stained glass and other decorations were very colorful and modern - very different than most of the churches we've seen. 
We enjoyed the view of Madrid from the top of the Cathedral and got to see a nice view of the Royal Palace & its courtyard. (this last picture) This cathedral is rather new, but there was a royal wedding there not too long ago so that raised its stature :-)
Then on Tuesday, my friend, Tracy came for a visit! We have had this on the calendar since we moved to Madrid, and I still can't really believe her visit has come and gone. But it was such a sweet time to show her our world and to have lots of girl time! Sadly, I just realized that all of the pics of us in Madrid are on her camera... so I guess you'll just have to imagine us :-). We enjoyed a slow day on Tuesday with the highlight being a visit to our local grocery store :-). And yes, she did enjoy it! :-) Then Wednesday we went downtown to see the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor. We also got to eat lunch in the beautiful Parque Retiro next to the lake. (I'll really have to post pics later...)Then on Thursday, Tracy & I headed off to London! It was really a treat. We started off by seeing the Lion King at the theatre. It was amazing! Some very creative person came up with some really wonderful costumes to makes humans look just like animals! We were really impressed and know that our kids would have loved it (though with all the scary hyenas, Katie will have to wait a few years!)
Then Friday morning we set off to see Buckingham Palace. Our hotel was in a GREAT location, within easy walking distance to most of what we wanted to see. (this benefit made up for its lack of cleanliness!) It was really cool to see where the Queen lives. We did not get to see the changing of the guard because they don´t do that every day during the non-summer months. (Coincidentally, Jacqui & Allen were also in London while we were there and they got to see the changing of the guard on Saturday!) We did get to see some of the guards with their funny hats - and they marched around a little bit for us :-)
Then we headed off for Westminster Abbey. It is really difficult to describe our experience there. It was truly unforgettable. I have not been in a church in Europe that so clearly glorifies God in all they do. True, there are many monuments to many famous people, both kings and queens and other notables, but the focus is on God throughout the Abbey. They pause to pray - out loud! - every hour and we were moved to hear them praying for our US elections among other concerns in the world. It was amazing to realize that it is not just Christians and people in the US who are praying for God´s hand on our country, but Christians all around the world. Several times in the audio guide, they played various hymns praising God. It was very moving to hear that glorious music in such a glorious place. It was just amazing how they make sure to remind people of their primary goal: yes, they are a major tourist attraction, but their goal is to worship and glorify God. It was way cool. We also had the privilege to attend a Communion service in the Abbey. I don´t know that I can express how meaningful it was to share in that experience. Growing up in a Bible church, only recently have I learned more about the great traditions of our faith in the liturgical calendar and prayers. We have such a rich heritage of faith to draw on!
After collecting ourselves from our emotional experience, we then went to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. They are beautiful! Huge and majestic!
Our last destination of the day was to see the Tower of London. We had been told by the receptionist at our hotel that we shouldn´t take the metro anywhere, that we could easily walk to all the places where we wanted to go. So we looked on the map and set out to go to London Bridge, where the Tower of London is. Except that we were a bit mistaken... the Tower of London is not exactly at London Bridge - it is quite a bit farther! After walking briskly for 30 minutes, we saw a sign saying it was 25 more minutes to get to the Tower of London - but at that point we were too stubborn to quit our quest! :-) So yes, we walked a whole hour to get to the Tower of London! Tracy even wore holes in her brand new socks b/c we walked so much! Ah, dedication :-) 
Once we got there, we really enjoyed our visit. :-) The Tower of London was very interesting: it used to be a royal residence, a prison, site of many executions, the royal zoo - it has a very interesting history! We really enjoyed learning about the history of the Tower. It is also the current location of the Crown Jewels. They were really beautiful. One royal scepter has a 500+ carat diamond in it! Quite sparkly :-) They also had the royal crowns and other amazing jewels. They had a movie of the Queen's coronation playing in the entry rooms, so it was very cool to see the Queen use these jewels and then get to see them in person. And yes, we decided to take the metro back to the hotel :-). To top off our amazing visit, we got to go shopping on Saturday. What a treat! It was a really cool trip :-) We are soooo grateful to our wonderful husbands for enabling all this fun :-)
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