One of my Top 5 cities in the world, Madrid is dear to me, there is just so many stuff that I love about Madrid, the lifestyle the culture the food and definitely the people and the place. Besides, I would actually choose Madrid over Paris as it gives me a more relax feeling while on holiday, Paris is just so crowded for me! While in Madrid, I can enjoy the slower pace of life, getting the best out of both worlds, the glamorous European lifestyle and also the cafe book reading like chilling. To be honest and pretty frank, after enlisting and also typing this while the Paris attacks happens a couple of days ago, I feel differently now! A little more patriotic, more appreciation of life and also understanding how time is precious. Not just speaking about the love of my life of gorgeous European cities but also my beloved homeland Singapore. I shall not digress anymore since the focus should be introducing this unique charming city to you guys, MADRID!
Madrid, seemingly not outstanding to the common tourists when usually the destination that comes to them are places like Paris, New York or Milan maybe even Venice too! But hey, continue reading this and perhaps it will reminds you how by not visiting this place will be a missed out in your life! Together with its catalan counterpart Barcelona, these are the two main getaways for tourists to enter into Spain! Madrid have a well built infrastructure and public transportation! It’s clean and safe, police presence are also well present since the city has a past which still remains in their hard, the terrorist bombings about a decade ago! All the places that I went to were all within walking distance of the centre, with the exception of the stadium, you could practically walked anywhere! Besides the sites and great friendly people, another reason that I love Madrid so dearly would be for the Food, the culture is great and the night is seemingly always young here. Tapas are a wonderful activity to burn the great long sunlight that they have, although it is worth noting that summer in Spain are excruciatingly hot and bright. Another plus point would be, I find that the prices are actually lower than most of the common European counterparts! Cuisine is also of a well balance, with seafood and meat on the list. Now let me bring you through my journey here! MAYBE A SIDE NOTE FOR ALL THE SINGAPOREANS READERS WHOM ARE ALSO LLAO LLAO LOVERS, IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW, LLAO LLAO CAME FROM SPAIN AND HERE IS THE PLACE TO GET SOME ORIGINAL ONES WITHOUT THE LONG Q!
Now let me introduce you all some of the must visit in Madrid, first up, Plaza Mayor, located near SOL, centre of Madrid and also Spain, just a side note, if you are standing here, it actually means that you are in the centre of the whole country! A large piece of square you can find Plaza Mayor surrounding the plaza, built about 400 years ago, currently the place is a bustling square, containing numerous restaurants, bars and the perfect place for putting on your sunglasses, sipping sangaria, soaking in the sun and the cool breeze while watching the day goes by. For those whom are interested, there is a llao llao just right the corner in the SOL direction. the Square is also a perfect place to see some of the most unique and in demand performance by street artists, usually the performance change time to time. However people should be prudent and take good care of their belongings here. For me personally, I find it safe, just pay attention to your stuff and don’t leave them unattended!
For those whom prefer eating while on the move and skipping the restaurants, Mercando de San Miguel is the place for you! A gorgeous market lined up with glass and lights, it is just like the christmas tree lighting up the whole place. Full of hawkers and stalls, you can just grab tapas, beers and sit inside, chilling with friends over tapas, as the time goes by and the later it get, the more people will be inside and the bustling atmosphere gets even better!
Royal Palace is another must visit! The greatest Palace in Europe, the vastness of the palace and the grounds is definitely understated unless you have been there. A place that is definitely suitable for photo taking and people watching, the white vast palace sitting under the clear blue sky, I will never forget the scene, ever. I will definitely recommend you to purchase the ticket and enter the palace, there is much to see and the tickets aren’t too ex either, you will really learn a lot of the history and also the royals of the Spain Kingdom which continues till now, the last King I believe was Juan Carlos, and he had abdicated to his son this year!
The last place that I would like to recommend would be Buen Retiro Park, the most gorgeous park that I have ever been to! Perhaps you might not have known but I am not really a park person, but the moment that I first went into the park two years ago, I totally just fell in love with it. Just look at the pictures later and tell me, how can you not love this place. To make things even better there is a lake in the middle of the park and you could row in it. Can’t imagine myself one day, rowing here in this gorgeous place with the girl that I love. What left me most impressive was the trimming and work they had done to the plants and trees, absolutely……I think I have run out of adjectives, so I am going to just go with beautiful! Following on, I always make it a point to come here, definitely out of this world!
I hope you guys are enjoying my thoughts on Madrid, next up, soon I will be sharing with you guys the greatest lure of this city, the Food! Stay Tuned!
Seeing The World In Steps 