Madrid was the last stop of our five-week Europe trip. We only spent two nights here before I flew back to Melbourne.
It was a shame that we didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Madrid. We arrived at night, and my flight back to Melbourne departed at 7:40 am two days later.
Originally, I had booked a Qantas flight home via Dubai. However, because of the conflict in the Middle East, Ben suggested that I book a Turkish Airlines flight as a backup.
It turned out to be a good decision, as Qantas later cancelled my flight. It was stressful enough trying to get a refund by calling them multiple times from overseas, and it would have been even worse if I hadn’t already booked another flight, as I might have had trouble getting home.
Ben’s Walking Tour
Even though we had a full day in Madrid, I wanted to take it easy before my 30-hour flight home. Ben was very understanding. Since he had visited Madrid before, he planned a short walking tour for me that covered some of the city’s highlights in about 3 hours, including Gran Vía, the Royal Palace, and the nearby gardens.
Puerta del Sol, Madrid
Metropolis Building – Located on the corner of Calle Alcala and Gran Via
The gardens near the Royal Palace
Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree
Our Foodie Journey
Even though our time in Madrid was short, that didn’t stop us from finding good food. I’ve mentioned this before, but I really enjoyed the tapas culture in Spain. Being able to try different dishes in one meal was one of my favourite parts of the trip.
Ben kept going back to some of the same places he had visited on his previous trip. One of them was a jamón shop with hams hanging from the ceiling.
Compared to many of the places we visited in Portugal and Andalusia, food in Madrid was noticeably more expensive, perhaps because it is a larger city. We also visited Mercado de San Miguel (the market), but it was so crowded that we decided not to buy anything and just had a quick look around.
Fried calamari sandwich at Bar La Campana – they were very generous with the calamari 😋
Tapa Tapa – a bit overpriced, but the food was quite good 👍
Spanish tortilla at El Fountain
Churros at San Gines 🍫
Tasting three types of Iberian ham with cheese at Jamones Julián Becerro – surprisingly, I actually preferred the cheaper one
We also had huevos rotos (broken eggs) and a seafood platter at Cañas y Tapas for €37. It was quite expensive, but it was just so-so. The only reason we went was because it was right downstairs from where we were staying.
An Egg Chair Incident
A disappointing incident happened during our stay. I had booked a premium room months in advance specifically because it came with an egg chair (which I confirmed with the staff in writing), and I had been looking forward to it. I even reminded the staff during the check-in process.
However, when we arrived, there was no egg chair in the room. We reported it straight away and were left waiting. We had to follow up a few times before being told that we would need to change rooms the next day. This was frustrating, especially after a long day of travel, as we had been told earlier to stay put while it was being resolved. The wasted time felt unnecessary, especially since we only had a very short stay in Madrid.
It might seem like a small thing, but I had a bit of a breakdown due to the disappointment, the trip coming to an end, and the change of flight due to the Middle East conflict. The upside was that Ben was very understanding. He helped discuss the issue with the staff and comforted me, which I was very grateful for.
Although it was a hassle, we did eventually get to enjoy the egg chair for a short while. Ben promised to buy me an egg chair when we’re old – which is my dream!
The egg chair I had been looking forward to
As my flight was departing at 7:40 am, I booked an Uber for €33 to pick me up near our accommodation at 3:45 am. I had planned to go to bed early, but it was impossible to sleep because of the noise outside.
Later, we learned that it might have been related to a nearby speech by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado during our stay. Thousands of supporters attended events connected to her visit to Madrid, which could explain the crowds and noise we experienced.
Madrid was very crowded during our stay
Overall, Madrid felt busy and crowded. It was nice to visit, but I’m glad we spent more time in smaller and less touristy places. We only spent seven days in Spain during our 4.5-week Europe trip, as we figured we could always visit the larger cities another time.
Ben once told me that the happiest part of a trip is the time before it begins, when you’re looking forward to it. But for me, I also enjoy the time afterwards too. It took me almost two months to sort through the photos and finish writing these blog posts, and in a way, it felt like reliving the trip all over again. Ben took so many photos of me during this trip, which made me very happy.
We work hard, and we play hard too! I hope we’ll be exploring a new destination again soon.
Previous destination: Cadiz, Spain
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