Day 16: Family Hike

Danny petting the foal

Since we had just arrived back in Madrid from Marbella, our Spanish Families decided that we should do something together before the kids started their first week of school. So we went on a day hike!!!

Paloma, Pilar, Jaime, Marta, Lucas, Anna, Danny, Lucas, Angela, and Alvaro

Lizzy and I were totally in our element- it was so nice to get outside and up in the mountains again.  We took two cars up into the hills not too far from Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama Hills. The cars took us quite far up the mountain as we passed mountain bikers and other hikers. When we stopped the cars, we were immediately greeted by two HUGE horses, a mare and a foal. They were definitely wild horses, and we had to dodge their poop here and their along the trail. The kids were so funny- mine seems absolutely terrified of them. Lizzy's kids were a bit more brave and got pretty close to them. The horses were hysterical- they came right up to me and sniffed my hand. The kids were shocked.

We went on maybe a 45 minute walk out to this cliff that overlooked the Valley of the Fallen.

FUN FACT #22: The Valley of the Fallen is about 3,400 acres of land that contains a basilica, an abbey, and a 500 foot tall monument that was erected to memorialize those who died during the Spanish Civil War. The idea was conceived by General Francisco Franco and started being built in 1940 and was finished in 1959.

Anna and Lizzy

FUN FACT #23: Franco's body rests in the basilica in the Valley of the Fallen. He is the only person interred in the Valley that did not die during the Civil War.

When we got to the overlook, we were really struck by how huge the monument was. The 500 foot cross was hard to miss while driving on the high way, and as we hiked closer to it, we realized just how far away it really was. We climbed rocks with the kids and then we had lunch with our families.

Then Lizzy and I decided to teach the kids how to play "Kick the Can". I won't explain how to play, because if you don't know, then we can't be friends.

Me with Marta, Lucas, and Lucas.

Soon enough my family had to get back to the city for a birthday party, so I stuck around with Lizzy's family. Lizzy and I went off on our own for a bit and hiked up some ridiculously high rocks. It was beautiful sitting up there. We were able to see Lizzy's family hiking down the path far below us and we scampered down the rocks back to the car and hit the road back to Madrid.