If there is one city in the world where you wake up a little worse for wear after having a great night out, Madrid is that city. Vibrant, full of squares and surprises that keep you from calling it a night but nothing is too far away from where you lay your head. Madrid has a magical ability of a calming days and exciting nights.

The short Madrid pitstop came about when myself and my boyfriend Conan wanted a break away together before I ventured off to the bush in South Africa. A little get away together.

As I booked later I arrived 4 hours before Bex due to the fact that I booked my flight late. I had a little recky of the city and bizarrely saw the Spanish basketball team having a massive celebration in one of the main squares having just won the European championships complete with Spanish rappers. Hilarious.

Madrid is filled with hostels on every square we looked at most of them when we were booking but to us most of them resembled prisons, bars on the windows and tiny boxes.. all well and good if you’re looking for the travelling spirit and not to bothered about where to lay your head at what cost – but for this little trip we were looking for something a little more. Lastminute.com like for many people cam in a little saviour, we found one hotel Principe Pio, for the same price as the hostels a 3* hotel that over looked the Presidential Palace. Thought it was too good to be true to be honest, but when we got there we were more than surprised. We were given the top floor and our window over looked the palace. It was bliss.

Bex twittered the hotel (or whatever you call it) and we were sent an email telling us we’d get a free fruit plate… not bad. Imagine our surprise when they put a bottle of cava and some home made chocolates instead… Result.

Waking up in this fancy room, the sort of thing that I usually find too poncy, i realised it was worth it for how we were feeling after all those bottles of wine… as we awoke we ventured for breakfast in the city. Madrid is like a maze lots of back streets that stem onto squares. Each of which has something different to offer, from Opera houses to Churches, Shopping Malls and markets – if you like shopping you’ll find something here.

I know what you’re thinking SHOPPING arrrgggggghhhh! Worry not this is much more civilised than oxford street were the pavements are tiny and so rammed you feel like you could be shoved into traffic at any minute. Think more new bond street if it was pedestrianised with curiosity shops, tapas bars and spectacular delis.

Ooof, Madrid is hot, we felt that as soon as we left the hotel early morning, still a little worse for wear we staggered up a hill to have a look at the Palace. It felt like we were climbing for hours, but when we turned around it was only about 10 meters… give us our due it was incredibly steep. The Kings palace was incredible. The best however are the gardens you can have fun running around playing hide and seek… trust the British.

Hahaha, watching Bex go up those steps with a hangover reminded me of climbing Kilimanjaro, epic. Peekaboo…

As we walked around the back we were lucky enough to see the changing of the guard – always a great tourist attraction, this one more for its comical factor. Along came all the stern looking army guards, with there marching and their horses. What is supposed to be a very rigid routine turned into more of a dance with horses. They were not having any of it. The horses were wandering everywhere and the poor guards where trying to keep everything official but the horses just wanted to dance. It felt more like I was watching a comedy sketch of how a changing of the guard would go if the classic comedy shows. I’m sure it is great to watch any day, but it was pretty spectacular to watch it unfold.

Amazing, put a rookie on a horse which is seriously pissed off and this is what you get…

Our first venture for food came from a recommendation from Conans best friend who is from Madrid, Mercado de San Miguel. This is a small food market that with awaken your taste buds in everyway. Being a big fan of seafood I stumbled across a small stand selling shredded Pollock on smoked salmon layered on tasty warm toasted Focaccia. I went back to that stall 3 times. If you are looking for a 3 course meal, this isn’t the place. But if you go with an open mind and willing to try lots of small dishes, this is the place. Treat it as find your own tapas and your stomach will leave incredibly happy.

Croquettes, hams, olives, squid, oysters, patatas bravas and a bloke wandering around selling super tasty Spanish wines for a few euros a pop. Albarino… hmmmmmmmmmmm…

Hang over banished we ventured out on Segway’s.. putting me on one of these is dangerous, but my gosh they are so much fun. If you are only in the city for a short time it’s a great way to see most things in a few hours. We were zapping all over the city, once you get the hang of it you’ll have the best fun. They are much faster than you would expect, trust me a learnt that the hard way. In a few hours we saw… hold on I need to get all the names right…

Sweeping pathways and nicely planned parkland and gardens lead out past the Atheletico Madrids stadium along the river. The best thing by far on these paths, some of which look like a mini F1 tracks, is racing all of your fellow segwayers and they are pretty nippy getting up to 20 odd miles an hour. Even Usain Bolt couldn’t outrun one!

Feeling an adrenaline rush we recuperated with a beer and some light tapas snacks. Of course we ended up chatting with an Irish couple and one beer led to another, in a normal situation one beer would have led to many yet the service was one to feel frustrated by. One thing to note about Madrid, there are hundreds of out door terraces, with the summer sun these are packed and the staff are very few and under incredible amounts of pressure. Imagine Manuel from Fawlty Towers give him 250 people to look after and its about half the situation we encountered. You ask for a beer you get a cappuccino. Thankfully  all this commotion allowed us to bond with this Irish couple and we ended up meeting them a few times throughout the trip, some planned some unplanned. The squares of Madrid allow you to bump into people many times. In talking to them we heard of a Cable Car and off we went. The sun was just about to set and it was magical, beautiful skies and the view of the whole of Madrid.

On the way to the cable car there is a large park area with a monument. We saw some busking and people taking some very suggestive modelling shots. Walked through the park and got to the cable car. We took great delight in watching the world go by high in the sky and waving at all the cable cars passing in the opposite direction and watched the sun go down… mint.

Madrid is a city where you get a little bit of everything, sun, food, shopping, segways, culture, sites, architecture and a general buzz. Couldn’t recommend a stay there more.

Much Love,

B xo

Conan