Davidson’s vs European Capital Cities part II

Well, if you read my blog about our Paris experiences then you know that we were more than happy to take a break from crowds and the big city when we headed off to the NW coast of Spain to enjoy some quiet time with family.  After relaxing and catching up with work and school, it was time to head to Madrid for more history and action.

I always thought I loved big cities, but I’m learning quickly that I’m not the city-girl I thought I was, and I think the kids are realizing this about themselves too.  Isn’t that part of the lure of traveling though? Learning about yourself and the world and not taking things for granted?

After a 5 hour train ride we finally made it to Madrid.  Our Airbnb was centrally located in the heart of the action and we were lucky to have a large space with all the bedrooms far from the busy street.  I can say that I never slept better in my life which was a plus.

Another perk of being back in the city was that we had all the choices of restaurants/bars/cafes/markets etc at our disposal within walking distance.  We never even needed to take the metro to get to where we wanted to go which was a plus.

We decided to spend the first full day on the hop-on-hop-off bus that takes you through Madrid.  I guess my expectations were high because of our great experience in London, but Madrid is a “newer” city with not so many ancient landmarks as London.  It did give us a view of the city, but it wasn’t as educational as I would have liked.

We visited the Palacio Real which once housed Spain’s royals, had a drink at the Plaza Mayor, and visited with family in the Plaza Santa Ana for dinner.  This is the draw of Madrid.  The people here truly enjoy living.  The streets are FULL of outdoor cafes and restaurants with locals and tourists alike enjoying tapas and Rioja while meeting with friends and family.  It’s a SOCIAL city.  The people are friendly, and the food is AMAZING.  It isn’t uncommon for people to sit for dinner at 10pm and stay out until 1 am and beyond.  After we enjoyed tapas with family, they recommended we visit another restaurant for churros con chocolate.  It was well beyond 10pm at this point, and the kids were tired, but weren’t about to turn down churros so we obliged.  Here is an FYI for those that think that the churros you get at Dinsey are the real deal…THEY ARE NOT.  REAL churros are made fresh and are a curved shape and you order them with a side of hot chocolate that you dip the churros in then finish by drinking the rest of the chocolate.  I freaking love this country.  FOR REALZ!

 

The next day we worked and studied in the AM and then headed to the Real Madrid game.  My father is probably the world’s biggest Real Madrid fan and I grew up with it on tv since I was born.  Tod is a huge soccer fan too so it was an amazing experience and probably one of the highlights of our trip to Madrid…only because they won.  The stadium is MASSIVE, and every seat was taken. Again, much like the Premier League game we went to in London, no alchohol is served AT ALL in the stadium to avoid altercations between the crazed fans, but they DID have non-alcoholic beer which I HAD to try.  FYI-it tasted like the real thing but without the hangover.  BONUS!

 

 

That night Tod and I took advantage of having baby sitters and headed to an Irish pub that was playing the Florida/Auburn football game.  For those that don’t know, we bleed Orange and Blue (the Gator kind,) and were lucky enough to find a place within .5 miles from us showing the game.  We met some young Auburn grads there who happened to be from my home town and were in Madrid teaching English during their “gap year” before heading back for Grad school.  It was nice to be among Americans and chat about their adventures and tell them ours.

 

The following day we decided to take it easy in the AM and take the kids walking around the city and into the park.  We met up with more family later that day in the area of La Latina-a hip, young area with more tapas restaurants and cafes.  My cousin’s husband works in the film industry doing special effects.  He created a character in the Game of Thrones series and was recently nominated for the equivalent of the Spanish Academy awards.  He spent some time showing Owen his work and Owen has been talking about how he wants to be a film producer ever since.  Another perk of travel is introducing the kids to people who might impact their lives in ways we never could have thought of.

 

Monday was a work and school day during the day and then we decided to check out a traditional Flamenco show in Puerta Del Sol- a busy/touristy area in the heart of Madrid with great shopping…and apparently pick-pockterers. More on that later.

The Flamenco show was AMAZING.  The kids were in awe of the music and dancing and the drama.  It’s like nothing you will ever see and HIGHLY recommend you go to a show when in Spain. No photos to share.  Read on to find out why..

This was the night when our luck ran out in Madrid.  At some point that night my phone was stolen.  Not sure how it happened.  I’m usually smart about closing my purse, but it did.  The GOOD news was that I had insurance for the phone AND through World Nomads so it should all be covered when it was all said and done.  The next day Tmobile sent a replacement phone to my in-laws who then shipped it to our Malaga Airbnb for us.  It’s in these moments that you really have to just feel grateful for what really matters.  It’s a PHONE.  It could be much worse, and to be honest, it has been nice to be disconnected for the last few days and have other people be in charge of looking things up on google maps. Funny how life works, but another lesson for the kids is to always be on guard when traveling.  I’m glad this happened to ME now and I can assure you they will never let this happen to them when they travel one day without us.

On our last full day in Madrid we took an excursion to the ancient former capital of Spain, Toledo.  My dad wasn’t feeling well into the walking tour so they decided to sit at a café and take a break while the 4 of us ventured on. I WISH we could have had a full day or even 2 days here.  If you are in Madrid make sure you make time to visit Toledo and give yourself to walk around the ancient walls etc.

Before leaving Madrid, the kids, Tod and my folks took the tour at the Bernabeu Stadium which came highly recommended.  I was waiting on a shipment of our nutrition products that had been lost for 2 weeks and was desperate to get them in my body so didn’t want to risk not being there for the delivery. If you use these products you understand why. You can see why here.

They got to visit the Real Madrid locker room, the field, the press box, and the museum-YES, there is a museum and it’s one of the most visited in all of Madrid.  It was a true treat for my dad who has been a fan for over 80 years now.  I missed out, and of course, our package never made it.  Such is my luck these days.  HAHA.

Needless to say, the Davidson’s are excited to head out to the south of Spain.  We opted for Malaga as it has beaches to unwind and relax after the big city, but also has tons of history and nightlife to keep us entertained.

More on that next week…with better photos since my iPhone X will be back in the game!

Thank you all for following our journey!

Sandra and the Traveling Davidsons