Once upon a time, there were …
Wait… It wasn`t once upon a time, it was a month ago! But it definitely was a trip to remember, so one day 50 years later I can write once upon a time. (Of course I have no idea what I will write by that time, but today I know what to share with all of you).
Madrid – how did it all happen?
Since my best friend, Kadi, moved to Madrid a couple of months ago, I promised to visit her. Plus, with all the fantastic stories Diego (Who doesn’t know the awesome Diego?!) has told us about this city, it was about time to go explore what Madrid, Spain has to offer. 😉
On a Sunday night after the Charity Ball, where we had a great time and loads of champagne, we were off to Madrid.
Since the weather was bad and rainy in Geneva during our journey, it was just what we needed: D-Vitamin! 😉
We took our Swiss Flight (Once again, I am super happy to fly with Swiss). Boarding was easy, the staff was friendly, and everything went smoothly.
That`s why, whenever I can, I choose a better airline to fly with. I just can`t handle stress when I am travelling. I prefer comfort. 😉
Anyhow, our flight landed 20 min earlier in Madrid than it was initially supposed to, and “HALA MADRID!”
My best friend picked us up from the airport. We took the metro and were on our way to Kadi`s house.
After five minutes relaxing, we were off to see Diego and his friend in one very cool Market Bar (which may or may not be the actual name for it). It is like Market where you can buy wine, drinks, food (all kinds), and in the middle area, there are tables to relax and eat like crazy!
Madrid is very busy – I mean, I know it is a city. But when you leave Geneva on Sunday evening, you barely see anyone on the street. Then, you`re suddenly in the middle of the traffic stuffed full of people. It is a huge contrast! 😉
But don`t worry Geneva, I still love you! 😉
We had such a great first night out!
Someone had some Tequila to get the party started – not me… This is a drink I just can`t swallow.
So here is just a photo from my side. Who drank it? No idea! 😀
Diego showed us around. Honestly, we probably had no idea where we went.
On Monday, we got up, and we were late just about everywhere we went. We probably got bit Spanish timing inside of ourselves. If it is 12.00, we show up at 13.00.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous, not a single cloud in the sky.
Diego promised to be our Tour Guide and show us around, so that`s what we did! 😉
Or, I mean Diego, as a Tour Guide, knows where to get the best food and WINE!
We sightsaw, as you can see from the photos. But we also ate and drank like we never had food in our life. I don`t know how to get rid of the kilos I gained there. 😀
Our first official stop was at the Plaza Mayor, where we had the chance to be the real tourist and drink some water. 😉
We had a nice afternoon, with the sun burning and everyone in a super good mood!
After moving on, we ended up at the “Mercardo de San Miguel”. If you ever go to Madrid, you must go there!
Have a bottle of rose and eat as much as you can. There are all kinds of food, so there’s something for everyone, and they even have the best Tapas.
Just walk from one market to another and check out all the selections. And if you like seafood, this will be a paradise for you! ( I wish I could eat it).
We stayed there just about the whole afternoon because there was too much to drink and eat.
And of course you can’t leave without eating everything…
Also, just next door from the market, there was an awesome restaurant called “Taste Gallery”. I just loved the decorations. Unfortunately, we didn’t go to eat there, but I loved how they had upcycled everything that would normally be thrown away or stored somewhere. Instead of throwing things out, they had recreated all the furniture and decoration simply reusing goods. SUPER SMART!
Plus, they were serving Aperol – my favourite drink in this world!
Unfortunately, I can`t tell you how the food was there, but next time I will be sure to let you know! 😉
After several hours spent eating, we thought we’d do some more sightseeing. But it didn’t really work out since we ended up in some store buying wine and champagne.
Then, we again ended up in another bar…
In the evening, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Hotel Madfor.
The hotel was probably the biggest mistake we made during our stay in Madrid.
The hotel location was good, and the hotel itself nice as well. But there were so many things I just do not recommend. Like I said, I do not like to share “negative” stuff though.
Next time we will all are smarter! 😉
Tuesday morning, we got up and we were ready to go shopping!
In the morning, we had Asian Lunch at a rooftop restaurant. Now, you all are probably wondering why we had Asian food in Spain. First of all, all the Spanish restaurants were still closed at 11.30 in the morning, and second, I just felt like having some rice and curry. No offense Spanish cuisine, you just weren’t open! 😀
Afterwards, we met up with Diego. He took us to the Luxury Paradise, where we had the whole day to spend our time and money !
Yes, we did that!
Overall, outside Madrid is also super nice. So, if you get a chance to get out of the city and enjoy the countryside, you’ll still love Madrid! 😉
After five hours of shopping, we returned back to Madrid , and had a delicious late lunch (5pm is more or less lunchtime in Spain).
We had some drinks, food, and talked, enjoying each other’s company.
Then, we went to a bar where we watched football with all the other Real Madrid Fans and we had some super spicy chicken wings. It was funny, since I was the only one who was able to eat them while the rest of the table were just dying.
It was hilarious!
We got back to hotel about midnight, and by that time Praveen`s bed was fixed.
The first night, he wasn’t allowed to move because if he did, the whole bed would move from one side to another.
Anyway, let`s move on to Wednesday – Our last and super sunny day in Madrid!
We again did some sightseeing, relaxed in the park, ate some more food, and had fun.
By the way, did I mention that each day we walked about 14-16 km?! Well, thank god that we did because otherwise we all should have bought an extra airplane ticket just so we could fit in the seats! 😉
Suddenly, it was 18.00 o`clock and we were ready to go back to Geneva, taking the sun with us! 😉
Ms.B 