Our flight from Palma was short - a hop up and a glide down.  We breezed through security with only a minor checking of Princess' passport copy. My dear brother Gabriel de las Heras met us outside baggage claim and soon we were catching up on the way to his parents' house for lunch.  I had not seen Gabi for two years, and we haven't done much chatting since.  I specifically cancelled all of my other plans in Spain so that we could spend more time together.  Lunch at the de las Heras household is always fun, no matter if you speak Spanish or not.  Both Gabi and I acted as translators for Princess, with Patxi and Isabel (Gabi's father and mother) doing their best to interject some English when they felt comfortable.  Lunch this day was quite simple, which made it all the more better.  Steamed broccoli, carrots and potatoes to start, with chicken cutlets to finish.  Included was the compulsory Rioja with lunch and cafe con leche with dessert.

After lunch (and Princess' mandatory siesta), we dropped our bags off at Gabi's apartment and then headed out into Madrid for a walking tour.  We saw a fountain, one that Gabi himself had not yet seen (well, at least not up close...he'd apparently attended many parties in the adjacent park).  We then headed up the Gran Via - by far Madrid's busiest street.  Gran Via is packed at all hours of the day, including early morning, and I don't just mean with cars.  It's a lot like Times Square in NYC.
With that, Gabi took Princess and I to one of his favorite bars for a bocadillo de calamares and a small beer.  Bocadillos de calamares are an absolute must eat in Madrid, despite there not being a beach within 300km.  We did our best to get lost walking back to the car, and then drove all around Madrid for the driving tour.  Gabi showed us the Museo del Prado, the Puerta de Alcala, the Atocha train station, the catedral and the Palacio Real, the should-be-but-really-isn't home of Spanish royalty.
Princess and I were pretty worn out by 2300, so Gabi drove us to Majadahonda to pick up his girlfriend Ines and then grab some late night grub at one of the better local restaurants.
The next day, Princess and I started off with a short 3km jog in the mist, and then Gabi and Ines and the travelers headed out to El Escorial.  El Escorial is on the outskirts of Madrid, and is a combination of many things: a school, a convent, a museum and the final resting place for the royal family.  We toured the facility, sans pictures of course, and then grabbed a late (read 1600) lunch.  We went back to Gabi's for a siesta...which turned into a lazy afternoon and a quiet nite in.
Thursday was a light day for us, heading into Madrid on the Metro while Gabi headed off to work at the TV station.  We went to the Museo del Prado to see my favorite painting, the Jardin de las Delicias (Garden of Earthly Delights) by El Bosco. We toured around inside, stopping to see some Goya and Velazquez works of art, and then headed out when our brains were overloaded with art (there really is such a thing as too much).  We brought lunch with us - two sandwiches of chorizo and salchichon with young manchego and some strawberry yogurt in a bottle.  We fed a bit of the bread to some birds in passing, and then headed over to the Thyssen museum for a much-recommended viewing of more art.  We chose to only see the Lagrimas of Eros (Tears of Eros) exposition, for we wanted to keep our costs down, but regretted it at the end as there wasn't much of a lasting effect.  The storyline was of how the feelings of love and ecstasy similarly mimic pain and death, but I can't really say too much because I didn't really learn too much.

Princess and I took off running from the Thyssen to get home in time to make dinner.  As all you Americans know, the last Thursday in November is Thanksgiving.  We had pretty much resolved to ignore it this year, given the almost certain absence of the same sentiments, but our hosts pushed us and prodded us and we gave in to cooking it.  I handled the chicken (not much turkey in Spain at this time of year), filling it with garlic and baking for 2 hours. Princess picked out her own stuffing recipe, with hand-ripped pan de pueblo and she and Ines combined to make the mashed potatoes.  In between basting sessions, Gabi and I called home to California so he could talk to Mom and Dad, something he had not done in nearly ten years.  We finished off the meal with chicken gravy and then sat down to wow our hosts.  Gabi had had Thanksgiving in California in 1997, but hadn't had much of the American cuisine since.

Ines was very new to the process and she loved every minute.  We told her to have a small lunch so that she could afford full servings of chicken, stuffing and potatoes, and after dinner she was very glad to have limited her portions all day.  I had never roasted a whole chicken by myself before, and Princess wasn't sure if she could make edible stuffing, so we were quite scared of the unknown results.  However, when both Gabi and Ines told us that they could smell our wonderful product from one floor down and in the garage, well, we smiled big.  It was one of the best meals I have ever made, and sharing it with friends and family alike (as well as on Skype) made the night so much better.

We went to bed way too late on Thursday to do anything productive on Friday, so we vegged ALL day.  We went into Madrid in the evening to pick up our outbound train tickets, met Gabi at his and Ines' TV station for a quick tour, and then went back to Boadilla del Monte for dinner.
Saturday morning was similarly productive as the day before, save for a midmorning jog by yours truly.  We headed over to Patxi and Isabel's for homemade Paella for lunch, and there Princess met more family members.  Tio Nacho finally found his way home, Paula and Asis were off work and brother Nacho returned that morning from a month-long trip to Australia.  That afternoon was all about siestas.  Princess and I watched Die Hard 5 and then she was about to watch Transformers when the Valencia soccer match came on.  Of course, that took precedent over everything with Patxi having been born in the Valencia community, and we watched the first half before running into Madrid for a night of tapas. 
We were a party of eight running loose through Madrid, though that's really not possible because everyone else in Madrid was doing the same thing.  We were only slightly packed at the first few bars, but that last few were quite horrible.  It was all push and shove to find space and then push and shove some more to keep the space.  That's the way, uh huh, we like it...

Sunday, oddly enough, went the same as the previous two mornings.  We all rose at around noon, had a glass of ColaCao to get things started, and then headed back over to Patxi and Isabel's for lunch.  This day was much more special than any other, as it was the celebration of Patxi's 69th birthday.  All the kids were in house, and all the kids' kids, too.  Princess and I had met Carlos and Silvia and Eduardo and Ignacio on Tuesday, and they were back for us all to play with.

There were plates upon plates of meats and cheese, followed by bottle after bottle of Rioja and Ribera del Duero.  Lunch was a seafood torte followed by prime rib, two cakes trailing.  The necessary siesta hour followed, and then Princess and I ran home to pack our bags.  We returned to the house forty minutes later to watch the Classic Real Madrid - Barcelona match with all of the family, which Barcelona won 1-0.  After the match we said our goodbyes and departed by train for la France.