Back in July when we booked our surprise Thanksgiving trip home, we got a killer mileage deal and it had us departing out of Madrid. We weren’t sure on our full Europe itinerary at the time, but knew it would be cheap to fly there from wherever our previous stop was. Having done the other main cities of Spain in August, it was a nice way to close out the past four months in Europe as Madrid has so much to offer.
To be honest though, we were pretty tired of the travel grind at that point and ready for a break at home. So we frankly didn’t care what the lodging looked like as long as it had our own space, a comfortable bed and a good location. We stayed four nights in La Latina which It kept us in the middle of all the good stuff and our hostel felt very clean and secure.
We followed our usual routine of doing a walking tour early to get a lay of the land. The tour was great and really highlighted the rich history the city has to offer. It also gave us a good roadmap of restaurants, foods and places to see in the coming days. We also checked out the Sunday market as it was only a couple blocks from where we stayed. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down as the market was way more chincy than expected. We were really hoping for a great flea market with good collectables to possibly take home, since we rarely have the chance to do so. Katie did manage to find a good scarf, but it was a bust overall. The weather and temperatures in the 30s F was also a rude awakening coming from Morocco. We have limited clothing and gear for cold weather, so this meant we had to wear a lot of the same stuff over again (even more so than usual!).
Highlights of Madrid for us was really the food. We were able to get some great breakfasts, all the jamón we could eat, good street markets and fresh green juices (Katie’s fav). One day we had killer sushi and another we ate more local fare. And once again, Katie was mistaken for a local multiple times which I always get a kick out of. This has been a constant theme of the trip as people seem to think she looks local whether that is in South American countries, Italy, Spain, Portugal, whatever. The gym we went to in Madrid didn’t charge her when we went in because they thought she was a member. I obviously got a great laugh out of that.
Instead of me rambling, just check out the pictures as the city is pretty cool.
