Espadrillos y palacios

Today we got up to eat breakfast and we were off to the prado museum
and a little shop we had seen the night before. The shop sold
espadrillos, or little handmade slip-on shoes that TOMS are based on.
The Prado museum was great! We focused mostly on the Spanish art,
including artists like Velasquez and Goya. It was cool to see all the
great paintings, and since there were so many, we could also see
transitions in painting styles. After the museum, we went to the
espadrillo shop and it was closed for siesta. To kill the time, we
went to the royal palace and walked though all the rooms and the
armory. It was a relatively new palace, built in the mid 18th century.
Not to be deterred, we finally bought our espadrillos. They were €8,
the cheapest shoes I've bought for a while, and they are pretty
stylish and comfy.

When we were almost back at the hotel, we walked by an old man with
some drawings laid out, and when I looked at his face I just felt like
I really needed to do something for him. My first reaction was to buy
something from him, but I was reminded of a very important lesson by
my wonderful fiancé. Although we put so much emphasis on money in our
daily lives, it is not the only way (or even the best way) to help
people. We decided instead to go around the corner and say a prayer
for the man. That God would be his provider, and that he could see and
feel God's loving grace in his life. We must remember that God can
provide so much more than we can, and that when we need something, we
need to go to Him for it.

Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 5:30am to head for PARIS! I am very
excited, we get to spend the better part of four days there! We will
keep blogging along the way, and we hope yall are enjoying being along
on the ride with us!

Tommy
6/26/09 7:45pm Madrid