After arriving back in Madrid after our busabout tour, it was time to explore Madrid. Madrid is a huge bustling city, which lots going on all the time. We stayed on the corner of the Gran via, which is basically the main road through the city. There were always lots of people everywhere (& lots of ladies of the night!)
On our first day in Madrid we decided it was time to see some art and get some culture. We visited the Prado art gallery which is a HUGE art gallery and basically took us most of the day to see it. Lots of interesting pieces of art and by some very famous artists such as Rembrandt. After visiting the art gallery is was time for a nap, looking at art is exhausting! We went to the largest park in Madrid (I can’t remember the name of it!) but it had a lake in the middle that you could hire little row boats and it took over an hour to walk from one end to the other, so that gives you an idea of the size of the park. The gardens were beautiful and so manicured, it was also very hot the day we went to the park so the thought of running through the fountains was becoming more and more tempting, but we did restrain ourselves.
Madrid is also well known for its shopping, particularly shoes. There are shoe shops on every corner and there are also some great clothing bargains. We didn’t buy too much and we could still lift our suitcases!
On our first day in Madrid we decided it was time to see some art and get some culture. We visited the Prado art gallery which is a HUGE art gallery and basically took us most of the day to see it. Lots of interesting pieces of art and by some very famous artists such as Rembrandt. After visiting the art gallery is was time for a nap, looking at art is exhausting! We went to the largest park in Madrid (I can’t remember the name of it!) but it had a lake in the middle that you could hire little row boats and it took over an hour to walk from one end to the other, so that gives you an idea of the size of the park. The gardens were beautiful and so manicured, it was also very hot the day we went to the park so the thought of running through the fountains was becoming more and more tempting, but we did restrain ourselves.
Madrid is also well known for its shopping, particularly shoes. There are shoe shops on every corner and there are also some great clothing bargains. We didn’t buy too much and we could still lift our suitcases!
We also visited in Madrid, the old royal palace. It was amazing and soooo beautiful. All the ceilings were painted with artworks, there were even entire rooms made out of porcelin. Unfortunately we weren't able to take photos in the palace, but it was beautiful. The staircase was made out of marble and bannister was all gold.
Our next stop after Madrid was Valencia. We had planned to buy a train ticket on the morning to head to Valencia, and we arrived quite early and yet the whole train was sold out! We had 3 options, one of the options was to catch the slow train which wasn’t leaving until 12ish which would take about 5 or 6 hours to get to Valencia, the other option was to wait until 2pm for the fast train which would take 3 hours or go 1st class and have all the meals included in our trip. So, we decided to treat ourselves and go first class!! It was great, we were completely spoilt with everything included and therefore we arrived in valencia in style!
Valencia is an interesting city. There is an old city and a new city but the old city seems like a completely different place altogether. Unfortunately Nay was quite sick with the usual tonsillitis and could barely move one of the days so we did have to take it quite slow. We did get a bit worried at one point that she had contracted malaria as the body aches, fevers and headaches were so bad, but luckily she picked up and there was no need for a hospital visit. The one cool thing about Valencia is that it has a dry river bed running through the entire city which has been turned into parkland. You can hire bikes and ride around the park, however we just went for a stroll!
Our next stop after Madrid was Valencia. We had planned to buy a train ticket on the morning to head to Valencia, and we arrived quite early and yet the whole train was sold out! We had 3 options, one of the options was to catch the slow train which wasn’t leaving until 12ish which would take about 5 or 6 hours to get to Valencia, the other option was to wait until 2pm for the fast train which would take 3 hours or go 1st class and have all the meals included in our trip. So, we decided to treat ourselves and go first class!! It was great, we were completely spoilt with everything included and therefore we arrived in valencia in style!
Valencia is an interesting city. There is an old city and a new city but the old city seems like a completely different place altogether. Unfortunately Nay was quite sick with the usual tonsillitis and could barely move one of the days so we did have to take it quite slow. We did get a bit worried at one point that she had contracted malaria as the body aches, fevers and headaches were so bad, but luckily she picked up and there was no need for a hospital visit. The one cool thing about Valencia is that it has a dry river bed running through the entire city which has been turned into parkland. You can hire bikes and ride around the park, however we just went for a stroll!
Next, it was onto Barcelona, the 1 city that jay and I had been looking forward to visiting for some time. The train trip was great, some of the trip went along the ocean and there were some great views along the way. Barcelona is another bustling city with people everywhere, particularly in La Ramblas which is the main street in the city, which is full of restaurants (where you can people watch for a price!) and street artists etc. There was also a massive food market where jay and I went everyday for our morning coffee and sometimes lunch. The food was so fresh that they cook it all in front of you. We also visited the Picasso museum which also had a special photography exhibition which showed photos into his private life that one of his friendsnds had taken, it was excellent!
On our last day in Barcelona, we went on a day trip to monserrat which is about 1.5 hours out of barcelona. Basically there is a monastry on this huge mountain and the rocks are in a very unusual formation. We had to catch a cable car to the top of the mountain which took 40 people (very squishy)!!!! From the top of the mountain, there were fantastic views and it was great to see into the lives of the monks that live there and the history.
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