Madrid, March 2018

The next day I headed off at midday for some lunch. We returned to Plaza Mayor and ate at Gustos. I finally got some well needed paella and Sangria of course. There are different types of paella such as traditional seafood, chicken paella, squid ink paella and paella with noodles (weird I know). I settled for the traditional paella which was yummy. 


We then headed to the Cathdedral which looks very impressive from the outside. Entry is permitted to all anytime apart from on religious holidays. It's a €1 donation and probably the largest cathedral I've been in. Also the only church I've visited that wasn't cold inside and had wifi. The cathedral had the usual stained glass windows, impressive ceilings, pews, worshippers and paintings of Jesus but well worth a visit as it's virtually free. 


Just around the corner is the palace which reminded me of Versailles. It's pretty grand and ornate. The queue was far too long to comprehend queuing in so I just took a few photos from the outside. We then headed to Retiro Park which is about a half an hour walk away. The park is huge, there's a play area for kids, a lake where you can hire boats, fountains, cafes and a crystal palace. There was a queue to enter the Palacio del Cristal so we passed, but I think I got some good shots from the outside. 


It was getting a bit chilly so we headed back to the hotel, got some dinner from a place near the hotel and called it a night. 


On our final day we checked out at around 11am, got a quick breakfast at Tim Hortons coffee shop on Calle de la Montera. We then headed to Plaza Del Sol for a bit of shopping and went to Mercado de San Miguel that's a stones throw away from Plaza Mayor. Mercado de San Miguel is an indoor food market selling tapas, already prepared meals and bars offering alcohol and soft drinks. It's super busy and seating is limited so I'd recommend getting there before 12:30pm. We luckily found a seat and sampled calamari, sangria, olives and paella. It's got a good atmosphere and is bustling. A must see in Madrid. 


We headed back to the hotel to relax for a few hours before heading back to Gusto on Plaza Mayor for dinner. Our flight back was at 9pm and we left the hotel at 7pm to get to the airport. Madrid is a fun city and a long weekend is a perfect amount of time. More than 3 days isn't necessary. Apologies I don't have info on bars and nightlife. I never got round to checking that out. 

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