Magical Madrid

I woke up Tuesday morning in Barcelona, had breakfast at the hotel and made my way to the metro, as I would take this to a larger train station to board my train to Madrid. To make a long story short, it didn’t cross my mind that I would have to go through security and walk a ways to get to my second train, but I made it on with five minutes to spare. Definitely giving myself more time to get to the station and get settled next time around. There are a few train companies that service Barcelona to Madrid, I opted for the AVE train. It was a nice train and is arranged in a 2x2 layout with storage above just like a plane. I found my seat and sat down next to an old Spaniard man who was reading the newspaper. After a 2.5 hour journey, I made it to Madrid. The station I arrived to was a bit far from where I was staying, so I walked to the metro station from there and then took a metro to the stop closest to my hotel. Three different legs of train travel back-to-back, pretty impressive, right?

A big thank you to the credit card points for allowing me to stay at the Thompson Madrid, the nicest hotel I’ve been to. I felt in a weird way, guilty for receiving as good of service as I did.

A doorman opened the door and helped me inside, where I was then escorted to a lounge area in the lobby and greeted with a welcome drink of wine or orange juice, I opted for the OJ. Then, a welcome snack of Iberian ham or a croissant, which I chose the latter again. The check-in papers were then brought to me in my seat, and was told that they would get my room available as soon as possible. Check in was at 3 PM, but I had arrived around noon due to my train. I was planning on dropping my bags and going to explore, just as I had when I arrived to Barcelona early in the morning on Saturday, but again, kudos to the Thompson service, they were able to check me into a room almost 3 hours early, which was very nice. Even further, I was told that I was upgraded to a preferred room, basically meaning a better view (which was nothing crazy, but very much appreciated). I organized my bags, charged my phone for a bit, and was on my way to explore Madrid.

Day 1

My exploration began near my hotel where I headed to Puerta del Sol, this is also where the metro station I arrived was (Estación Sol). Puerta del Sol is one of the main center points of Madrid. I walked around for a bit and took a photo of the equestrian statue of Charles III. After a little stroll, I walked about five minutes over to Plaza Mayor (photo above), another center piece/square in Madrid. The outline of this square has a bunch of restaurants. Plaza Mayor is the site of many festivals and other events throughout the year in this city.

After exploring these two spots I headed to what was my restaurant for all three days in Madrid: Mercado de San Miguel. This indoor market had a wide variety of food & tapas to choose from. From fresh seafood and fish, to Spain classics like Iberian ham and paella. I did a loop of all the choices and opted for a warm lobster croissant.

This was one of the best things I have ever ate. The problem with normal lobster rolls is one, they’re cold, two, they’re drenched in mayo, and three, the bread is often hard. This croissant lobster creation solved all three of these problems, and it was incredible.

Following this lunch, I decided to aimlessly walk around and explore. Admiring again, the awesome European architecture. By chance, after walking for a while, I ended up at the entrance of El Retiro Park (Parque del Retiro) which was on my list of places to visit in Madrid. I was planning on spending a large chunk of time tomorrow exploring, but since I happened to end up at the entrance, I decided to do it now. The doorman at my hotel called El Retiro the “Central Park of Madrid.” El Retiro Park is a massive 350 acres and was created for the royal family between 1630-1640. It eventually became a public park in 1868. This park is absolutely gorgeous. From the lake in the middle, to the finely groomed landscaping, to the dirt trails in the trees, to the crystal palace, to the many fountains and sculptures, I could go on and on about this park. I envy those who live close to it, and get to walk around it often. I spent hours walking around this park taking it all in. It is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been, and a large part of why I would like to spend extended time in Madrid. I think one of my new life goals is to get a dog and spend my days in El Retiro Park.

After a few hours and many pictures, it was time to leave my favorite park. I went to a little stand right outside the market and bought tres aguas (three waters) before heading back on my way. Something very convenient about Spain was that all places accepted credit cards, including even the little stand on the side of the road that I went to. I was getting hungry on my walk back and still mouth watering from the lobster croissant, I went back to the market and got two more. Yes, they really were that good.

I eventually made my way back to the hotel and called it a successful first day in Madrid. Was not counting my steps/mileage, but am curious as to what those two metrics looked like.

I made it back to the hotel and got to use the shower for the first time. This was also incredible LOL. A huge rainfall shower head with good pressure and another shower head on the wall, I turned both of these on, and after a few minutes, realized that I had flooded half of the bathroom floor due to the handled shower head on the wall pointed straight at the shower door… whoops. Safe to say that was the last time that shower head was turned on, but it didn’t take away from the dreamy rainfall experience.

I hopped out, put on a robe, looked at myself in the mirror, took it off, then headed to bed.

Day 2

Day two in Madrid got off to a bit of a slow start, I stayed in bed for a bit then decided to get a little workout in. The hotel gym was the best I’ve seen in a hotel, and I had it all to myself, which was very nice. I finished a workout and headed back to the room to take a shower.

The day prior I had looked up restaurants near my hotel and had found a taco place place that had really good reviews. People saying that is was the best tacos they had ever have. I walked past it the day prior, and saw one of the longest lines I’ve ever seen out of the door, must be good. I saw that they opened at 1pm so I decided to head over for lunch around 1:30. Even then, there was a decent line waiting to order, but it moved pretty quickly. I got a few tacos and a quesadilla, and it was very good. It lived up to the hype.

Following this Mexican fiesta in Spain, I spent the day exploring Plaza España and Campo del Moro. Plaza España was another square in Madrid, close to the Royal Palace, with cool sites and statues. I walked around for a bit then headed over to Campo del Moro (photo below) which is another park, right next to the Royal palace.

Another large park that I spent a lot of time exploring and sitting down on a bench reflecting. It hit me here in this park what I had embarked on the past few days… flying to a brand new continent, completely alone. As someone eager to see the world, I am proud of myself for not letting not having someone to go with, hold me back.

After a reflection session, I walked around the exterior of the Royal Palace for a bit, as I would enter inside the next day. Seeing the magnitude of the palace, I was excited to see the inside.

Since I got off to a later start in the day, dinner time was approaching and I went to, guess where? Mercado San Miguel. This time though, I wanted to try Spain’s national dish: Paella. I started my dinner with a few tapas of sardines and salmon, which were very fresh and tasty. I then opted for a seafood paella, which consisted of the classic rice, what I think are mussels? Maybe a clam? And a prawn (which I had a very difficult time peeling). I like to try the national dishes of countries I go to, and glad I did, but paella is not my thing. It wasn’t bad, just not something I’d go out and order. I will say though, that it did fill me up. I got a fruit cup for dessert then headed back for the night. A big shoutout to the doorman at my hotel, he didn’t speak a ton of English, but he always made an effort to have a conversation with me every time I came in and out of the hotel. I put my Spanish and his English to the test and chatted about my day and my plans to see the Royal Palace tomorrow.

Day 3

After getting close to the Royal Palace the day prior at Campo Del Moro, I was really excited to go inside. I bought a ticket for the early time at 10:15 AM to try and beat the crowds there. Doing some research I found sites citing different dates when the palace was constructed, but they were all in the 18th century. The palace has 3,418 rooms, which is crazy. You are not allowed to take photos in the majority of rooms inside the palace, and they have people working in each room to ensure this. I believe a big reason of this is to prevent congestion, as everyone walks throughout the palace in narrow one-way hallways. I can’t imagine everyone having phones trying to take photos. Although, there was some really cool rooms that I would have liked to have a photo of, like the dining room. Where there was a massive table in the middle of a huge room. It was very cool and interesting to get an inside look (quite literally) of what life was like for those of royalty. It was high class.

Another really cool room/exhibit was the Royal armory. Where they had tons of knight armor, horse armor, and even armor for kids, which was interesting to see. Anyone into history would love this.

I bought my ticket in advance and bought one that gave me access to the royal palace as well as the “galería” which turned out to be another art museum. I actually spent a decent amount of time in here as they had some old cars and carriages which were cool to see, as well as an awesome exhibit called “The Cube.” Which is a square room with all four walls being massive screens that take you on a journey throughout Spain. Projecting on the entirety of the room the landscape/place you are standing in. Making it feel like you are in the middle of it. The slideshow seemed to never end, and I was in there for quite a long time.

Following my successful trip to the Royal Palace and the gallery, I had one final spot that I needed to go to in Madrid: Chocolatería San Ginés. Where since 1894, they have been serving famous “chocolate con churros” or chocolate with churros. Essentially churros that you dip into a thick hot chocolate. I am personally not a huge chocolate person, but these were very good. The chocolate was not super sweet, and the churros were very light. I was expecting them to be killed with sugar and cinnamon, but I don’t think they had any. Just a light dough, with a good tasting chocolate. I see why this is such a popular spot to visit, and wish I had gone the days prior in Madrid, so I could have gone multiple times.

A few closing thoughts

You might have read this and thought “Wow, Barcelona has so much more to see than Madrid.” When it comes to touristy things, you are right. But when it comes to an actual city to live in, Madrid easily takes the cake for me. Madrid is arguably my favorite city I have ever been to, it's a place I could see myself living. I love the architecture, the walkability, fresh market food, and of course, the parks to walk around in. Could easily see myself working my remote job and spending the rest of the day getting in a walk/run inside one of the many parks.

Another unique aspect of Spain versus other Spanish speaking countries (Latin America) is how you can fit in as an American. Throughout my time in Spain, even boarding my United flight, I was addressed to first in Spanish. The people of Spain are diverse in terms of look, so to really figure out if someone is native, you need them to open their mouth and speak. I enjoyed not sticking out as the “gringo tourist” like in other places of Latin America.

I enjoyed Spain and am eager to go back. Being one of the largest countries in Europe, there is a lot more to explore.

Until next time... See you in the next adventure.