When I envisioned Madrid, I pictured a large city like maybe Chicago or New York. And in fact it was a big city, but I was pleasantly surprised to find beautiful gardens and, oddly enough, an egyptian pyramid! Turns out, this was Nate’s first choice as a proposal location… it was quite amazing and with beautiful surroundings. It was closed the day we were going to be in Madrid so he had to come up with a plan B, which was just as amazing (a sailboat charter in Barcelona). I wish we could have stayed more days in Madrid…I could have easily explored more areas of the city. The time we spent there, however, we took full advantage. The food is exceptional…and the environment is something you really have to pause and soak in. The pictures I took don’t do it justice, but they do give you an idea of what is was like.
This was our last stop on our Spanish whirlwind adventure, and I hope that one day we go back to experience more of it!! Here are my top places to see while in Madrid!
1. The El Retiro Rose Gardens
I remember we were just out for a walk, and somehow found ourselves at the El Retiro Rose Gardens. This large botanical garden is home to 4000 roses and was built in 1915. It was a lovely stroll on the most gorgeous weather day! This place is certainly worth a visit, if only to inhale that rosy smell and relax for a moment…
2. Palacio Real De Madrid
The royal palace of Madrid. This was fascinating. Nate loves castles and palaces so he booked us on a tour of this overwhelmingly ginormous architectural monument where each room has a different design theme (and quite elaborate!) Block out a few hours for this tour… We grabbed a coffee and scone right before.
We only wish we could have seen the entire palace, a large portion of it was closed to the public. This palace happens to be the largest in Western Europe with 3,418 rooms. This palace has seen a lot of Spanish history. The draw for me, however, was the interior and those beautiful rooms! Again, it needs to be seen in person, pictures don’t do it justice. A wonderful tour and a top recommendation from both of us! Here is a link to a skip-the-line tour of the Palace interior…
3. Flamenco Dance
This was my FAVORITE thing during our adventure in Madrid!!! I.loved.this. So entertaining, and just an overall captivating experience! After you watch this video, I hope you’ll agree!! When we are anywhere, it’s important to me to truly take in the culture. Flamenco dancing is a combination of song, dance and guitar. It has mysterious roots, from what I’ve read, believed to have been brought into Spain from northwest India. Flamenco song is all about deep emotion.The dancer then interprets the song. The dance involves intricate footwork and the women wear gorgeous ruffled dresses. We had to see one for ourselves…it did not disappoint! If interested in adding a cultural dance experience to your trip agenda, here is a link to the show we did…
4. The Temple of Debod
An Egyptian temple quietly rests in the city of Madrid. It was dismantled and then rebuilt in the Parque de la Montaña. The story behind why it is in Madrid is interesting. Spain apparently helped save numerous archeological sites and existing architecture that were at risk of being destroyed by a new dam and its water resevoir. As a Thank You, Egypt donated the temple to Spain in 1968.
We were able to go inside the temple and see the ancient writings on the walls (which I love) and then go upstairs where we could see built-to-scale replicas of the temple and the surrounding temples from where they took it. If you’d like to learn more about the temple, I thought this site was great for more information…
Madrid is a beautiful BEAUTIFUL city, I’m currently going through pictures with the goal of printing a few for our newly remodeled basement! It’s hard to choose, everywhere we went was stunning. We did a few more Spanish things but I think I’ll save those places for another post!
Who knows what international travel will look like in 2022. We are hoping that things normalize and that borders don’t re-close. We miss being able to see other countries and experience the culture. We had originally planned a trip back to Spain for our honeymoon but decided to adventure to Hawaii instead. But, going overseas is still something like I’d like to do next year and not losing hope just yet!! We are in need of a really great bottle of Spanish Red 🙂
If you are thinking of Spanish travel next year, or any year, I hope that this post gives you some agenda ideas!!
As always, travel safe (and if you’re going to Spain, take a minute to learn the train system in advance!!)
#GoAdventure
Heather and Nate
Welcome to our Book of Adventures 