Madrid, Spain

Spain was another one of my "must-see" countries for my Grad Trip and if you read this, you would already know my impression of Spain. Perhaps it is simply the cities I chose to visit but I didn't walk away with a positive impression. That being said, it also wasn't negative. Madrid was my first stop and it was quite difficult finding my way to the hotel due to the crowd. It was a little bit of a shock to experience it as it had been a while that I had encountered so many people in one spot.


Palacio Real de Madrid




The train station was very cool. It had a garden inside and a small pond with lots of turtles!



Oddly enough, Madrid reminded me a lot of the US, specifically Philadelphia. The coolest thing about Madrid was Parque de Retiro which had Palacio de Cristal. You may remember it from the very popular photo on the internet a few years back. See here.









Of course, a visit to Spain would not be complete without eating churros. San Gines opened in 1864 and it is constantly buzzing with people. It was quite confusing since the system wasn't explained and the eatery was packed. Basically, you lined up to order and pay from the counter and then would be provided with a receipt. Well, if you wanted takeaway you then proceeded to the other counter to collect the order. Otherwise you would sit down, give the receipt to the waiter who would return with your order. Very confusing since hardly any of the workers actually said anything (aside from how much you owed).


Yes that cup is full of melted chocolate! This was so incredibly sickening due to the oil. Very fresh but I felt horrible afterwards due to the grease. When in Spain.

Overall Thoughts
The food was super tasty! Dinner for the first night was at this amazing restaurant (the name escapes me) with lots of good food and a great atmosphere. That being said, the second day was not so good. Got tricked/ confused by the menu outside the restaurant and ate pretty expensive standard food. The thing I really liked was the free tapas upon being seated at a table in a restaurant. I am aware that Spain gets quite a bad reputation for petty theft, however it was quite disconcerting to see heavily armed police officers (with giant guns) and muzzled German Shepherds in Plaza Mayor. There were also quite a few police officers on horses. As mentioned previously, Madrid reminded me a lot of the US which was odd.

Would I re-visit?
An emphatic no.