Family of 4 in Madrid for One Week -- A report
Mar 30th, 2022, 02:24 AM
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Family of 4 in Madrid for One Week -- A report
Trip report for late March 2022 to Madrid for a family of 4 (2 kids -- 6 and 9 years old).
Why Madrid? Why not? in reality, as we looked for fares for spring break, it stood out that we could do a round-trip on American Air from Portland (OR) to Madrid for $499/person. That pretty much beat even most of our domestic options. So off to Madrid we went.
Our typical vacations tend to be hopping from city to city but given only a week we said we will stay in madrid the whole time but use the time for day trips out of town.
Day 0: Leave Portland. Portland-->Dallas-->Madrid
Day 1: Arrive in Madrid before noon. First order of business at the airport was to get tourist transit passes (mainly for Metro usage but also commuter train and bus). And take the commuter train into town. We stayed at the Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza (full hotel review at the end of the report). Should have been a relatively easy walk from the station to the hotel but when we arrived and ascended from the station to the street, we found ourselves in the midst of a giant/rally march (as far as we could gather, it was for hunting rights, which seemed weird a little bit). We were able to check into our room and then wanted to head out for a quick lunch. We walked through El Retiro Park to the Retiro district. For our first lunch, we decided just stop in a to little hole in the wall tapas bar (~4 tables, all locals, families w/kids -- perfect vibe for us). When the owner (?) tried to walk through the menu line by line, we just aid bring us 4 dishes of your choice, it will be easier....which he did (traditional madrid stew, roast beef, tuna carpaccio (?), some dried meat). From there, we headed to QAVA, a great little cheese store that only sells Spanish cheeses (our littlest one is a big cheese aficionado -- foreshadowing some future events) and then back to the hotel. For the 1st evening in town, we had booked tickets @ Teatro Flamenco. Since it is an early evening show, we thought the kids could enjoy it instead of a "real" late night show. Was a full house and a nice hour show sampling of flamenco. From there, for a quick simple dinner, we went to the San Ildefenso market which has small street food stalls so that it was quick and there was variety for everyone.
Next update -- Day 2 or "How to Get a good tour of the city that wont drive the kids bored/crazy"
Why Madrid? Why not? in reality, as we looked for fares for spring break, it stood out that we could do a round-trip on American Air from Portland (OR) to Madrid for $499/person. That pretty much beat even most of our domestic options. So off to Madrid we went.
Our typical vacations tend to be hopping from city to city but given only a week we said we will stay in madrid the whole time but use the time for day trips out of town.
Day 0: Leave Portland. Portland-->Dallas-->Madrid
Day 1: Arrive in Madrid before noon. First order of business at the airport was to get tourist transit passes (mainly for Metro usage but also commuter train and bus). And take the commuter train into town. We stayed at the Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza (full hotel review at the end of the report). Should have been a relatively easy walk from the station to the hotel but when we arrived and ascended from the station to the street, we found ourselves in the midst of a giant/rally march (as far as we could gather, it was for hunting rights, which seemed weird a little bit). We were able to check into our room and then wanted to head out for a quick lunch. We walked through El Retiro Park to the Retiro district. For our first lunch, we decided just stop in a to little hole in the wall tapas bar (~4 tables, all locals, families w/kids -- perfect vibe for us). When the owner (?) tried to walk through the menu line by line, we just aid bring us 4 dishes of your choice, it will be easier....which he did (traditional madrid stew, roast beef, tuna carpaccio (?), some dried meat). From there, we headed to QAVA, a great little cheese store that only sells Spanish cheeses (our littlest one is a big cheese aficionado -- foreshadowing some future events) and then back to the hotel. For the 1st evening in town, we had booked tickets @ Teatro Flamenco. Since it is an early evening show, we thought the kids could enjoy it instead of a "real" late night show. Was a full house and a nice hour show sampling of flamenco. From there, for a quick simple dinner, we went to the San Ildefenso market which has small street food stalls so that it was quick and there was variety for everyone.
Next update -- Day 2 or "How to Get a good tour of the city that wont drive the kids bored/crazy"
Mar 30th, 2022, 04:21 AM
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Trip report for late March 2022 to Madrid for a family of 4 (2 kids -- 6 and 9 years old).
Why Madrid? Why not? in reality, as we looked for fares for spring break, it stood out that we could do a round-trip on American Air from Portland (OR) to Madrid for $499/person. That pretty much beat even most of our domestic options. So off to Madrid we went.
Our typical vacations tend to be hopping from city to city but given only a week we said we will stay in madrid the whole time but use the time for day trips out of town.
Day 0: Leave Portland. Portland-->Dallas-->Madrid
Day 1: Arrive in Madrid before noon. First order of business at the airport was to get tourist transit passes (mainly for Metro usage but also commuter train and bus). And take the commuter train into town. We stayed at the Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza (full hotel review at the end of the report). Should have been a relatively easy walk from the station to the hotel but when we arrived and ascended from the station to the street, we found ourselves in the midst of a giant/rally march (as far as we could gather, it was for hunting rights, which seemed weird a little bit). We were able to check into our room and then wanted to head out for a quick lunch. We walked through El Retiro Park to the Retiro district. For our first lunch, we decided just stop in a to little hole in the wall tapas bar (~4 tables, all locals, families w/kids -- perfect vibe for us). When the owner (?) tried to walk through the menu line by line, we just aid bring us 4 dishes of your choice, it will be easier....which he did (traditional madrid stew, roast beef, tuna carpaccio (?), some dried meat). From there, we headed to QAVA, a great little cheese store that only sells Spanish cheeses (our littlest one is a big cheese aficionado -- foreshadowing some future events) and then back to the hotel. For the 1st evening in town, we had booked tickets @ Teatro Flamenco. Since it is an early evening show, we thought the kids could enjoy it instead of a "real" late night show. Was a full house and a nice hour show sampling of flamenco. From there, for a quick simple dinner, we went to the San Ildefenso market which has small street food stalls so that it was quick and there was variety for everyone.
Next update -- Day 2 or "How to Get a good tour of the city that wont drive the kids bored/crazy"
Why Madrid? Why not? in reality, as we looked for fares for spring break, it stood out that we could do a round-trip on American Air from Portland (OR) to Madrid for $499/person. That pretty much beat even most of our domestic options. So off to Madrid we went.
Our typical vacations tend to be hopping from city to city but given only a week we said we will stay in madrid the whole time but use the time for day trips out of town.
Day 0: Leave Portland. Portland-->Dallas-->Madrid
Day 1: Arrive in Madrid before noon. First order of business at the airport was to get tourist transit passes (mainly for Metro usage but also commuter train and bus). And take the commuter train into town. We stayed at the Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza (full hotel review at the end of the report). Should have been a relatively easy walk from the station to the hotel but when we arrived and ascended from the station to the street, we found ourselves in the midst of a giant/rally march (as far as we could gather, it was for hunting rights, which seemed weird a little bit). We were able to check into our room and then wanted to head out for a quick lunch. We walked through El Retiro Park to the Retiro district. For our first lunch, we decided just stop in a to little hole in the wall tapas bar (~4 tables, all locals, families w/kids -- perfect vibe for us). When the owner (?) tried to walk through the menu line by line, we just aid bring us 4 dishes of your choice, it will be easier....which he did (traditional madrid stew, roast beef, tuna carpaccio (?), some dried meat). From there, we headed to QAVA, a great little cheese store that only sells Spanish cheeses (our littlest one is a big cheese aficionado -- foreshadowing some future events) and then back to the hotel. For the 1st evening in town, we had booked tickets @ Teatro Flamenco. Since it is an early evening show, we thought the kids could enjoy it instead of a "real" late night show. Was a full house and a nice hour show sampling of flamenco. From there, for a quick simple dinner, we went to the San Ildefenso market which has small street food stalls so that it was quick and there was variety for everyone.
Next update -- Day 2 or "How to Get a good tour of the city that wont drive the kids bored/crazy"
Apr 1st, 2022, 01:09 AM
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Day 2 -- First Full Day in Madrid
One goal of this day was to get a good tour/sense of the city. Our usual would be just to wander around on our own but we decided to see if we could do something more structured. But we needed something: a) In English, b) Something that the kids could enjoy, not something that would make them squirmy and cranky. After some searching before the trip, we found "Across Madrid" tours which would give a personal walking tour of the city for the family that was targeted at the kids. So on a fairly miserable (moderate to heavy rain) Monday morning, we met at Puerta del Sol to start a 3-hour adventure. Since it was raining, our guide offered to do an indoor Prado tour instead but we said no we were used to the rain (from the pacific northwest) so lets stick to the city. The tour was absolutely fantastic and one of the best decisions we made on the trip. Tour was led by a art history professor who has two young kids of her own so her content and style was perfect for the kids. She brings along essentially a city scavenger hunt and tells the story of the city as you walk around. It was amazing several days later as we would walk through the city what the kids would remember/recall. Was a great 3-hours. We did have a stop in the middle to dry up a bit and have some chocolate (at Confiteria El Riojano) which the kids obviously also enjoyed.
We ended up near the Royal Palace and needed to grab some lunch. We ended up going some ok tapas and then headed back across town. Since it was Monday, we headed over to the Thyssen for their free Monday. We knew the kids would only tolerate so long at the museums so we figured the free days were the best bet since we may not stay long. This ended up being the only one of the big three that we ended up doing on this trip. But was a good stroll through -- our oldest did find himself particularly enamored with the nudes it seems
.
For dinner, we wanted something early since it had been a long day of walking (just over 5 miles). So, we started wandering around for what was open and ended up at Cadaques. For the two of us, we did the rice w/rabbit+snails. Our oldest loves octopus/squid (you will see a theme over the week), so had the squid. Our youngest went with the pate (light eater but adventurous). The rice was A LOT....but we were happy to be able to eat a little early and then call it a night.
Next up -- Our first day trip outside the city
One goal of this day was to get a good tour/sense of the city. Our usual would be just to wander around on our own but we decided to see if we could do something more structured. But we needed something: a) In English, b) Something that the kids could enjoy, not something that would make them squirmy and cranky. After some searching before the trip, we found "Across Madrid" tours which would give a personal walking tour of the city for the family that was targeted at the kids. So on a fairly miserable (moderate to heavy rain) Monday morning, we met at Puerta del Sol to start a 3-hour adventure. Since it was raining, our guide offered to do an indoor Prado tour instead but we said no we were used to the rain (from the pacific northwest) so lets stick to the city. The tour was absolutely fantastic and one of the best decisions we made on the trip. Tour was led by a art history professor who has two young kids of her own so her content and style was perfect for the kids. She brings along essentially a city scavenger hunt and tells the story of the city as you walk around. It was amazing several days later as we would walk through the city what the kids would remember/recall. Was a great 3-hours. We did have a stop in the middle to dry up a bit and have some chocolate (at Confiteria El Riojano) which the kids obviously also enjoyed.
We ended up near the Royal Palace and needed to grab some lunch. We ended up going some ok tapas and then headed back across town. Since it was Monday, we headed over to the Thyssen for their free Monday. We knew the kids would only tolerate so long at the museums so we figured the free days were the best bet since we may not stay long. This ended up being the only one of the big three that we ended up doing on this trip. But was a good stroll through -- our oldest did find himself particularly enamored with the nudes it seems
. For dinner, we wanted something early since it had been a long day of walking (just over 5 miles). So, we started wandering around for what was open and ended up at Cadaques. For the two of us, we did the rice w/rabbit+snails. Our oldest loves octopus/squid (you will see a theme over the week), so had the squid. Our youngest went with the pate (light eater but adventurous). The rice was A LOT....but we were happy to be able to eat a little early and then call it a night.
Next up -- Our first day trip outside the city
Apr 4th, 2022, 03:52 AM
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Day 3 -- Toledo
For our first day trip out of the city, we headed to Toledo. Quick, easy walk from the hotel to the train station to catch the high-speed train to Toledo. Arriving in Toledo, we decided to walk to town instead of taking the bus. Is an uphill climb into the historic area but nice to walk (1st picture below as we start the climb). Once in town, we decided to keep walking and see what we would discover. Probably not our best idea as we started wandering sort of lost and should have probably had a more clear plan for the day. Eventually we found ourselves at San Ildefonso Church, which was perfect. One of the things our family, including the kids, loves to do is climb various towers/buildings/etc. So this was perfect. A fairly easy climb given multiple landings. With a nice view of the city (see example picture). After that, and now that we had our bearings, we headed for the cathedral. More than just the cathedral, all of the art kept the attention of the kids (surprisingly). For lunch, we stopped at La Cave. Was slightly hidden down an alley so no large tourist hordes. Menu of the day for the adults. Our oldest loves octopus (a theme…) and enjoyed his lunch (as seen in the pic as well).
After lunch, we wanted to spend some time exploring the alleys and shops before walking back down to the train station for the trip back to Madrid.
Overall verdict on Toledo – We feel like our wandering cost us time/energy (we ended the day over 8 miles of walking – keep in mind that’s with a 6 and 9 year old) and we missed out on some of the magic because we never found it (maybe it doesn’t exist). Was a good trip and would do again but with a plan next time.
Next up – Another day in the city.
For our first day trip out of the city, we headed to Toledo. Quick, easy walk from the hotel to the train station to catch the high-speed train to Toledo. Arriving in Toledo, we decided to walk to town instead of taking the bus. Is an uphill climb into the historic area but nice to walk (1st picture below as we start the climb). Once in town, we decided to keep walking and see what we would discover. Probably not our best idea as we started wandering sort of lost and should have probably had a more clear plan for the day. Eventually we found ourselves at San Ildefonso Church, which was perfect. One of the things our family, including the kids, loves to do is climb various towers/buildings/etc. So this was perfect. A fairly easy climb given multiple landings. With a nice view of the city (see example picture). After that, and now that we had our bearings, we headed for the cathedral. More than just the cathedral, all of the art kept the attention of the kids (surprisingly). For lunch, we stopped at La Cave. Was slightly hidden down an alley so no large tourist hordes. Menu of the day for the adults. Our oldest loves octopus (a theme…) and enjoyed his lunch (as seen in the pic as well).
After lunch, we wanted to spend some time exploring the alleys and shops before walking back down to the train station for the trip back to Madrid.
Overall verdict on Toledo – We feel like our wandering cost us time/energy (we ended the day over 8 miles of walking – keep in mind that’s with a 6 and 9 year old) and we missed out on some of the magic because we never found it (maybe it doesn’t exist). Was a good trip and would do again but with a plan next time.
Next up – Another day in the city.
Apr 5th, 2022, 01:30 AM
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Day 4 -- Another Madrid Day
Pre-purchased tickets to the Royal Palace so started our morning there. The line situation is kind of annoying -- they have two lines, one for ticket holders (where virtually everyone is in line) and one line is for people w/o tickets. Maybe other days are different but on this day it was faster to get in w/o a ticket....Anyway, the palace was as expected and the kids enjoyed going from room to room and reading the signs and then explaining the room to us. We also wanted to catch the changing of the guard but either missed it or it didnt happen. We didnt get a chance to ask. Our original plan was after the palace to go to the cathedral which is basically right next door. But given we did the cathedral in toledo the day before and the kids seemed to want a change of pace so we decided to hit a few other places on our hit list and then lunch.
1st up since it was nearby was Monasterio del Corpus Christi -- where the cloistered nuns sell baked goods via a lazy susan such that you don't have to see each other. Picture of the entrance below. We got buzzed in and made it to the lazy susan. process was easy as the list of items was posted (although not all were available), you leave your money on the lazy susan, your boxes appear, and then your change appears. All quite easy. But all very amusing to the kids. And the goods are good
after that, my wife wanted to find some stores that specialized in spanish local goods (this would also become a theme). First stop was Cocol where ended up buying a scarf for our little one. From there, it was lunch time and we went to La Musa Latina which was right down the street and had read good things about. Wife and the oldest kid both ordered the menu of the day while the little one and I shared a few tapas. One of the more interesting ones below (tempura in squid ink).
Nest stop is the small specialty ham store (Alma De Julian Becerro) that our guide from Monday recommended vs. any of the markets. The rest of the day is also spent wandering through town and exploring more stores. In the evening, we headed to the Moncloa Lighthouse. I said we like towers but of course this one is just an elevator ride. Still with nice views over the city.
Day 5 -- Off to Segovia
Pre-purchased tickets to the Royal Palace so started our morning there. The line situation is kind of annoying -- they have two lines, one for ticket holders (where virtually everyone is in line) and one line is for people w/o tickets. Maybe other days are different but on this day it was faster to get in w/o a ticket....Anyway, the palace was as expected and the kids enjoyed going from room to room and reading the signs and then explaining the room to us. We also wanted to catch the changing of the guard but either missed it or it didnt happen. We didnt get a chance to ask. Our original plan was after the palace to go to the cathedral which is basically right next door. But given we did the cathedral in toledo the day before and the kids seemed to want a change of pace so we decided to hit a few other places on our hit list and then lunch.
1st up since it was nearby was Monasterio del Corpus Christi -- where the cloistered nuns sell baked goods via a lazy susan such that you don't have to see each other. Picture of the entrance below. We got buzzed in and made it to the lazy susan. process was easy as the list of items was posted (although not all were available), you leave your money on the lazy susan, your boxes appear, and then your change appears. All quite easy. But all very amusing to the kids. And the goods are good
after that, my wife wanted to find some stores that specialized in spanish local goods (this would also become a theme). First stop was Cocol where ended up buying a scarf for our little one. From there, it was lunch time and we went to La Musa Latina which was right down the street and had read good things about. Wife and the oldest kid both ordered the menu of the day while the little one and I shared a few tapas. One of the more interesting ones below (tempura in squid ink).
Nest stop is the small specialty ham store (Alma De Julian Becerro) that our guide from Monday recommended vs. any of the markets. The rest of the day is also spent wandering through town and exploring more stores. In the evening, we headed to the Moncloa Lighthouse. I said we like towers but of course this one is just an elevator ride. Still with nice views over the city.
Day 5 -- Off to Segovia
Apr 5th, 2022, 06:17 AM
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Eager to read about your Segovia day. We were there 2 Sundays ago and it was quite busy. Your kids will enjoy, I think, the fairy tale looking Alcázar and climbing to the top of the tower for wonderful views.
The Solemn Changing of the Royal Guard happens at the Royal Palace at noon the first Wednesday of each month except for July and August. The next one is celebrated this Wednesday, April 6. This is the one with music, drums, 400 guard members participating and 100 horses and takes place in the Plaza de la Armería. It's best to get there early and grab a seat on the steps leading down from Almudena Cathedral.
The Solemn Changing of the Royal Guard happens at the Royal Palace at noon the first Wednesday of each month except for July and August. The next one is celebrated this Wednesday, April 6. This is the one with music, drums, 400 guard members participating and 100 horses and takes place in the Plaza de la Armería. It's best to get there early and grab a seat on the steps leading down from Almudena Cathedral.
Last edited by Maribel; Apr 5th, 2022 at 06:45 AM.
Apr 6th, 2022, 05:26 AM
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Day 5 (Thursday) -- Segovia
Another day out of the city. Took the metro and then the high speed train to Segovia. The train station there is essentially in a field and you need to take the bus to town. I had expected the bus to be timed perfectly with the train. But we ended up waiting 10-15 minutes lined up outside before the bus would let people on and go (even though the bus was there). As with essentially every day on our trip, it was fairly cold and gray (as the pictures will attest to).
In town, you are dropped off right by the famous aqueduct (picture below). As opposed to Toledo, this time we had (something of) a plan. Stop #1 was the cathedral (2nd picture). The cathedral has timed guided walks up its tower. And since you know by now that we love towers, of course our main goal was climbing the bell tower. At first we thought it was just the 4 of us but it slowly accumulated into a decent number (maybe 15 or so). You do have to be masked while climbing, which can be a bit of a pain as you trying to breathe. But they also do stop at a few landings on the way so it is not bad. At the top, you have good views across the town (picture #3 with the alcazar in view) although it was incredibly windy when we were up there.
We raced down and out of the cathedral and back towards the aqueduct as we had lunch reservations at Meson de Candido for their famous suckling pig. Maybe we were expecting too much from it. Maybe we didn't know what to expect. But I think we ended up a little underwhelmed by the experience. The food was ok but wouldn't rank anywhere in our list of best/memorable meals this trip. The kids were excited for seeing the carving with a plate edge but that didn't happen. Oldest had the lamb which he enjoyed. Youngest went with the foie gras pate. The two of us each went with the pig (picture below).
After lunch, it was time to walk across town to the famous Alcazar. Here the tower climb is not guided but tickets are for specific times. So, after we bought our tickets, we walked through and toured the site and then had a few minutes to spare before our next climb. This one also did not disappoint with the views around town. Then it was a leisurely stroll back across town, stopping at various shops along the way, finally catching the bus back to the train station and the ride home.
For dinner, we had not made reservations anywhere since we didn't know how hungry we would be after that lunch (turned out we were plenty hungry). So, we started the act of walking looking for places that were interesting, open, and could take us w/o reservations. We ended up at the Basque restaurant Pelotari, only a few minutes walk away from our hotel. Good service and food although also our most expensive meal of the trip.
Tomorrow -- Time for another trip out of the city. Where did we decide to go?
Another day out of the city. Took the metro and then the high speed train to Segovia. The train station there is essentially in a field and you need to take the bus to town. I had expected the bus to be timed perfectly with the train. But we ended up waiting 10-15 minutes lined up outside before the bus would let people on and go (even though the bus was there). As with essentially every day on our trip, it was fairly cold and gray (as the pictures will attest to).
In town, you are dropped off right by the famous aqueduct (picture below). As opposed to Toledo, this time we had (something of) a plan. Stop #1 was the cathedral (2nd picture). The cathedral has timed guided walks up its tower. And since you know by now that we love towers, of course our main goal was climbing the bell tower. At first we thought it was just the 4 of us but it slowly accumulated into a decent number (maybe 15 or so). You do have to be masked while climbing, which can be a bit of a pain as you trying to breathe. But they also do stop at a few landings on the way so it is not bad. At the top, you have good views across the town (picture #3 with the alcazar in view) although it was incredibly windy when we were up there.
We raced down and out of the cathedral and back towards the aqueduct as we had lunch reservations at Meson de Candido for their famous suckling pig. Maybe we were expecting too much from it. Maybe we didn't know what to expect. But I think we ended up a little underwhelmed by the experience. The food was ok but wouldn't rank anywhere in our list of best/memorable meals this trip. The kids were excited for seeing the carving with a plate edge but that didn't happen. Oldest had the lamb which he enjoyed. Youngest went with the foie gras pate. The two of us each went with the pig (picture below).
After lunch, it was time to walk across town to the famous Alcazar. Here the tower climb is not guided but tickets are for specific times. So, after we bought our tickets, we walked through and toured the site and then had a few minutes to spare before our next climb. This one also did not disappoint with the views around town. Then it was a leisurely stroll back across town, stopping at various shops along the way, finally catching the bus back to the train station and the ride home.
For dinner, we had not made reservations anywhere since we didn't know how hungry we would be after that lunch (turned out we were plenty hungry). So, we started the act of walking looking for places that were interesting, open, and could take us w/o reservations. We ended up at the Basque restaurant Pelotari, only a few minutes walk away from our hotel. Good service and food although also our most expensive meal of the trip.
Tomorrow -- Time for another trip out of the city. Where did we decide to go?
Apr 6th, 2022, 07:29 AM
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Nice photos. Glad your kids enjoyed their Segovia day. It sounds like you might be staying on Calle Recoletos, since Pelotari is just a short walk away. Also on Recoletos we enjoy Taberna Pedraza.
Apr 7th, 2022, 04:53 AM
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Day 6 (Friday) -- Yet another gray, rainy day.
We wanted to do one more day trip out of the city. Our initial plan was to go visit Chinchon, which sounded like a nice little small town. But, upon reflecting, we were worried it would be too small for a day and lead to more restlessness, unhappiness. So, we pivoted and decided to instead take the train out to Aranjuez.
Again walked down to the train station and took the commuter train out to Aranjuez. And then a fairly short walk from the station there to the palace where we walked through the palace. By the end of that, it was time for lunch. There were a few places that looked interesting right on site but their lack of any locals scared us away and instead we wandered more towards town. As a change of pace, we actually had Italian (Gino's) which wasn't bad but reminded me almost of the Olive Garden in the US (meaning broad menu, large portions, etc). After that, we wanted to explore the gardens. Two problems: 1) It started pouring, 2) The gardens were quite underwhelming at this time of year. So, we eventually headed back to the train station for the ride home.
Was it the right choice for the day trip? Maybe we could have stayed in the city (I'll do a post later on all the things we didn't do in Madrid) or maybe chosen somewhere else but overall seemed ok as yet another place to explore.
Back in Madrid, we thought about going to the Reina Sofia for their free evening hours but when we strolled by, the size of the line seemed daunting to us (maybe a bad choice, maybe it moved fast). So we strolled around for a bit back in the shopping areas and said we would try later. Of course, when we tried later (after 8:30), they said too late....so it was time for dinner. Right across the plaza from the museum, we saw a decent crowd of locals at <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement
ame-cell;}-->Sanabria and figured we might as well try it. Ended up being a good selection of food.
At that point it was getting late but we said since we are nearing the end of our trip, let's go for one more late-ish night adventure and headed to Chocalteria San Gines since we hadnt had churros+chocolate on the trip yet. Is it the best drinking/dipping chocolate? No. But its an experience (and it still is cheap) so we figured it would be fun. Which it definitely was.
Tomorrow -- The last full day....
We wanted to do one more day trip out of the city. Our initial plan was to go visit Chinchon, which sounded like a nice little small town. But, upon reflecting, we were worried it would be too small for a day and lead to more restlessness, unhappiness. So, we pivoted and decided to instead take the train out to Aranjuez.
Again walked down to the train station and took the commuter train out to Aranjuez. And then a fairly short walk from the station there to the palace where we walked through the palace. By the end of that, it was time for lunch. There were a few places that looked interesting right on site but their lack of any locals scared us away and instead we wandered more towards town. As a change of pace, we actually had Italian (Gino's) which wasn't bad but reminded me almost of the Olive Garden in the US (meaning broad menu, large portions, etc). After that, we wanted to explore the gardens. Two problems: 1) It started pouring, 2) The gardens were quite underwhelming at this time of year. So, we eventually headed back to the train station for the ride home.
Was it the right choice for the day trip? Maybe we could have stayed in the city (I'll do a post later on all the things we didn't do in Madrid) or maybe chosen somewhere else but overall seemed ok as yet another place to explore.
Back in Madrid, we thought about going to the Reina Sofia for their free evening hours but when we strolled by, the size of the line seemed daunting to us (maybe a bad choice, maybe it moved fast). So we strolled around for a bit back in the shopping areas and said we would try later. Of course, when we tried later (after 8:30), they said too late....so it was time for dinner. Right across the plaza from the museum, we saw a decent crowd of locals at <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement
ame-cell;}-->Sanabria and figured we might as well try it. Ended up being a good selection of food. At that point it was getting late but we said since we are nearing the end of our trip, let's go for one more late-ish night adventure and headed to Chocalteria San Gines since we hadnt had churros+chocolate on the trip yet. Is it the best drinking/dipping chocolate? No. But its an experience (and it still is cheap) so we figured it would be fun. Which it definitely was.
Tomorrow -- The last full day....
Apr 9th, 2022, 04:29 PM
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Day 7 -- Saturday -- Our last full day
For our last day, we decided to stay in the city. But before we could take on any fun activities, we first had to get our covid tests that are required to get back into the US. We spent dinner the night before talking through the various scenarios if a subset of us tested positive (thankfully, none of those scenarios took place). We found a testing lab a few minutes walk from our hotel. But at 38 euros/person, this is a great business (we could have pre-ordered the tests online for 30 euros but I was nervous to do that in case i wasn't interpreting something right or if the location couldnt take us, etc). Results came fairly quickly later that afternoon.
For our first primary stop of the day, we decided to head for the Mint, which is completely free. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise as their collection of old coins/money and walk through the history of money is quite comprehensive and ate up a good amount of time. And the kids found it quite interesting. They also did have a free scavenger hunt for the kids but was fully in Spanish so we didnt do that. After that we were quite hungry for lunch and after doing some wandering looking for a good place, we settled on a Basque lunch @ El Txoko Narváez (1st pic is a selection of pinxtos we had).
For dinner, we decided to try ending similar to how we started and wanted to try another cheese bar -- this time @ Poncelet Cheese Bar. We didnt have reservations but said we would take a chance by heading over there early-ish (8pm) and seeing if they could take us. That worked (they said as long as we were done by 10 which we thought wouldnt be an issue....we literally ended up being there until something like 9:57. Definitely enjoyed the entire meal. Highlights included: the 3 different cheese croquets, the octopus w/cheese foam, the cheese ice cream, and the cheesecake.
Next up: The trip home and postscripts
For our last day, we decided to stay in the city. But before we could take on any fun activities, we first had to get our covid tests that are required to get back into the US. We spent dinner the night before talking through the various scenarios if a subset of us tested positive (thankfully, none of those scenarios took place). We found a testing lab a few minutes walk from our hotel. But at 38 euros/person, this is a great business (we could have pre-ordered the tests online for 30 euros but I was nervous to do that in case i wasn't interpreting something right or if the location couldnt take us, etc). Results came fairly quickly later that afternoon.
For our first primary stop of the day, we decided to head for the Mint, which is completely free. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise as their collection of old coins/money and walk through the history of money is quite comprehensive and ate up a good amount of time. And the kids found it quite interesting. They also did have a free scavenger hunt for the kids but was fully in Spanish so we didnt do that. After that we were quite hungry for lunch and after doing some wandering looking for a good place, we settled on a Basque lunch @ El Txoko Narváez (1st pic is a selection of pinxtos we had).
For dinner, we decided to try ending similar to how we started and wanted to try another cheese bar -- this time @ Poncelet Cheese Bar. We didnt have reservations but said we would take a chance by heading over there early-ish (8pm) and seeing if they could take us. That worked (they said as long as we were done by 10 which we thought wouldnt be an issue....we literally ended up being there until something like 9:57
. Definitely enjoyed the entire meal. Highlights included: the 3 different cheese croquets, the octopus w/cheese foam, the cheese ice cream, and the cheesecake.
Next up: The trip home and postscripts
Apr 12th, 2022, 01:58 AM
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Day 8 -- Time to go home
We had a fairly early (11am-ish) flight so it was a quick breakfast at the hotel, then a walk up to the commuter train station and head to the airport. At the airport, the line through passport control was long and slow. So we thought we would have some time at the airport but instead by the time we were through and to our gate, it was basically time to board. And it wasnt just us -- the lady sitting next to me on the flight was out of breath from running to make sure she caught the flight. I don't know if we just had an unlucky day or is the Madrid airport always like this these days?
We flew Madrid-Charlotte (apparently the inaugural flight on that route) and then Charlotte-Portland. Thankfully with no travel drama at all as flights were all on time, etc. And with that our adventure in Spain ended.
Postscripts:
- We stayed at Hotel Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza. Overall thoughts on the hotel -- We liked the location a lot. Easy to walk various places and short walks to the metro, commuter train, train station. But on a quiet street with no commotion. Room was fairly simple but served our needs fine. We had a quad room which had a bunk bed for the kids, which they enjoyed. We also had breakfast every morning at the hotel. Is not included in their base rate but we figured that the time savings was worth it vs. always heading out hungry and then looking for a place to eat, etc. We definitely agreed at the end that we made a good choice as it was definitely convenient and there was a good amount of choice in the spread that everyone was satisifed at the end of breakfast.
- Things on our list that we didn't get to -- 1) The Madrid Zoo: The kids were excited about that when we did our trip planning but I wasn't. Maybe we should have done that instead of Aranjuez. 2) The cathedral in Madrid -- we were going to after the royal palace but got sidetracked and never made it back. But i dont think anyone was overly sad that we missed that. 3) Prado+Reina Sofia. We only visited the Thyssen. Our plan was only to do the free times at the museum since we didnt think the kids would last too long. We tried the Reina Sofia but the lines at the free time were too long. And we didnt even try the Prado even though we were so close. But I don think the kids were sad to miss out on more art. 4) Museum of the Americas -- I was interested in that but the only time we were near at (when at the Moncloa Lighthouse -- which was unplanned/spur of the moment) they weren't open and we never headed back in that direction, 5) San Miguel Market -- We love going to markets in Europe so the fact that we didnt go here was a surprise. I think we got a little dissuaded by our tour guide at the beginning of the week who talked about how expensive it was vs. the other "non-tourist" markets
- Food. As you can tell if you followed our reports, good food was important to us we are lucky that our kids are pretty adventurous eaters so style of food was never a limitation. The real limiters were the time (madrid eating hours can be challenging) and the type of place (given all the walking we did and the hour we were eating, the kids could be tired and/or cranky by dinner time so nice/quiet places werent exactly the best for us). There are a ton of places that we would have wanted to try but you can only do so much in one week.
- Public transportation -- We found it to be very helpful, even for some short jaunts given how much walking we had been doing. Getting the tourist transit card made it easy but i havent gone back to do the math if it was a good deal for us or not.
Hope you enjoyed our report. Look for future posts to be about us planning our summer vacation (Costa Rica maybe?)
We had a fairly early (11am-ish) flight so it was a quick breakfast at the hotel, then a walk up to the commuter train station and head to the airport. At the airport, the line through passport control was long and slow. So we thought we would have some time at the airport but instead by the time we were through and to our gate, it was basically time to board. And it wasnt just us -- the lady sitting next to me on the flight was out of breath from running to make sure she caught the flight. I don't know if we just had an unlucky day or is the Madrid airport always like this these days?
We flew Madrid-Charlotte (apparently the inaugural flight on that route) and then Charlotte-Portland. Thankfully with no travel drama at all as flights were all on time, etc. And with that our adventure in Spain ended.
Postscripts:
- We stayed at Hotel Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza. Overall thoughts on the hotel -- We liked the location a lot. Easy to walk various places and short walks to the metro, commuter train, train station. But on a quiet street with no commotion. Room was fairly simple but served our needs fine. We had a quad room which had a bunk bed for the kids, which they enjoyed. We also had breakfast every morning at the hotel. Is not included in their base rate but we figured that the time savings was worth it vs. always heading out hungry and then looking for a place to eat, etc. We definitely agreed at the end that we made a good choice as it was definitely convenient and there was a good amount of choice in the spread that everyone was satisifed at the end of breakfast.
- Things on our list that we didn't get to -- 1) The Madrid Zoo: The kids were excited about that when we did our trip planning but I wasn't. Maybe we should have done that instead of Aranjuez. 2) The cathedral in Madrid -- we were going to after the royal palace but got sidetracked and never made it back. But i dont think anyone was overly sad that we missed that. 3) Prado+Reina Sofia. We only visited the Thyssen. Our plan was only to do the free times at the museum since we didnt think the kids would last too long. We tried the Reina Sofia but the lines at the free time were too long. And we didnt even try the Prado even though we were so close. But I don think the kids were sad to miss out on more art. 4) Museum of the Americas -- I was interested in that but the only time we were near at (when at the Moncloa Lighthouse -- which was unplanned/spur of the moment) they weren't open and we never headed back in that direction, 5) San Miguel Market -- We love going to markets in Europe so the fact that we didnt go here was a surprise. I think we got a little dissuaded by our tour guide at the beginning of the week who talked about how expensive it was vs. the other "non-tourist" markets
- Food. As you can tell if you followed our reports, good food was important to us
we are lucky that our kids are pretty adventurous eaters so style of food was never a limitation. The real limiters were the time (madrid eating hours can be challenging) and the type of place (given all the walking we did and the hour we were eating, the kids could be tired and/or cranky by dinner time so nice/quiet places werent exactly the best for us). There are a ton of places that we would have wanted to try but you can only do so much in one week.- Public transportation -- We found it to be very helpful, even for some short jaunts given how much walking we had been doing. Getting the tourist transit card made it easy but i havent gone back to do the math if it was a good deal for us or not.
Hope you enjoyed our report. Look for future posts to be about us planning our summer vacation (Costa Rica maybe?)
Apr 12th, 2022, 07:09 AM
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Day 8 -- Time to go home
We had a fairly early (11am-ish) flight so it was a quick breakfast at the hotel, then a walk up to the commuter train station and head to the airport. At the airport, the line through passport control was long and slow. So we thought we would have some time at the airport but instead by the time we were through and to our gate, it was basically time to board. And it wasnt just us -- the lady sitting next to me on the flight was out of breath from running to make sure she caught the flight. I don't know if we just had an unlucky day or is the Madrid airport always like this these days?
We flew Madrid-Charlotte (apparently the inaugural flight on that route) and then Charlotte-Portland. Thankfully with no travel drama at all as flights were all on time, etc. And with that our adventure in Spain ended.
Postscripts:
- We stayed at Hotel Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza. Overall thoughts on the hotel -- We liked the location a lot. Easy to walk various places and short walks to the metro, commuter train, train station. But on a quiet street with no commotion. Room was fairly simple but served our needs fine. We had a quad room which had a bunk bed for the kids, which they enjoyed. We also had breakfast every morning at the hotel. Is not included in their base rate but we figured that the time savings was worth it vs. always heading out hungry and then looking for a place to eat, etc. We definitely agreed at the end that we made a good choice as it was definitely convenient and there was a good amount of choice in the spread that everyone was satisifed at the end of breakfast.
- Things on our list that we didn't get to -- 1) The Madrid Zoo: The kids were excited about that when we did our trip planning but I wasn't. Maybe we should have done that instead of Aranjuez. 2) The cathedral in Madrid -- we were going to after the royal palace but got sidetracked and never made it back. But i dont think anyone was overly sad that we missed that. 3) Prado+Reina Sofia. We only visited the Thyssen. Our plan was only to do the free times at the museum since we didnt think the kids would last too long. We tried the Reina Sofia but the lines at the free time were too long. And we didnt even try the Prado even though we were so close. But I don think the kids were sad to miss out on more art. 4) Museum of the Americas -- I was interested in that but the only time we were near at (when at the Moncloa Lighthouse -- which was unplanned/spur of the moment) they weren't open and we never headed back in that direction, 5) San Miguel Market -- We love going to markets in Europe so the fact that we didnt go here was a surprise. I think we got a little dissuaded by our tour guide at the beginning of the week who talked about how expensive it was vs. the other "non-tourist" markets
- Food. As you can tell if you followed our reports, good food was important to us we are lucky that our kids are pretty adventurous eaters so style of food was never a limitation. The real limiters were the time (madrid eating hours can be challenging) and the type of place (given all the walking we did and the hour we were eating, the kids could be tired and/or cranky by dinner time so nice/quiet places werent exactly the best for us). There are a ton of places that we would have wanted to try but you can only do so much in one week.
- Public transportation -- We found it to be very helpful, even for some short jaunts given how much walking we had been doing. Getting the tourist transit card made it easy but i havent gone back to do the math if it was a good deal for us or not.
Hope you enjoyed our report. Look for future posts to be about us planning our summer vacation (Costa Rica maybe?)
We had a fairly early (11am-ish) flight so it was a quick breakfast at the hotel, then a walk up to the commuter train station and head to the airport. At the airport, the line through passport control was long and slow. So we thought we would have some time at the airport but instead by the time we were through and to our gate, it was basically time to board. And it wasnt just us -- the lady sitting next to me on the flight was out of breath from running to make sure she caught the flight. I don't know if we just had an unlucky day or is the Madrid airport always like this these days?
We flew Madrid-Charlotte (apparently the inaugural flight on that route) and then Charlotte-Portland. Thankfully with no travel drama at all as flights were all on time, etc. And with that our adventure in Spain ended.
Postscripts:
- We stayed at Hotel Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza. Overall thoughts on the hotel -- We liked the location a lot. Easy to walk various places and short walks to the metro, commuter train, train station. But on a quiet street with no commotion. Room was fairly simple but served our needs fine. We had a quad room which had a bunk bed for the kids, which they enjoyed. We also had breakfast every morning at the hotel. Is not included in their base rate but we figured that the time savings was worth it vs. always heading out hungry and then looking for a place to eat, etc. We definitely agreed at the end that we made a good choice as it was definitely convenient and there was a good amount of choice in the spread that everyone was satisifed at the end of breakfast.
- Things on our list that we didn't get to -- 1) The Madrid Zoo: The kids were excited about that when we did our trip planning but I wasn't. Maybe we should have done that instead of Aranjuez. 2) The cathedral in Madrid -- we were going to after the royal palace but got sidetracked and never made it back. But i dont think anyone was overly sad that we missed that. 3) Prado+Reina Sofia. We only visited the Thyssen. Our plan was only to do the free times at the museum since we didnt think the kids would last too long. We tried the Reina Sofia but the lines at the free time were too long. And we didnt even try the Prado even though we were so close. But I don think the kids were sad to miss out on more art. 4) Museum of the Americas -- I was interested in that but the only time we were near at (when at the Moncloa Lighthouse -- which was unplanned/spur of the moment) they weren't open and we never headed back in that direction, 5) San Miguel Market -- We love going to markets in Europe so the fact that we didnt go here was a surprise. I think we got a little dissuaded by our tour guide at the beginning of the week who talked about how expensive it was vs. the other "non-tourist" markets
- Food. As you can tell if you followed our reports, good food was important to us
we are lucky that our kids are pretty adventurous eaters so style of food was never a limitation. The real limiters were the time (madrid eating hours can be challenging) and the type of place (given all the walking we did and the hour we were eating, the kids could be tired and/or cranky by dinner time so nice/quiet places werent exactly the best for us). There are a ton of places that we would have wanted to try but you can only do so much in one week.- Public transportation -- We found it to be very helpful, even for some short jaunts given how much walking we had been doing. Getting the tourist transit card made it easy but i havent gone back to do the math if it was a good deal for us or not.
Hope you enjoyed our report. Look for future posts to be about us planning our summer vacation (Costa Rica maybe?)
I am impressed with your children's stamina, sense of adventure and, most of all, love of cheese😺.
Good luck in future travels!
