We planned our second day in Madrid to be incredibly low key. We started our morning exploring in Retiro Park. This was the perfect way to start the day after a long travel day. No agenda, just wandering around, letting our two year old explore.

This park had multiple playgrounds, which was perfect. We could spend some time at one, go explore more in the park, and then bounce over to another one.

Our favorite by far was one on the eastern side of the park, with multiple slides and climbing apparatuses. It was also packed with pigeons, and my kid's favorite thing was running around chasing them yelling, "I'm coming for you birdies."

He terrorized the pigeons of Madrid, and Ben and I could not stop laughing at how much joy he got from running after them and then watching them fly away.

The other incredibly cool part about this playground was that there were randomly peacocks walking through it. I have never seen a peacock in the wild, and these ones let us get decently close to them without spooking. None of them opened their feathers, but it was still really cool to be so close to them and see how vibrantly colored they were.

We spent time checking out the lake, fountains and other gardens scattered throughout the park until our stomachs started to growl and we left to find some lunch.

Our post-lunch plan was to visit the Prado.

I'm not normally a huge art museum kind of person, but my middle school art teacher spent years teaching us about the Spanish masters, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see some of their works in person.

The museum was definitely crowded, and we kept our visit short and fairly focused on a few pieces I really wanted to see because art museums aren't the most interesting thing to a toddler.

No pictures from inside, but when I got off the elevator and the doors opened right onto Las Meninas, I was a little bit awestruck.

We wandered around the second floor and hit some more Velazquez and El Greco pieces before heading downstairs to see Goya and his dark paintings.

AFter nap time, we met up with our friend at another playground in the city before heading to a tapas bar for dinner.

It was a perfect day of easing into the city.

Last month, we took our first European vacation as a family of three. Before we had kids, we knew we wanted to figure out how to keep going on adventures together, but I'll be honest, long flights and jetlag with a toddler made me more than a little nervous.

But when a travel deal hit my inbox for direct flights to Madrid for $350, I knew we had to snatch them up. We have a friend living there, and it seemed crazy not to leap at the chance to go visit. 

So we bought tickets and travel insurance (because LOL toddler illness), and found an amazing 1-bedroom apartment in the heart of Madrid that provided a crib and had a kitchen and a washer and dryer (because toddler messes), and off we went. 

We had an overnight flight on the way there, and while I can never sleep on planes, I was really hoping the overnight flight, white noise from the plane and the fact that our kid could lay across the seats, would combine to create a decent environment for sleep. But alas, the excitement of being on a flight and all the new things were too much! We only got two hours of child sleep on the way there and one hour on the way back. The flights were 7.5ish hours on the way over and 9ish on the way back. So that was a lot of switching activities for entertainment.

Luckily, between the books and toys we packed and watching the plane's path on the seat back screen we had all the entertainment he needed. I had been so worried about the long time needing to be still, but it really wasn't an issue. 

When we landed in Madrid, it took us a long time to get from the plane, through customs, to our luggage to finally, finally the Metro to take us to our hotel. It was definitely trying all of our patience, and I'm sure the exhaustion didn't help. 

But we made it eventually, dropped off our luggage, and set out to walk around the city and find some food before we could officially check-in. 

For me, this is the hardest part of any European trip -- needing to power through with no sleep until you can collapse into bed later. 

We had planned a very mellow day, not knowing how any of us would respond to the travel. 

Luckily the weather in Madrid was beautiful. Sunny and in the low 50s. We took a long meandering walk around the city, stopping to view the Christmas trees in Puerto del Sur and Plaza Mayor. 

We grabbed a snack in a food hall that was just opening its doors for the day. 

And we popped into some churches and bought cookies from cloistered nuns. 

We made our way over toward the Royal Palace and the massive cathedral right next door. 

During all this walking and pushing the stroller around, we thought for sure our kiddo would fall asleep. But no luck, so we made a stop at a playground to let him run around a bit. 

While we were on the west side of the city, I had hoped to check out the artwork in the church where Goya is buried, but it was under construction. So we strolled over to the Temple de Debod, and somewhere around there we had a sleeping toddler in the stroller. 

It was 1 p.m. Spain time. Ben and I stopped to get paella for lunch before checking into the hotel. 

After getting settled, we made a quick grocery run for some basics, took much needed showers and we all passed out -- until about midnight, when the jetlag hit us all. We were up for about three hours with a toddler running around the apartment. After letting him burn some energy, we redid bedtime and got him back to sleep, and Ben and I quickly passed out again ourselves. 

That was the only night our kid had jetlag issues. I had been really nervous that we'd struggle with this throughout the whole trip, but we never did. We let ourselves sleep in a bit the following morning, and after that, we adapted to a pretty solid schedule that worked for us and for Spain's traditionally late dinner times.

Most days, we slept in until 8 or 8:30, nap time was in the stroller or back at the apartment depending on our day between 2 and 3 p.m. Woke up from nap time around 4:30 or 5 and that set us up for an afternoon that better aligned with Spanish dinner time. Kiddo bedtime was sometime between 8:30 and 9. It all worked surprisingly well. 

We had a great week doing a mix of tourism, visiting our friend and a mix of many playgrounds. More to come on our daily adventures, but overall this trip went better than I could have ever hoped, and it boosted my confidence we can go on more adventures like this in the future. 

For nearly two decades, I ran in a moderate stability shoe. Through multiple fittings and foot analyses over the years, I was always directed to the same type of shoe, and in fact, I became a brand loyalist swearing by my Mizuno Wave Inspires (this post is from 2012 lol). 

I ran four marathons and countless half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks and all the training miles that go into those races wearing the same shoe style. 

And then I got pregnant, and my feet changed. 

First I thought it was just a sizing thing. So I bumped up a half size, and then another half size. And that seemed to help in my running shoes. 

But I also wore a pair of custom running inserts in my non-running shoes because it makes them so much more comfortable to walk around in. Because my arch had flattened some and my feet had lengthened, my custom inserts no longer fit. 

It had been on my to-do list forever to get a new pair if insoles made, and finally during my time off in between jobs, I had the chance to do it.

I went over to Road Runner Sports for a new foot analysis to get properly sized insoles. My plan was to just get the insoles. I didn't need new running shoes. My current pair were in fine shape. 

But then the analysis came back showing something unexpected. Not only had my foot gotten longer, my pronation wasn't really a thing anymore. I was shocked. Nearly 20 years needing the same style shoe, I just assumed it's what I would always need. 

I think my mouth was literally hanging open in the running store because I was so surprised. The tech I was working with told me this actually wasn't uncommon. While we waited for the insoles to finish setting, I tried on several pairs of neutral running shoes. He pulled a ton of different models and styles. 

I tried on my very first pair of Hokas. I know so many people who love them, but they weren't for me. I really liked a pair of Brooks and a pair of Ascics that I tried. Running around the store in them felt so good. 

I ended up walking out of the store with my new insoles and a pair of Asics Novablasts. 

I've been running in the new shoes for about two months now, and I cannot believe how quickly I've adapted to neutral running shoes. My feet feel weirdly free to move in a more comfortable way. The only thing I noticed the day after my first run is that my ankle tendons and muscles were a little tired -- probably from working a bit harder to stabilize me without the aid of the stability shoes. 

But that was a one time thing, and now if I slide into a pair of my old shoes just to go for a quick walk I really notice the difference. It's almost uncomfortable and feels like something is pushing my heel in a funny direction. 

I will be curious how things go longer term with neutral shoes, especially given my injury history because of my loose joints (and spending months and months in PT leading up to and during the early parts of my pregnancy to help build stability in my legs).