Madrid, Spain

where i transitioned to being alone

We left Santiago de Compostela headed for the capital. It took 7+ hours by train and bus due to some tracks being worked on. We arrived at Chamartin station, took the metro to the Prosperidad area of Madrid, and checked into our hotel-Ilunion Suites, which turned out to be a great room for a very reasonable price. We relaxed after a full day of travel and just ate food we got at the grocery store for dinner.

Sunday

We lounged most of the morning but when we finally set off we headed to the popular Chocolateria San Ginés for churros. Luckily we had a store just down the street from us. After fueling up with churros and café we took the metro to one of Madrid’s largest park, Parque del Buen Retiro, or Retiro Park. Just outside the metro stop we were greeted with music coming from a nearby gazebo. Since we weren’t in a hurry we stopped and listened to a teen orchestra play for nearly an hour. We eventually strolled on and passed a small man-made lake full of people rowing small rowboats in front of a large monument. Then we headed to the next destination- Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.I had looked up the museums ahead of time and found out there were 3 main art museums in an area known as the golden triangle of art. And Reina Sofia had free admission on Sundays from1:30-7 so we got there for that. I mainly wanted to check out the Salvador Dalí pieces and see Picasso’s famous Guernica. I have a soft spot for Dalí as I did a project on him back in my high school Spanish class. So we checked out his vibrant pieces and other surrealist works. Then gazed upon the huge Guernica while listening to the audio guide.

By the time we left the museum I was starving so we stopped at a nearby restaurant and we tried the popular fried squid sandwich that Madrid is known for. Then since it was close to 5 we walked over to the next art museum-Museo Nacional del Prado to take advantage of their free hours from 5-7. We waited in a super long line but thankfully it moved quickly. And once inside we used the floor plan guide that had a list of the masterpieces and just focused on those. If you’ve ever been to an art museum you probably know how tired you can get after really looking at the first few rooms and then by the end you’re just walking through because there’s just so much! So I thought focusing on the masterpieces would be a good way to tour the huge space, but I did have specific ones I wanted to see like pieces by Goya and Velasquez. I was thrilled to finally see some of their work in person since I studied them in my college art history class. I am always super impressed by the scale of some pieces and the imagination some artists had hundreds of years ago, that I can only imagine was met with ridicule and suspicion at the time. But before we knew it we were being herded out, short of seeing all the pieces.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped in Retiro Park again because we forgot to check out the Palacio de Cristal which was like a big glass solarium. Then back to the hotel with tired feet.

Monday

We planned to take the sightseeing hop on-hop off bus and we caught it by the Prado Museum. We saw the Real Madrid soccer stadium, lots of impressive architectural buildings, statues, fountains, plazas, and the royal palace. We got off by Plaza Mayor for lunch and then walked around in the hip Mercado de San Miguel filled with food stalls. Back on the bus we took it around the loop again to pick up any info we missed the first go around. We got off at the same stop to walk to the nearby Plaza del Sol. Since I’m obsessed with all things churros I tried a fat churro with cream stuffing. Then we took the metro back to the hotel.

Tuesday

We checked out of our room and headed to a different smaller Hostal for the night because we originally thought mom would be flying out that day and only booked the room till then but she ended up getting a ticket for Wednesday and they were full that night. So after checking in we took the metro to the Opera stop, had a quick lunch, and walked over to the royal palace. We paid to tour the inside and saw super elaborate rooms with velvet and silk wall coverings, marble floors, painted ceilings, and more. This palace is the largest (by floor area) in Europe. Later, for mom’s last meal in Spain we went to a nearby Italian restaurant. We splurged on Prosecco sangria paired with super rich and filling pasta. Reflecting on our trip I asked mom if there was anything she hadn’t gotten to do in Spain that she wanted and she said no. Trip Success.

Wednesday

We took the metro to the airport and we parted ways. She headed home after 3 weeks abroad, 2 countries visited, and her first trip overseas. After drying up my tears from saying goodbye I headed to the bus station for my trip to Barcelona.

Next: Barcelona, Spain