Today is our first day overseas on this trip! After heading to our hotel, we promptly took a long nap. (I like to think of it as our first siesta.) After waking up, we took a Rick Steves self-guided walking tour of the area around Puerta del Sol, stopping to pick up some pastries that he recommended along the way.

After the walk, we had tapas and beers at several tapas places near the Prado before heading back to the hotel to go to sleep. Tomorrow, we hope to see the National Palace and the Prado Museum.

After packing up our bags, we walked around downtown to find some Chicago hot dogs and Chicago mix popcorn for lunch. We got a bit lost and departed for the airport about a half hour later than expected. Luckily, our flight was delayed for about an hour, so we didn’t miss our flight and had ample time to relax in the airport lounge prior to departure.

For brunch, we ate at The Purple Pig, one of the top rated restaurants near our hotel according to Yelp. The bone marrow smear was particularly fatty and delicious. After eating, we rushed down to Navy Pier to catch a show, Cirque Shanghai. The show involved feats of acrobatics performed by people possibly from Shanghai and was surprisingly entertaining.

After resting a while at the hotel, we headed to Morton’s Steakhouse for happy hour bar bites and cocktails. Tomorrow, we are taking the red eye to Madrid!