As we approached the Temple complex, this is the view we first saw. It was a lovely, peaceful feeling to see the Temple in such beautiful surroundings. The red brick building in the background is the MTC and also houses a distribution center and a hostle for Temple workers and patrons. There is also a stake center in the complex.
This picture was taken from the 6th floor of the MTC building where the cafeteria is. It was wonderful to go there every day and feel the spirit of the missionaries and President and Sister Hill, the MTC President. We ate most of our meals with them and enjoyed watching General Conference, two sessions live. 
This is one of the statues on the Temple grounds. The flowers and landscaping were just wonderful to see.
There were flowerbeds like this one all over the grounds and tall everygreen trees everywhere. We spent all day Tuesday in the Temple doing work for two of Rick's great, great grandfathers and an ancestor of Marcia Sperry. That made our trip all the more enjoyable.Sightseeing in Madrid
This archway gate was where our tour started.
We can't remember what all the buildings were, but loved the architecture and the way they are preserved.
This is an apartment building. We decided we could live there and enjoy it quite well!
The courtyard of the Royal Palace. It has been here for centuries and has been added to over the years. The interior is so lavish and ornate, it is hard to imagine the time and labor involved. Most of the the ceilings are painted with murals. The Persian rugs and silk damask draperies and wall coverings are just magnificent. There were rooms for displaying the royal china, silver and crystal. It was fun to see, but not quite our style.
Looking behind us across the other end of the courtyard is the Royal Cathedral. It was being refurbished so we couldn't go in to see it.
There were beautiful, huge fountains everywhere in the city.
The Prado Museum of Modern Art. The other end of the building looks the same. There are statues down both sides.
This gift shop was across the street from the Prado and we loved the manequins on the second floor which is a theater. The shop gives discounts to missionaries and we were able to buy a Lladro nativity set which was on sale.
A display window of the gift shop caught our eye. It looked very real, with life-sized manequins. It was such a fun trip and one we will treasure as a highlight of our mission experience.
2 comments:
Last Christmas there was a Lladro nativity set in one of the local Salt Lake stores. It was gorgeous -I am very "jealous" because it was not on sale and we did not get it !!!! Enjoy. No matter where you go there is something extra special about the Lord's house and you can feel it just walking by. How often do you need to go to Spain to deal with your visas?
Loved seeing your visit to Madrid. What a beautiful city! Especially loved seeing the temple. How special for you and Rick. It was fun to read about your Moscow trip, too. We loved going there. Were you surprised at the inside of St. Basil's? I thought it would be more open and less confusing. We still enjoyed the little winding stair cases and rooms.
Kathy
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