Travel for the Christmas holidays!

Merry Christmas to all!

This holiday season I am traveling back to Bridgewater, Mass to visit my family for the holidays! My entire family is getting together this year and we are all descending onto my brother's house! I fly out tomorrow (me and everyone else in the traveling world!) and will land at Providence TJ Green airport.

This will be the first Christmas that I am traveling as we normally stay home and chill for the holidays. But with the kids grown and married and everyone moving in different directions we thought this would be the perfect time to spend the holiday together. Doubtful that there will be any blogging about this trip although you never know!

Here's hoping that everyone has a fabulous holiday season and that you all get to spend time with family and friends! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Madrid trip: heading home!

So to summarize the Great Madrid Solo Trip of 2013: 

It was really fun! I enjoyed myself and had a great time walking around the city and checking out the sights. I had very little issues with anything other than some crowds at the main Sol transportation hub. I was not pickpocketed, hit on, robbed or accosted in any way. I found the Spanish people to be extremely friendly and helpful in every way! I never for one moment felt unsafe or uneasy about anything during my trip. I fell in love with Madrid and look forward to not only going back to visit but also to taking a day trip from Madrid to perhaps Toledo or Sevilla. Adios, Madrid. You are one cool place to visit!!!

Madrid trip: Day 4 (a slower paced day)

Day 4 of my Great Madrid Solo Trip (Saturday 11/30) brings me to my last day! The prior evening (last night, Friday) I encountered some intestinal distress. Not sure why, but I knew going into Saturday that it would have to be a lighter day. So after a quick breakfast in the hotel I headed out. Several of the shops that I had on my list were open more limited hours today so I wanted to be there around 10ish when they opened.

My first stop is a lovely little chocolate shop called Cacao Sampaka, which is near the Alonzo Martinez Metro stop. It is marked in my book as a great place for designer chocolates with interesting flavors such as rose petals as well as cinnamon. Got a little turned around getting off the Metro and stopped into a perfume shop to ask the clerk for directions. She in turn (limited English) asked her friend on the sidewalk that was pushing a baby stroller. Between the two of them I headed back the way I came to “take a left at the main stop light and then it should be on my left hand side”. Well I managed to walk past it and as I stop to get my bearings the stroller lady comes up and starts speaking to me in Spanish. She followed me to make sure I went the right way and told me that I missed the street. I can’t tell you how many folks have gone out of their way to direct me and in some instances walk me to my destination! (Now if she had just said that it was across the street from the Burger King, I would have had no problems but then again I am American!

Cacao Sampaka is a lovely little shop with an attached café area you can grab a coffee and pastry as well as shop for chocolates. The nice girl at the counter spoke English and I managed to tick off a few more folks on my Christmas shopping list.

Then I was off again! Back to the Metro to find a small ceramics shop that was also mentioned in my book. Antigua Casa Talavera specializes in the yellow and green ceramics from Talavera (a small town south of Madrid). I loved the idea of bringing back a ceramics item from Spain and headed off to find this shop. Again, a little turned around outside of the Metro but once I found the street I wasn’t sure which direction the numbers went. The one I wanted was No2, so if I went the wrong way I could be way off base. So again I asked for help. A young policewoman was standing nearby and when I showed her where I was going (again, limited English) she walked me up the street as we watched the numbers get smaller! Seriously, I don’t think the Chicago cops would do this!! So nice!

 

Outside of Antigua Casa Talavera

The selfies are getting better

Entering the shop is like stepping into a tiny antique shop but with ceramics and tiles. Apparently they have been there forever and the shopkeeper Jose (probably the owner) has to unlock the door to let you in, due to the fragility of the items in the store. I looked around and spent time chatting with the owner, who had great English skills but was also telling me about the different types of shapes and sizes as well as prices and who made each piece. These folks sure know how to do customer service, let me tell you!

I settled on a small teapot and sugar bowl set and paid about 64Euro for the set. Jose went to work wrapping this up for me since I told him I had to carry it on the plane. He wrapped each piece in paper, then in bubble wrap, then wrapped the entire set in paper, then bubble wrap again, and then he wrapped the whole package in brown paper and tied it with string. Seriously although it looked like a kilo of drugs (not that I know what that looks like!) you could have played football with this and it wouldn’t break!

Seriously, how great is this packaging??

I'm in love with my teapot and sugar bowl!

So pretty!

After my ceramics shopping I headed back to the Metro to go back to the Sol area. I knew from the food tour that I wanted olive oil and Turron for gifts for the folks back home. And we had visited both shops during the tour so I knew just where to go. At that point I was starting to look like a pack mule with all my packages and my tummy was starting to act up again. So I headed back to the hotel to rest a bit.

After a short rest, I headed back to Harina for a bite to eat for lunch. My plan was to take my lunch and eat in the Retiro Park, which was across from the hotel. It had wanted to walk through the park and since it was my last day I didn’t want to miss it. So armed with a simple ham/cheese croissant and a cup of hot tea off I went!

Retiro Park is a large, beautiful park (thing Central Park in NYC). It has many areas that are well maintained for kids to play, there are kiosks to purchase food and fountains and statues to look at. There is also a lake in the center and you can rent rowboats and row out into the lake. I settled on a bench and had my lunch and then walked around the park for a bit. The Crystal Palace is on the far end of the park and it is really lovely and a great spot for pictures.

Lake at Retiro Park

Pretty fountain

Inside of the Crystal Palace

In front of the Crystal Palace

By this time it was late afternoon and starting to get cold and dark. I had made reservations for Flamenco show back in the central part of Madrid. The reservations were for 7:30pm but honestly I wasn’t feeling that great. I think the tummy trouble was catching up with me and I ended up cancelling the reservations. I feel bad about that, because I really wanted to see a show but I looked at it this way: it was pretty much the only thing on my list that I didn’t get to do so all in all that makes this vacation a win! Next time, Madrid. Next time!

Tomorrow: heading home!

Madrid trip: Day 3

Day 3 begins with a trip on the Metro to visit the Atocha Train Station. It might seem strange to visit a train station on a vacation, but there are two reasons for this. The first reason is this train station is the largest hub in Madrid and has connections for both the Metro as well as regional Spanish trains. But most importantly it has its very own rain forest inside. Yes, you heard that correctly. A rain forest! I had to see this. The Metro stop that I took to get there had me end up at the back side of the station but that worked out because that was exactly where the rain forest was. Complete with a whole bunch of turtles. Yes, Turtles! I really have never seen anything like it in a train station before and not sure I would ever again!

 

Turtles!

Rain forest

Hi there, Mr. Turtle!!

Yeah, it's a rain forest in a train station!

Atchoa Train Station

The second reason for visiting this train station is that this was the site of the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks, which killed 192 people. I have a very strong feeling that since I am an American and America was attacked by terrorists that I should show solidarity towards others that were also attacked. To show support and honor the victims in my own way. There is a very small crystal monument that features all the names of the victims in the station itself. It was a little difficult to find (thanks to the very nice Spanish lady who didn’t speak English but still was able to point me the correct way!). Unfortunately I was there too early in the morning for it to be open, it was closed off and you could only just see the monument through the gates. No matter, I paid my respects and that is what is important.

March 11, 2004 memorial

Names of the victims

I had a time limit today and had to be back to Plaza Mayor by 10:30 am. For what? The Ultimate Spanish Cuisine Food Tour with the Madrid Food Tour folks! My friend Carrie had taken a similar tour in Istanbul last year and recommended that I take on in Madrid. It cost 95Euro and you book online ahead of time to reserve your spot.

I met up with my tour guide Lauren at Plaza Mayor and she was there with two other American young women who were interns for the Food Tour group. I was the only person that had booked the tour, probably since it was November!  Hey, I have the tour guides all to myself! So we set off throughout the city. Honestly I cannot recap all the places we went and tasted food and drink, there were too many! Mercado de san Miguel was the main food/drink market that was awesome! We went to the active convent where the cloistered nuns bake cookies and you purchase them through a lazy susan in the wall, never seeing the nuns. We had lunch at a great little place called Toni, a tiny little shop that was near Sol. All in all it was an amazing and exhausting time! Thanks, Carrie for the tip!

Mercado de san Miguel

Olives!

So yummy!

Olives and Vermouth!

Ham!

After the food tour (which was almost 4 hours!), I went back to the hotel to rest a bit. My back has not been cooperative during this trip so going back and resting was the only way I was going to get to do everything that I wanted to do. Sometimes an hour is all you need to recharge your batteries!

Then it was off to the Museo de Prado. This very famous art museum is HUGE! I had known that going into it and knew that I was going to limit my time to 1 to 2 hours. There is just too much to see in one day. Full disclosure: I am not an art aficionado. I try, I really do. I think that the pictures are really pretty and I can appreciate the work that went into creating them. But I just don’t get the “look at how the artist used light and color to his advantage” stuff. I guess I’m just not cultured enough (apologies to my daughter for that)!

 

Prado Museum

Goya

The Prado was amazing, however. I had no idea who these folks were but I was thoroughly impressed by the work that went into the paintings as well as the sheer size of them. Many were probably 20 feet high by 12 feet wide. Damn!

After a quick coffee at the Prado café on the first floor a trip to the gift shop was in order. Have to hit all the gift shops! Now with the Prado being in the same league as the Louvre, I was expecting a larger gift shop. No, it was rather small. Maybe there were shops on each level, but I was not nearly as impressed with the one on the first floor!

As I left the Prado it was starting to get dark outside. (One of the downfalls of traveling in Europe in the winter) I walked around the area for a while and decided to get a light dinner before heading back to the hotel. I had a few places in mind from my guidebook but honestly was too tired to traipse around looking for them so I went to a little restaurant across from the Prado. It was a cute little place and there were several locals there. I had a small plate of meat type tapas (ham, beef with cheese) and bread. It was good and really just enough food. After the food tour I didn’t need much!

Walked around a little while longer checking out the pretty nighttime lights then simply headed back to the hotel for the night. I really an not a night owl and it was honestly getting a bit cold outside so I knew it was time to call it a night!

Madrid trip: Day 2

Ahh sleep! It does a body good!! After a good night’s sleep I was off early Thursday morning. The hotel provided a free continental breakfast, as I was a Marriott platinum member so I took advantage of that this morning. There was an option to purchase the buffet but honestly the pastries, fruit, juice and coffee was more than what I needed. And free is free!

Once sufficiently fed, I head off into the city. My first stop? The post office! As you know I have a thing for actual postcards. I purchased some last night and then wanted to get them out in the mail this morning. The lovely desk clerk at the hotel pointed out to me that the post office was actually about 2 blocks away from the hotel and on my way to the Metro stop. So off I went. Super easy to find and much more modern and larger than our post offices. Think a UPS center or something similar. So I walked up to the counter and tried to find someone who spoke some measure of English. Success! One of the ladies at the counter didn’t really speak English but understood enough of what I wanted to help me. I showed her the 10 postcards and said “USA” and she got it. I wanted 10 postcard stamps and to mail those out to the US. Easy peasy. Then I asked for two more stamps to take with me. (I had forgot to purchase 2 postcards for 2 other folks and needed to get 2 more today to send). Between hand gestures and her limited English we got it! I purchased two extra stamps to take with me, she took my postcards and off I went!

Headed back out to the Sol Metro station and in to the Puerta del Sol square. I walked down the few blocks to the Plaza Mayor Square. This square is very famous in Madrid; it was once the main market area when Madrid was once a village. Traditional markets were held here as well as imprisoned folks during the inquisition (they were held under the square in dungeons). Not that anyone really wants to talk about that part of history. But I tell you what, as soon as they start the “great Madrid Inquisition tour of the dungeons”, I’m totally flying back to take that tour!

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor

After walking around a bit and checking things out, I head back to the Metro to head to the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace). It is still the official residence of the royal family but now they only use it for state functions. You are able to take a tour of about 25-30 rooms and use an audio guide in your native language to learn more about the palace. Again, no photos allowed!

I have to say that the Royal Palace ended up being one of my most favorite parts of the trip. I loved walking through the palace and viewing the different rooms. The artwork as well as the decorations was just superb. Highly recommend this to anyone visiting Madrid. I ended up getting there at 10am when they opened and I was glad that I did because as I was leaving there were a couple of student tour groups arriving.

Royal Palace

Across the plaza from the Palace is the Catedral de la Almudena. The guidebook says that it is Spain’s most important cathedral, where royal births, christenings and weddings are celebrated. Honestly, it was a nice church but nothing spectacular. There is a tour you can take of the rooftop and the crypt and I wish now that I had done that but I wasn’t sure I had enough time for it.

Catedral de la Almudena

Because you see, it was Thanksgiving Day for me and I had reservations at Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world. Yes, you heard that right, in the world!! Founded in 1725 it is in the Guinness Book of records as the oldest restaurant and also, Trip Advisor rates it very highly. Had to check it out! I had emailed them to reserve for lunch at 1:00.

Again I was not sure exactly how hard it would be to find the place so I allowed myself a little extra time. Fortunately it wasn’t that difficult being right off Plaza Mayor. They promptly opened their doors for lunch at 1 and I was shown a table on the upper level. Their specialty is the Roast Suckling Pig and since they offered a special with that and an onion soup, bread, ½ bottle of wine and ice cream for a total of 44Euro. Not too bad. And the meal was really good. I am not a huge fan of pork in general but when in Madrid, right??? And there was tons of food. I was one full and happy tourist!

 

Restaurante Botin

I don't take good selfies!

Botin dining room

Onion soup: Yummy!

Roast Suckling Pig

After lunch I needed to walk around and walk off my meal. There was another shop that I was very interested in visiting. Based on my research there was an espadrille shop that is family owned and has been in business for about 150 years. This is the place that the locals go to and in the summer months there is a line of up to an hour to just get into the shop. Had. To. Go. There!

The shop is actually right around the corner from Botin and off the Plaza Mayor as well. It is called Casa Hernandez. The men (no women for some reason) working in the shop are well basically old, cranky Spanish men who speak little to no English and seem just content to be cranky. Love it!! I had prepared myself for this as I had done research telling me to have sizes written out, as they don’t speak English. I was preparing to purchase shoes for folks for Christmas presents (and a few for me as well!). These are all handmade espadrilles and I had a list of ones to buy, complete with the European size conversions. You basically point to what you want on the wall with a yardstick and then I pointed to my notebook with the size I needed. Since they didn’t have ½ sizes I am hoping my gifts will fit the folks I bought them for. It was hard to tell if the ones I bought for myself would fit as my feet were swollen from all the walking!

 

Casa Hernandez

See all the shoes in the window?!

I ended up buying about 7 pairs of shoes, mission accomplished! The one noteworthy thing during my visit to Casa Hernandez was the young woman I met while shopping. I had heard another English speaking person while I was in the shop, but it was obvious she was not American, her accent was different but I couldn’t place it. As I was at the counter she stood next to me and had an adorable pair of floral espadrilles. I asked the shop clerk to get a pair for me as well as they were so cute! So I turned to the girl and we started chatting. She was mid-20’s and had waist length dreads with the necessary nose ring. When I asked where she was from she said she was Russian. Hey I said! I’ve been to Moscow! As I explained that my daughter studied about and I visited her in 2009, she wanted to know what school Meghan went to. When I said UC Berkeley, why she just smiled and said “that is the best school in the US for Russian Literature”. Why yes it is! I find it so amusing that I travel to Madrid to buy espadrilles and meet someone from Russia that knows about UC Berkeley! Love it! It totally is a small world!

After my espadrille escapade I headed back towards Puerta del Sol. I was looking for the chocolate shop to end all chocolate shops! It is called Chocolateria San Gines. A staple in Madrid and opened in 1894 it is a favorite with tourists and locals alike. Basically they serve hot chocolate with fried churros that you dunk into the chocolate. Since I had such a large lunch and it was now getting towards what would be dinnertime I really only wanted a snack for dinner. You get a cup of chocolate and 6 churros for 3.80Euro. Let me tell you, the hot chocolate was orgasmic!!! I am now ruined for all other hot chocolate. For. Ever. I cannot express how wonderful this was. Ahhhhh

3.80 Euro!!

This was amazing!!

Chocolateria San Gines

After my orgasmic chocolate experience I felt the need for a cigarette. No, actually I don’t smoke, but if I did….

Actually headed back to the Sol area for some more shopping. I stopped at El Corte Ingles, which is a large department store. They have a bathroom on the 5^th floor. FYI. I hung around checking things out there (they are putting out their Christmas displays and ornaments and such).

About that time it started getting really crowded and crazy with people at the Puerta del Sol area. I was getting tired and the 7 pairs of shoes were getting heavy. Everyone knows that I am not a night owl and I don’t really feel comfortable hanging out with drunks in crowds so I headed back to the Metro and headed back to the hotel.

All in all a full and eventful day. I am really enjoying my stay in Madrid and I realize that maybe I didn’t allow enough time to see everything!

Madrid trip: Day 1 in the city!!

After navigating the Metro in Madrid my first stop was the Sol station. Puerta del Sol is the main central hub of the city center. Think Times Square in NYC. Busy, crowded and with your normal street performers and folks selling their wares on blankets, etc. The area is a square with streets extended off sections of the square. These streets are mainly pedestrian only and are filled with shopping, bars, cafes and restaurants for locals and tourists alike. During the day it is not too bad but I found it gets crazy busy at night. Again, think Times Square. But since this is a major hub for transportation and the Metro offers several interchanges to different lines you will find yourself at Sol several times during your visit. I walked around taking some pictures of the more interesting things while getting my bearings. There are the normal touristy souvenir shops as well as local shops that have been around for more than 100 years. And the necessary Burger King. Because you know, I guess it’s needed everywhere!

Puerta del Sol

One of the "street performers"

The Christmas tree

Formerly the main post office, now a police station

The famous Bear status in Madrid Puerta del Sol

After about 30-40 minutes of getting my bearings and walking around I headed back into the Metro. Because I had reservations for an English speaking tour at Real Fabrica de Tapices  (Royal Tapestry Museum)!  I had emailed them to book a tour in English (highly recommended) and it was scheduled for 1:30 pm. I also knew from my research that the location was a little difficult to locate from the Metro so I wanted to give myself plenty of time.

The Royal Tapestry Museum is actually a working factory/ museum where they make and restore tapestries that you can see at the royal palace as well as other high profile areas in Spain. I was thrilled to be able to visit this museum, as I love fabrics and tapestries! Unfortunately there are no pictures allowed in the museum (for obvious reasons).

Good thing that I gave myself extra time. It was a little difficult to locate the street that I needed once I came out of the Metro. As I wandered around and searched I knew that I was close, because for this attraction I had printed out a Google map of the streets leading to the museum. Still, difficult to find. So I stopped into a small neighborhood grocery shop. The neighborhood where the museum is located is outside of the main “downtown” area and a more residential location. So I stop into this cute Asian grocery shop to ask directions. I don’t speak Spanish but what the hell, I can handle this!!  The nice older Asian man behind the counter didn’t speak English and had little interest in understanding me but the customer he was waiting on asked me if I spoke French. No, unfortunately I speak French about as well as I speak Spanish, which ranges from badly to very poor. No matter, when I showed this lovely lady where I wanted to go, she promptly said, “Ahh, I know. I take you there”. What? She was going to walk me to my destination? And she did! She understood some English and tried to make small talk with me as we walked the short 3 blocks to the museum. She thought I might be from London (sadly no, Chicago) and wanted to know if Chicago did get as much snow as she thought (she held her hand up waist high). Yes, I said it happens. Heh! Literally my destination was about 3 blocks from where I was, and lovely French/ Spanish lady led me right to the front door. I said very sincerely “mucho gracias, Senora” and off I went inside!

Inside the museum my tour guide, Lola greeted me and walked me through the museum. There were tapestries on the wall that range in dates back to the 1700’s (damn!) and they were so beautiful. I wish that I could have taken photos! We walked through the factory area and watched folks working very hard to make the tapestries. There are about 3 people working on one section and Lola explained that not only is their expertise important but that the height of each of the workers needs to be similar so that they compliment each other. I was able to get a close up view of the wool and silks that are used to make the tapestries. The colors and designs for these are just unbelievable! The workers use mirrors to see the underside of what they are working on and it can take up to 3 years to make one large tapestry.  Lola mentioned that at one time the factory also had an attached school to instruct folks as to the art of tapestry making. However, due to the severe economic crisis in Spain they had to close it. Which is kind of sad.

This museum only charges 4Euro and the tour took about 45 minutes. There is no real “gift shop” but they did have a counter with a few items to purchase. I bought a large book about the museum/factory for a gift for my daughter. It was in both English and Spanish and a good deal for 35Euro. Lola was just a fabulous guide and her English was very good. I was so glad that I was able to attend this tour and I highly recommend it to anyone!

Ticket to Royal Tapestry Museum

Copy of souvenir book from Royal Tapestry Museum

After the tour I headed back to the Metro to head back to the Sol area of the city. I wanted to walk around and do some shopping. I knew that with the lack of sleep and the jet lag that this day was going to be rather short and when the time came I would crash hard and fast. So I visited a few shops near the Puerta del Sol and walked around with the rest of the tourists and locals. I visited the Real Madrid football/ soccer store to pick up a few things for the soccer fans in my life and got my necessary postcards from a souvenir shop.

Random street performer

Impressive street performer. Yes, this is a real dude and not a statue!

At this point, it was getting to be close to 5pm local time and I was fading fast. I decided to head back towards the hotel. After getting off the Metro at the Retiro stations near the hotel I thought I might stop for a bite to eat. There was an outside area attached to a restaurant and I thought that might be a good place to teat. There was a menu posted that showed the options and I found a few things that might work. I wasn’t being fussy at all; I was very tired and hungry. (Just needing to avoid the whole shrimp thing due to my allergy!) I just realized that I hadn’t eaten all day except for that small ham croissant at 10:30 am. I was cranky. So after being seated outside and ordering a diet coke I tried to relax a bit and rest my aching back. The waiter was a little cranky himself and when he brought the menu I noticed that it only contained appetizers and most of those were of the seafood/ shrimp variety.  Hey, I needed food and I needed it soon!! The whole shrimp allergy does put a damper on things! So when I asked the waiter about the menu posted at the entrance he said that they don’t start serving dinner until after 8 pm. Seriously! I know, the Spanish eat dinner late. But I’m hungry!! I thanked him for the soda and asked for the check. (And that damn soda cost me 5Euro!)  Then I had made the decision to just order room service at the hotel. Did I mention that I was hungry?

I figured that at this point I was so tired and hungry that I just needed to eat and rest and that having the “real Spanish meal experience” wasn’t nearly as important as just taking care of me. So that’s what I did. And you know what? The room service was delicious!!! Simple pasta and bread is never a bad thing!

I am not ashamed to say that I took a quick hot shower and went to bed before 7pm. Yes, you heard that right. 7 PM. No judgment! I had been up for about 38 hours and I was done!!

Stay tuned for the first full day in Madrid!

Madrid: Leaving Chicago and first half of Day 1 in Madrid!

And the great solo Madrid trip begins! I made a decision a few months ago to take my first solo international trip and chose Madrid for a couple of reasons. First? I was traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday and I didn’t want cold, rainy or snowy. I can get that at home. The chance for sunshine was rather appealing! I also wanted my first solo trip to be in a Western European country, for safety reasons and also because the chances of there being some English speaking folks locally. So Madrid it was!

Headed out from O’Hare on a 4:45 flight on Tuesday, November 26. I chose a flight from American with a codeshare with Iberia Airlines. The flight was slightly delayed getting out of Chicago but otherwise the process was routine. The only downside was that for some reason I was unable to sleep much on the flight. Normally I can sleep for several hours and can land slightly rested. This flight? Not so much! I think I was able to get a total of 2 hours in an 8-hour flight. Ouch. Oh well, you can sleep when you’re dead, right?

Landed at Madrid’s Barajas airport about 8:00 am on the 27^th. Now if you have never been to Barajas let me tell you, it is huge airport. Very modern and spread out. When you land you come into terminal 4S and have to take an airport train to terminal 4 to pick up your bags and get to the exit. The way it works is that you get off the plane, go through several jet bridge type corridors then proceed to passport control/ immigration. After a quick look and a new stamp on my passport, I was off. Then you move down several sets of escalators about 3 levels to the lower level and grab the train to terminal 4. Then back up a few sets of escalators to another level in T4 to get your bags. Once retrieved you pass through customs (nothing to declare so just proceed through) and then to the main lobby area.  Easy Peasy!!

I made a quick stop at an ATM to grab some Euros. I had ordered about 100Euro at a local bank before I left so that I had some cash on me in case my card didn’t work at the airport. Normally I don’t worry about this because I am usually traveling with other people and if one card doesn’t work then another person’s will. But I had to depend on only myself so I needed to make sure that I had cash for the taxi driver. Research had told me that most of the taxis only take cash and not cards so I wanted to be prepared. I grabbed some Euros (the card worked just fine) and headed out to the taxi stand. I was prepared for the taxi driver as well, at home I printed out the name and address of my hotel, as many of the taxi drivers don’t speak English. And he didn’t speak English, so it was a good plan!

Taxi ride to the hotel from the airport took about 20-30 minutes.  It was about 35Euro total, including the tip. My hotel was a Marriott property named AC Palacio Del Retiro. It was located across the street from the Parque Retiro (Retiro Park). The property was formally an early 20^th century palace that has been converted into a 50-room boutique hotel. It is considered a 5 star hotel and I have to say it was fabulous! I was able to use Marriott points for 2 of my four nights so I splurged a bit on the other 2 nights but it was well worth it! By the time I got to the hotel it was about 10 am and they were able to accommodate me for an early check in! What a wonderful thing after the long flight to be able to freshen up in your room and drop your bags and re group before heading out into the city! Since I checked in so early I wasn’t able to get a room overlooking the park but I didn’t care, my room was clean and overlooked the small courtyard in the center of the hotel.

Outside photo of my hotel at night

View of courtyard from my hotel window

Tiles in hallway near my room.

Building dates back to about 1900

 

Front entrance into hotel

View of the common area near elevator

Can I get this stairway in my house??

After about 30 minutes of re-group time I headed out into the city! I had planned to stop a café/bakery that was about a block or two from the hotel to grab a bite to eat. Harina is a small place that carries sandwiches, croissants and bakery items and you can eat there or take it to go. I chose a quick ham/cheese croissant with a bottle of water and chose a seat by the window. Total cost? About 5Euro. Cheap and good, Yay!

Then it was off to investigate the Metro. I had investigated the Madrid Metro online and had an idea of what to expect. (I will admit to even going on YouTube to check out videos of the Metro as well as the ticket machines to be informed before I got here). Yes, I’m a little OCD. I embrace it! Honestly, if you are traveling to a city you have never been to before, there is nothing wrong with doing a little research beforehand. I say this whether you are traveling to Madrid, London or Pasadena. I feel that if you are traveling alone, a little preparation goes a long way.

Metrobus 10 ride ticket

Sadly not the Scientology picture but still cool 

Now I have to say the Madrid Metro is wonderful. You can buy a Metrobus ticket that is good for 10 rides for E12.20 (gives you a break on the single ticket price). I ended up using two 10-ride tickets during my 4 days! The Madrid Metro is the best way to get around the city. It is clean, safe, and efficient and the trains run about every 5 minutes. The transfers are very easy to navigate and although the trains can get very crowded I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. There was an obvious police presence within most of the stations (this may be due to the information that Madrid has a problem with pickpockets on the Metro). Funniest thing seen while using Metro? The large advertisement on the wall of a station with the word “Scientology” on it. Now I don’t know if they were advertising for new potential new members or advertising a warning for the “church”. Either way, each time I passed it while on the trains, I chuckled. 

Stay tuned for the next blog post about my first day navigating the city!