My husband, two teenaged daughters and I returned to NYC just before New Year's Eve from a week-long vacation in Madrid.

We had a wonderful time: we visited major tourist sites such as the three top art museums (the Prado, the Museum Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Reina Sofia), along with the Museo Sorolla (a museum in the artist's former mansion). We spent Christmas Day walking the grounds of the beautiful Parque del Retiro, and our last day poking around City Hall and the huge flea market El Rastro. We admired various monuments and statues, squares and houses of worship and the Centro Sefarad-Israel. We traveled on the subway trains and walked a great deal.

The weather was warmer and drier than what we would have experienced in NYC that week, and often the streets seemed just as crowded as those in Times Square and other hot-spots in Manhattan. Overall there was a festive feeling throughout the city; locals and tourists alike had the holiday spirit.

I had been to Madrid twice before: in February 1992, and July 1995, both times with friends my age. As I walked around Madrid in 2019, I was shocked by how little I remembered the city. My deep memories (not just semi-memorized lists of seeing this and that) seemed to be scattered, truly bits and pieces. Among the few things I recalled vividly and once again experienced with wonder was the Tio Pepe neon sign that dominates the Puerta del Sol. Seeing the Opera House (Teatro Real) also triggered happy memories for me. Certain paintings in the museums I recalled with delight, such as the "Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch. But so much of this current trip seemed new to me, or not what I had expected.

But that's okay. I enjoyed my encounters with art, the outdoor scene, and the food. We ate twice at the Market of San Miguel, a historic food and drink marketplace where delicious tapas, scrumptious baked goods, and quality wines could compose a memorable lunch or dinner. 

All throughout Madrid, we saw holiday decorations, and particularly at night, we appreciated the colorful light displays and Christmas trees. 

The few things I would critique are too many smokers and so many dog walkers who don't do an adequate job cleaning up dog poop. Subway trains are frequent and efficient, but the cars don't have enough horizontal bars for commuters to grab, so people would clump by the doors. 

We felt safe and secure mostly, but at the Bet Yaakov synagogue, security was very strict. We had to answer several questions about religion to show our bona fides, in addition to having our possessions screened, in order to attend a weekday religious service. What with global anti-Semitism on the rise, this made sense.

I communicated in English and Spanish (learned in school). People were polite if busy. We had a lovely time here. But my past impressions were inadequate to what I experienced.