Madrid was hot and humid and unlike Barcelona, there were no beaches to escape to. I joined a 'free' walking tour that guided us through the Royal Palace and a number of other landmarks. Everybody seemed a little disappointed by the fact that we didn't pass by any truly captivating landmarks. Sadly, one of the highlights for me was an eccentric overweight man dressed as Spiderman at the Plaza Mayor (pictured).
It took me a few days to really appreciate Madrid. To my delight, we stumbled upon the San Miguel Markets (pictured); a food market sprawling with gourmet food and drink stalls. We indulged in some nice treats such as yoghurt covered in a number of delicious toppings such as fruit puree and nuts. A short walk down one of the numerous aisles would lead us to a stall that specialised in vodka and caviar. What a combo! We tried a number of ice-cold wine-based drinks and traditional snacks amongst other things.
One night we went on a tapas crawl and tried a number of cidars, cheeses, meats, pastries and bread. It was delicious, cheap and mostly incredibly tasty! Each tapas bar we visited specialised in food from a specific region from Spain, and we could really notice the difference between each region's food.
Our last day in Madrid was one of my favourite days of my Spanish holiday. A group of us stocked up on Spanish potato crisps, wine, cheese, bread and other delicious goodies before heading for a picnic (pictured) at the luscious greens of Parque del Buen Retiro. This is a massive park of approximately 350 acres with a giant lake in the middle for people to paddle boats in (pictured). We lay in the park for hours, enjoying the shade and listening to Angus and Julia Stone. This park also houses a number of wondrous buildings such as the Palacio di Crista (pictured).
We finished off our Spanish trip in style, eating churros dipped in cups of hot chocolate at a laneway chocolateria.
100% FEEL OK everybody!
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