The two of us have always been obsessed with Europe.
Having both spent a decent amount of time here in the past, we had originally intended to avoid long stays in Europe altogether for this big year abroad.
However, once we got to Morocco, we realized there were cheap direct flights from Marrakech to Malaga, Spain, and it would take less than an hour to get there. Also, Elizabeth has studied abroad in Spain twice (!)— yet Mike had never visited the country. We decided to go for it, and we’re sure glad we did!
We arrived in Spain on a Monday afternoon. Instead of renting a car, we opted to get from city to city via high-speed train. The tickets are reasonably priced, the cabins are clean and they really are fast. This was our route:
Marbella – 2 days
Seville – 3 days
Ciudad Real – 2 days
Madrid – 4 days
Marbella (2 days)
We flew into Malaga and took a ~40 minute cab straight to Marbella. If you’ve ever visited Miami, Florida, then you’ve basically visited Marbella. Granted, Marbella is much older and has much more history. Its essence is that of a luxurious beach town.
Our first night in Marbella, we made a reservation at Arco’s Tapas, a top-rated tapas spot in the old part of the city. Elizabeth was excited for Mike to try her favorites – Jamon Iberico, Tortilla Espanola, Patatas Bravas, and of course, Sangria (with red wine, not white!). We sat next to a nice, retired British couple who gave us a few recommendations, including visiting the neighboring beachfront town, Puerto Banús. In their fun British accents, they emphatically described Puerto Banús as a “posey” must-see town.
The next morning, we took them up on it! After breakfast, we found a little stand with bikes, so we rented a couple and headed 45-minutes west down the beachfront path. We immediately realized “posey” must mean flashy. The marina is the heart of in Puerto Banús and it’s full of super-yachts carrying Lamborghinis, helicopters, and jet skis. The street adjacent to the marina is lined with designer shops and fancy people. We obviously fit in with our workout gear and bikes!
It was a quick 24 hours in Marbella but served as a much-needed pit-stop at the beach after the last few weeks in the desert.
Seville (3 days)
One of the most famous cities in Spain for its history, Flamenco dancing, and traditional style. We loved all of that, but at the end of the day, we were happiest with the paella, the parks, the streetside tapas, and the relaxed atmosphere.
Real Alcázar
Even though this Spanish palace was built by Christian monarchs, they incorporated much of the same Muslim design that was popularized while the Moors ruled Spain. Coming from Morocco, it was interesting to see the same design elements like brightly colored tiles and wood-carved ceilings. The line for this palace gets long and you can skip it by buying a ticket in advance online!
Flamenco Dancing
Thanks to a great recommendation from our friends Hayley and Andy, we got to see a really fun and seemingly authentic Flamenco show on our second night in Seville. The Tablao Los Gallos is a small theater that for some reason does not allow photos! You’ll have to trust us, this is a great show! The theater is small, but the performers were incredible. We were entranced for the full hour and a half show!
Puente de Triana (aka Puente de Isabel II)
A busy park runs alongside the river and underneath this beautiful bridge. We walked through at sunset and it was picture perfect.
Ciudad Real (2 days)
If we were ready for a break from the well-traveled tourist trail, Ciudad Real provided it!
Elizabeth studied abroad here when she was 17 and blames this experience for solidifying her love of travel. The family she lived with became her Spanish family, and they still keep in touch. Luckily, she got lots of practice speaking Spanish in Ecuador, and her skills were up to par by the time her host-dad, Luciano, who doesn’t speak English, picked us up from the train station (Ciudad Real is along the high-speed track to Madrid, so even though it is a smaller town, it’s very well connected). We ate dinner at their house – a huge meal including all of Elizabeth’s Spanish favorites.
Our weekend in Ciudad Real was like taking a tour of your old high school... so many fun memories. Plus, introducing the family to Mike was fun for everyone involved!
Madrid (4 days)
Our hotel was in an upscale neighborhood called Salamanca, which reminded us of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The streets were clean, there were lots of trendy bars and restaurants, and our hotel was conveniently located just a few blocks North of El Retiro Park.
The Royal Palace of Madrid + Sabatini Gardens
You couldn’t miss this place even if you tried. The palace is a massive 2,000+ room fortress surrounded by expansive public gardens. We spent about an hour circling the grounds in awe, and it didn’t cost a dime euro!
Plaza Mayor
Just as it sounds, this is Madrid’s quintessential plaza. About the size of a football field and wrapped in beautiful, orange-tinted apartment buildings, this picturesque plaza is an excellent place to have a cocktail or a glass of sangria.
The Prado Museum
We spent almost two hours at this famous museum with 20+ “masterpieces,” but we imagine a lot of people spend entire days here. A few of our favorites were: Goya’s Saturn, Mariano Fortuny’s Jardin de la Casa de Fortuny and Marroquies, Zubarán’s Series of Hercules, and Vallejo’s 70 kg girl. Neither of us really consider ourselves to be especially interested in art museums, but we felt this one deserved a visit. If anything, the history of the paintings and their value, and the museum itself are very impressive reasons to visit.
Although no photos were allowed, Mike managed to snap a quick one of the grand hall on the way out!
El Retiro Park
After Elizabeth studied abroad here in high school, she made a slightly embarrassing scrapbook. An entire 2-page spread was dedicated to the Parque del Buen Retiro, with the words “MI FAVORITO” illustrated in stick-on letters across the top.
What can we say, it was our favorito this time too! We spent a lot of time here – walking, e-biking, and just sitting around on a blanket as the Madrileños do.
In picking a hotel or an Airbnb, a place close to the Retiro Park in the Salamanca neighborhood would be our search criteria!
Mercado San Miguel
The Mercado San Miguel is just down the street from the Plaza Mayor and is a mostly-prepared food market. We had Spanish ham sandwiches on mini-baguettes, a cheese plate with a variety of Spanish cheeses, and sangria. The market was overwhelmingly crowded when we got there at about 2:30 p.m., but we found a couple of seats and ended up really enjoying it!
e-Bike ride
The bike-share system in Madrid features electric-assist bikes! Mike spotted the docking station right after walking out of the San Miguel market, and we decided to rent them. We got a 24-hour pass for less than $10 and had the best time riding all over the city. We didn’t really know where we were going, but winding around the City, flying past traffic on the Gran Vía to the Plaza España, and ending up in the Parque del Retiro was one for the books!
If a self-guided e-bike tour isn’t your thing, we wandered past quite a few shops renting e-bikes that looked a little nicer than the public bike-share bikes. After our experience yesterday, we think seeing Madrid on an e-bike is a great way to go! We did have a couple of close calls with traffic and Elizabeth wouldn’t have hated to have had helmets on. We’ve done a few regular bike tours and they always end up being a lot harder than expected (if only we had this blog when we did a 40 km tour in Havana in 100-degree heat... Elizabeth almost cried). Needless to say, the electric assist very much assisted in our enjoyment.
Our favorite restaurants from the trip:
Marbella
Arco’s Tapas – make a reservation to sit outside! Elizabeth made our reservation through facebook messenger!
Sevilla
Petra – this is the place!!! We loved it!
La Isla – for the paella only! Call ahead for a reservation and specifically let them know you want to have paella at a table outside! This had mediocre trip advisor reviews, but we had a great experience and the paella was on point. Make sure you show up hungry.
Antiguedades Bar – tapas spot along a small street with lots of outdoor seating. We had the best Spanish Tortilla with a whiskey sauce here!
Madrid
(Disclosure: We were craving some international food by the time we got to Madrid, we’d had our fill of Spanish ham at this point!)
Sto Globo Sushi Room – highly recommend
Curry y Canela – top Indian/Nepali restaurant in the city (hint: “canela” means “cinnamon”!)
Mercado de San Miguel – described above!
Cafe de Hermosilla – small breakfast spot in Salamanca with the friendliest waiter. We had a chocolate croissant and the toast with tomato spread, a typical Spanish breakfast.
P.S. We are working on our own restaurant rating system as we realize we’d like to be sure we give friends the best recommendations and we’re eating out all the time right now. We only put what we consider 4-5 star restaurants on our blog. For us, this doesn’t have anything to do with price. Generally, it means no photos of food plastered on the outside of the restaurant, no one standing outside asking you to come in, and really delicious food!
When we have time, we use TripAdvisor and read reviews before trying a fancier place. For casual restaurants, we just wander around until we find one that looks right!
All too often, we end up in a not that good of a place on our first night in a new city. Because of that, we’ve tried to start doing a little research before arriving to pick out a restaurant for night #1 ahead of time. Starting off with a fun first dinner is a game-changer.
…And that’s a wrap on our Spanish adventure!
SO, WHAT’S NEXT?
Tonight, we’re off to Uganda to begin a couple weeks of safari adventures. We’ll be meeting up with Elizabeth’s parents! In Uganda, we’re visiting the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for a few days of gorilla trekking. From there, we’re headed over to the Northern Serengeti of Tanzania to catch the Great Wildebeest Migration. Stay tuned for those photos! :)
As always, thank you for following along! Feel free to post public comments below or send us a personal note to hello@thedailywax.com.
Until next time!