VilendezWho Dey
Four days in Madrid for Dad's 65th — Bengals against the Falcons at the Bernabéu.
Vilendez 65
vs
Sesentacinco.
Sixty-five felt too big for a card and a meal down the road. So we did something else: four days, all of us together, somewhere none of us have been — in a city that stays up late and doesn't mind if you do too.
Madrid in November — cold, clear mornings and long amber evenings.
Wide squares, tiled bars, plates arriving before you've asked for them. One night we eat at Botín, the oldest restaurant in the world, going since 1725 — and walk home the long way afterwards, because that's what you do there.
Then Sunday. The NFL plays only a handful of games outside America all season, and this one lands at the Santiago Bernabéu — Real Madrid's ground, 78,000 seats, a roof that closes over your head. The Bengals' first game ever outside the States, against the Falcons. Stripes in the middle of Spain, and you in the stands for it.
Then Monday, and nobody sets an alarm. Coffee somewhere in the sun, one last walk around the square, and the rest of the birthday is yours to spend exactly how you want before we fly home.
Happy 65th, Dad.
Para papá · Noviembre 2026