Unplanned Madrid visit??

The last place I expected to be in June 2025 is back in Madrid, but here we are. This time without the kids, and I'd forgotten how good an adults only trip can be.

A couple of weeks ago Gareth was having a work conversation with someone in the States, nek minnit he's booking a trip to Madrid for a work conference to talk about one of his clients. Naturally, I can't be left behind.

The flights are gruelling. Getting here took 3 flights and 34 hours of flying. Gareth is a well seasoned traveller and can handle that kind of toll on the body, but i'm struggling a little this time. Breaking up flights and staying at the stopovers is definitely something I prefer to do, as getting to Madrid, we manage to stay awake until 7pm and then we are in bed fast asleep. Only the plus side, first time in Dubai airport - and its pretty awesome. The pad thai i'm eating at 5am actually tastes like thai food (not the western version) and its just well equipped to deal with travellers.

Having gone through Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris last year, I had expectations of european airports, specifically fast and efficient. Madrid is anything but. The airport is enormous, it felt like we were back in Houston catching internal trains to get between terminals to pick up our luggage. And then there is the non euro customs line. More than an hour had passed waiting in line before they opened another booth to usher people through. Taking kids through airports definitely has its advantages with the special family lanes. But with no kids in tow, this was 1.5hours of standing in a line with 500 other people who have been on a 7 hour flight and just want to get into the city.

Keeping the tradition of public transport only, we navigate the metro and make our way to the city. Its strange to say, but it felt good to be coming back to Europe and using public transport. Having the knowledge of how most transport works through Europe is probably a huge advantage.

Our Airbnb host meets us at the bottom of the stairs for the apartment. We have rented a very cosy loft apartment in the Chueca, which as it turns out is LBTQIA+ central. And its pride month so i'm pretty chuffed to have booked here. Its vibrant, welcoming, its got lots going on all the time and pride flags and accessories are everywhere. Gareth's current favourite purchase is a pair of rainbow socks. We discuss how much Gareth's friend and work colleague Vinnie would love this place.

Last time we were here the Prado museum couldn't be fitted into our schedule so this is the first of our art stops while we are here. Madrid (apart from the current heatwave) is such a walkable city. I probably should mention that it's 34 degrees and the beads of sweat are trickling down my back as we walk to the Prado. Having known nothing about Rubens as a painter, this is the most amazing place to become educated on the influences of art and history during the 15th to 17th centuries. Even the Rembrandt we see in the museo is influenced by Rubens. And if you know anything about Madrid and Velazquez, it feels a privilege to see the Meninas painting in the flesh. Madrid's identity is so entwined with this painting, so when you add in that the figure in the background of the painting is actually Rubens, you really get a sense of how much this person influenced art and culture.

What stands out for me in the Prado, is a group of paintings by Goya. Specifically the "black paintings". Gareth was not a fan of this work at all, yet for me it was probably my favourite set of paintings. I would describe them as macabre. They capture the essence of human pain and suffering. They elicit and instant emotional reaction for me, you can't look away, you feel what your eye can see. As the Prado has free entry after 5pm on week days and Gareth will be working, i'm going back to spend some time in that room.

Saturday we make our way to Puerto del sol picking up little gifts for the kids. That faint waft of poo is in the air - I'd forgotten about the smells of Europe. There are the beggars, the illegal street "vendors", the young dodgy looking people who could be pickpockets, the ladies with lavender (its a scam), a protest which I think was about trans laws, and the police paddy wagons waiting for civil unrest. As we sit to have lunch and wine, the gypsies make their way through the seating area targeting tourists for money. I love this place.

Dinner tonight is a Tapas and Wine tour with a group of people we have never met. And i'm glad we booked. Of the 4 tapas restaurants we go to, 2 of them are family businesses of more than 100 years old. Here, you get a bronze plaque from the city to signify this. The first bar has a group of musicians dressed in medieval costume. Some random dude drinking a coke talks to the band and asked if he can sing a song. What transpires is unbelievable. The dude is as close to an opera singer you can get.

One of the bars has its own home brew of Vermouth which is a hit, but unfortunately can not be bought by the bottle. So we may just have to go back. We spend most of our night talking to a British couple who just made our night. Now with full bellies its time to walk home with light drops of rain and out of nowhere a thunder and lightning storm.