That time we saw the Holy Grail...

and didn’t really realize it...😂

We started our day in the food court of El Corte Inglés with a cafe con leche and a palmera...coffee and a donut a la España. Headed out for the tourist office and on the way, found the tourist train/trolley and hopped on.

After the train, it was siesta time, so we grabbed some lunch and then headed over to the Basilica of San Isidoro. The lady said that the tour was at 4, so we arrived then and took a tour.

(Luckily we did...because the basilica closed early today. They never mentioned that when we asked about the hours after siesta. There are a few truths about Spain: 1) The stores, etc, will open later than expected and close earlier than expected. 2) Sometimes stores won’t open after siesta at all. 3) Dinners, drinks, and tapas will last longer than expected as the wait staff is trained to ignore you for hours. 4) If there is a potty available, it will lack paper, a toilet seat, or maybe a light. This ain’t Germany, people.)

Our tour guide at the basilica was a marvel. She had the most monotone voice we’ve ever heard. Melinda said, “I missed some because her voice would drop off.” Maria laughed, “it was YOU dropping off...that was a great meditation class!”

We toured the basilica starting with THE chalice. It turns out that a Spanish historian determined it to be the cup used by Jesus in the last supper...the Holy Grail! Our tour guide had absolutely no affect in her voice or manner, so although Melinda understood all of her words, she didn’t realize that this was THE chalice...THE Holy Grail.

Zip it, non believers. According to us we have 1) hugged a Saint, 2) kissed the True Cross and 3) seen the Holy Grail. We are kind of big deals now.

The rest of the basilica contains some of my the best preserved frescos from the 11th century and a 7th century Arabic weather vane. It was also the seat of the earliest parliamentary democracy...in the 12th century.

We left the basilica and started tapas hopping. You buy a drink, you get a snack for free. We varied between sangria, martinis, and red wine. Now to bed😜. We threw some gelato in for good measure. This is the thing about being adults. We can do whatever we want. Ice cream and martinis for dinner it is!😂Read more