Round The World: Madrid, Spain

Madrid is a fantastic city to visit, one of my favorites in fact, and the first stop on our Round The World trip. It’s rich in culture, history, and tradition, like my all-time favorite siesta (I do love a good nap, and believe me I napped 1-2 hours daily during my visit). There are many sites to see and activities to partake in, the food is delicious (did I mention I love to eat?), and the people are friendly and passionate about their city. I’ve also heard the nightlife is amazing, but I can’t really speak to that as I’m not a night owl.

This is my second visit to Madrid. The last time I was here was during my Grand European Tour and we were only in the city for a couple days. Being on the constant go-go-go means you miss quite a few things, so I decided I would return one day to explore the city further.

Where Did We Stay?

We booked the Radisson Blu Hotel Madrid Prado using Club Carlson points, which we earned by applying for the US Bank Club Carlson credit card. At the time, the card offered a fantastic promotion of buy one get one free night, but this no longer exists so I won’t go into detail about it. Not only that, we booked the hotel just before they increased their redemption rates from 50,000 points to 70,000 points, so we scored big here. If we have enough points the next time I’m in town, I’ll definitely stay here again.

My first impressions of the property was that I liked the location (near a grocery store, restaurants and main attractions), the room was a nice cozy size (good for sleeping since we intended to be out and about, plus great for siesta!), and the pool is awesome (there are jets that massage under your feet and your back, or full body if you lie sideward on the seat).

The Attractions

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One of the main sites for tourists is Puerta del Sol, a large square with many restaurants and souvenir shops (we went crazy at the souvenir shops). We also visited Plaza Mayor because my cousin yelped a restaurant there called La Casa del Abuelo. The shrimp, prawns, gazpacho, sangria and wine (a restaurant specialty called Gambas a la Plancha) were delicious. Not to mention our waiter was hilarious and super awesome, even drinking a bit of wine with us too.

One unique activity we did was signing up for a cooking class, Soy Chef. I’m not a chef, nor am I a cook as I’m rarely in the kitchen (unless someone made me food and I’m going there to retrieve it). We made Spanish torta, potatoes and egg, and traditional paella made of rabbit (um, tastes like chicken). I ate this the last time I visited and loved it, but I think most people would prefer tossing in seafood or chicken.

An activity I enjoy doing wherever I travel is Segway tours. I love seeing the city zipping around on these things. Funny story… A young girl couldn’t get a handle on how to stop the Segway, and while going down a small hill she leaned forward, making her go faster, and started yelling “help, help!” I tried to tell her to lean back, but her wheels suddenly hit the curb and she launched into the air and right into a large bush. Luckily she was fine, but one wheel had a flat tire and an instructor, who swapped Segways with the girl, rode it back slowly.

The Food

I love food! Rather than talk about the food I enjoyed on my trip, I’ll just show you.

The Final Word…

Madrid was a great first stop on our Round The World trip. Although traveling during high season full of tourists and in the middle of summer in what felt like a major heat wave were not ideal, the experiences we had here surpasses the discomfort and crowds of people. At least the hotel pool cooled us down and had awesome massaging jets (free spa treatment!), and we took a siesta daily to get out of the heat. I’ll definitely be back the next time I make it to Europe.