Madrid, Spain – Flamenco, Tapas & Churros!

It’s hard to compare Madrid to Barcelona, because as you know, Barcelona and I had a sweet sweet love affair. However, the only thing that Barcelona and Madrid share is the heat. And even then, it’s not quite the same. Barcelona was very hot and very humid as it was close to the coast. With Madrid being more inland, you still get the heat, but not the humidity. So it was a little more tolerable. The shade actually cooled you off, whereas in Barcleona, you were still sweating standing in the shade.

When we arrived in Madrid, we had to figure out yet another transit system! (I think I’m up to 13 so far!) And Madrid has the second largest underground system, next to London. Surprisingly enough, it’s incredibly easy! Seriously, Edmonton needs to take notes. We have 1 line and it causes problems. Madrid has over 10 lines…common YEG!

After tackling the underground, we easily found our hostel (OK Madrid – definitely recommend!) and headed to check in. Our initial experience here was vastly better than that of Lisbon. We really felt like the staff wanted to help us and answer any and all questions we had. We were even told about the dinner they have every night for 10 euros and a pub crawl to follow. If you combine the dinner and pub crawl you only paid 25 euro, when entry to the final club itself was 20 euro. Caylie and I wanted to meet people at our hostel so we figured this would be a good thing to do…so we signed up!

We had a few hours to kill before dinner, so we decided to walk around the neighbourhood and get our bearings. Our hostel was perfectly located in the city centre and all the main sights were easily accessible by walking. We headed to Plaza Mayor and did a little shopping before heading back to the hostel to nap and freshen up for dinner and a night on the town! Needless to say, we had a blast! We met quite a few people and were out until 6 am! It was such a fun night!

Day 1

Once again, Caylie and I met up for the Sandemann’s New Europe free walking tour of Madrid. And once again, it didn’t disappoint! Our tour guide Joaquin was so passionate about Madrid and it’s history. He was also quite funny and did a very good job of keeping us all engaged. On our break Joaquin told us about some other tours that Sandemann’s offers, including a Tapas Experience, followed by a Flamenco Show. Seeing a Flamenco show was high on my list for Madrid, as I didn’t get to see one in Barcelona, and Madrid is know for their flamenco. This seemed like a great idea, so we booked it for that night. We were not disappointed. Something about flamenco is so intense and beautiful. It’s so hard to describe, but I really enjoyed it!

Day 2

For our last day in Madrid, and Caylie’s last day with me, we decided to explore a few other parts of Madrid, that came highly recommended on Trip Advisor. First we went to Circulo de Bellas Artes which has a rooftop patio and great views of all of Madrid. Then we saw the Temple de Debod, which is the remains of an Egyptian temple in the middle of Madrid. Next on the list was Parque de El Retiro which has a massive fountain that you can rent little row boats and paddle around, and finally we visited the Crystal Palace in Retiro Park. It was a day filled with lots of eat, and even more walking. I swear I will have calves of steel after this trip.

After our trek through the city it was time to head back to the hostel to relax (aka nap) before getting ready for our last dinner in Madrid and Caylie’s last dinner on her trip. Tonight was the night we would head out to find some salsa as well!