Another late post.
I know, I know. I’m sorry.
So what to do in Madrid for 28 hours??
In early June, I was blessed with the opportunity to head to Madrid on a nice summer day for about a day.The flight over was dreadully long, mostly because I was out the night before catching up with friends when I probably should have been sleeping.
When I got to Madrid, I went straight to bed sleeping from 9am to 4pm, killing most of my prime time exploration time. Luckily a coworker of mine was also in Madrid and offered to take me around town since I was a newbie. We wanted to Uber from the hotel everywhere but Uber in Madrid for foreign users mandates you to enter an ID or passport number (I’m assuming for safety reasons) and I wasn’t really with all that.
The walk from my hotel to the first stop San Miguel Market would have been 30 minutes and my legs weren’t up for the journey that day. We took a cab over and throughout the town Madrid looked like everything I imagined it to be. It still had a very vintage old time city feel to it because of it’s architecture but at the same time was very modern. The city is plentiful in statues, many honoring mayors, kings and of course, explorers.
Our first stop was the Mercado de San Miguel ( San Miguel Market) which seemed like the after work lunch spot, hang out and tourist center. Madrid is known for it’s tapas which in Spanish translates to “small bites” or “small eats”. Usually whatever you order that is tapas in a restaurant can be ordered in full size lunch or dinner. I’ve never tried any real tapas dishes besides my one time at dinner at Fonda de la sol. (Sidenote: I definitely recommend this spot for a romantic dinner date)
My walk around the market was quick. I got a small pastry I would describe as a salmon bite, a mango sangria and a small plate of seafood paella. I liked all except the seafood paella. It tasted extremely fresh and don’t like the over powering fishy taste when I’m eating seafood. We continued our eats with more wine and sangrias and then headed off to explore the city.
Architecturally, I think Europe has very similar building types in their counties so Spain looked a little like Venice to me. I wasn’t in a shopping mood but I did stop in Primark, just for stopping in Primark sake. I took a stroll through Zara and H&M and wasn’t really intrigued but I do recognize Europe and other countries style aesthetic is so much better than the US.
Literally….the US cannot compete with Europe in their fashion game.
Since I started my journey late, I ended my exploration very soon after since it was already dark and I was leaving in the morning.
At the airport before my way back I purchased two bottles of some supposedly local but highly sought out sangria that I’ve yet to try.
I went to Madrid another time this month but slept the majority of the trip and the other half I spent doing homework.
My next time in Madrid I do plan to visit the crystal palace and some other touristy things on my to do list. Until then, I’ll be in New York enjoying my summer while it lasts.
— Choonks ❤