Cinco Gremios Mayores

Afternoon a very comfortable and relaxing train ride, so different to our last experience, we arrived in Madrid, ready to explore the Capital of Spain. After falling in love with Valencia we are not sure if it will be able to compete.

After a fun conversation where none of understood each other, we did manage to drop our bags off before check-in so we could explore the streets without the extra baggage. We were starving so lunch was first on our agenda.

Our initial thoughts are that the area we are staying in isn’t the prettiest and there seem to be quite a few homeless who have made their homes in the piazza in front of our apartment. We really weren’t sure what to expect and weren’t sure if we felt that safe. It will be interesting to see if our opinion changes.

Lunch was in a cafe not far from where we are staying. By this stage we just wanted something to eat. Brad opted for a salmon steak which he really enjoyed and I chose a chicken skewer. I had no idea it would come out hanging on a stand. It was one of my nicest meals to far with the chicken being so tender and succulent and delicious. Very very tasty.

Lunch done we wandered further and of course ducked into a church for a quick look. We are starting to wonder if we have overdose on church viewings as we were in and out of this one pretty quickly. We were more interested in seeing more of Madrid.

Once again we have arrived in the middle of a festival, although this one is a music festival and not a religious one. As a result the streets and squares were packed with people dancing and singing and having a great time. It was overwhelming trying to navigate our way through but so exhilarating to be a part of and what the talented dancers.

After another early start and a lot of walking we decided to call it a day and finally check into our apartment. Bright, bold and colourful is the only way to describe it. It has certainly been one of our more unique places to stay. The highlight of which was the views from our windows. The church dome in the distance was impressive in daylight and even more spectacular as the sun set and the night sky appeared. Loved the view.

While we were hoping for an early night, that was not to be. With the church bells ringing for what felt like forever (and being rung by a person actually in the bell tower), the main musical event started at about 10pm and was still going at 1am. They definitely know how to party here. We have since found out that nights out in Madrid, and many Spanish towns don’t actually start until after midnight and end when the sun is coming up. We are really feeling our age.

Our opinions on Madrid are still not set but thankfully they are not as bad as our initial thoughts, although the number of locks on our fifth floor apartment door does raise some questions. Tomorrow we will hopefully have less crowds and be able to explore more.Read more