Europe Travel Diary: Madrid

Our Europe Travel Diary is an informal rundown of our day-to-day activities while backpacking Europe, starting with Madrid. If you are after recommendations instead we have our Ultimate Madrid Travel Guide for 2022.

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Day 1: Gatwick – Madrid 

_04/10/2021

There we were, backpacks in hand ready for the trip of our lifetime. We were nervous and eager to get on the plane. Alex (the classic airport dad) insisted on us getting to the airport 4 hours early. However, we soon realised our flight would be delayed by 7 hours. Filled with anxiety, I was convinced that this was potentially a sign we should get back in my mum’s car and head home… luckily we didn’t!

After a long and emotional goodbye to my mum, we made ourselves comfy in a cafe. I bought a couple of magazines and we began our long wait until we were allowed to check in our luggage. Then we were one step closer to going through my favourite parts of being in an airport – duty-free! Not that I bought anything other than a few lollypops for the flight, but my grandmother taught me from a very young age that going through and smelling as many perfumes as you can is somewhat of a pre-holiday ritual!

Smelling like what my grandmother calls a tart’s boudoir, we headed to Wagamamas for some food. We also had some well-deserved alcoholic beverages before boarding our flight to our first stop – Madrid! I believe this flight was only around 3-4 hours but this time flew by – whoops. 

After baggage claim, we looked at the metro station and we/I decided we should get a taxi instead. You’ll notice we get a lot more frugal as the trip goes on! It was late by this point so I was thankful that we got a taxi straight to our hostel.

Arriving at the hostel was very exciting as neither of us had ever experienced a hostel before. Bastardo Hostel was above a restaurant/bar and looked very snazzy. However, we were rookies back then and realised quickly we had not packed our bags well for arriving at night. A few people were asleep already and there was a lady sitting in my bed eating a pot noodle in the strictly no food allowed dorm. Not wanting to hinder any potential friend-making from the get-go, we chose a new bed and headed out in search of some food! 

Just around the corner from our hostel, we found a little tapas bar that sold bottled cider and by far the most amazing patatas brava I have ever had! This was a winner in our eyes and we came back here several times. After eating, we headed back to the hostel and started to really question whether we were ever going to get used to staying in a room with four other people. Hilarious looking back at Madrid now given that we have slept in 16-bed dorms without a problem. Turns out, our hostel in Madrid was very luxurious to others that we would end up staying in.

Day 2: Madrid 

_05/10/2021

Turned out we were the last ones up and ready in our hostel which was surprising considering a couple of girls came back at 3 am and woke everyone. For our first day in Madrid, we decided the best thing to do was to grab a coffee and have a wander around the city to try and get our bearings. Alex is way better than me at this as I can stay somewhere for a week and still have no idea how to get around. 

The first stop on our wander around happened to be Gran Via; this basically looks a bit like Oxford Street and has lots of big shops along with it. This would come in handy later when we realised we looked very touristy and we wanted to blend in more. We wandered a bit further down to Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor which are the big town squares in Madrid and lined with tourist shops and street performers. These are great fun to walk around. We quickly decided to stop in one of the restaurants along the perimeter of Plaza Mayor for a Fanta Limon. We wouldn’t recommend ordering food here as the prices are inflated for tourists and the food isn’t the best. 

From Plaza Mayor we walked round to Mercado de San Miguel; a huge food market filled with local vendors selling the most amazing food. We tried a cocktail stick of olives and hams and what I (mistakenly) thought was mozzarella. It was a boiled quails egg. After nearly throwing up on the floor of the fancy market, we decided to grab some sangria to wash it down. I’ve always been a sangria fan but this was Alex’s first and he loved it! Alex went very cultural and bought some boa buns from a stall? He said they were very good. 

After the Mercado, we went to check out the king’s crib (also known as the Royal Palace). We aren’t usually the type of travellers that go to a lot of palaces or museums but we are really glad we went here. The palace grounds were beautiful and although we didn’t pay to go in, there’s enough around the area to look around. If you aren’t palace fans I’d say it’s worth going to just for the view.

Fully embracing the Spanish culture, we headed back for a much-needed siesta. We then went to a bar called El Tigre bar. Basically, you buy two huge steins of sangria and get two full plates of tapas free! They didn’t speak English but it was full of locals and it had a great vibe so we really enjoyed visiting. To make things even better, it only cost 10 euros for two drinks and dinner so win-win. In classic Alex fashion, we stopped for a ‘willy waffle’ on the way home to satisfy his sweet tooth.  We then headed to the tapas bar near the hostel for a cider and some more tapas before bed – as much as el Tigre bar was amazing, it wasn’t very coeliac friendly so Alex ate most of it! 

Day 3: Madrid 

_06/10/2021

We woke up early on day 3 and grabbed a coffee ready for our walk down to El Retiro Park. We took a route along Po del Pravada and Po de Recoletes which had different museums lining the roads. On our way, we also stopped off at the local Carrefour to gather supplies for the picnic; mozzarella, salami, chorizo, pears, one french baguette, and of course… Fanta Limón. Surprisingly there was also some GF bread but the lack of butter was a bit disappointing. We also purchased suncream (€20) and hayfever tablets (€10) from the pharmacy and instantly concluded we got ripped off; our first of many travelling mistakes.

We then settled in the park to try and enjoy our picnic. Unfortunately, we had a few flying gatecrashers so it wasn’t quite the relaxing lunch we anticipated (bring bug spray)! After our picnic, we wandered through the gardens, which were absolutely beautiful! Eventually came to a giant square in the middle with a large lake and several restaurants. Here we rented a little boat for only 6€ for a 45-minute paddle and took turns rowing around the lake; I can’t lie, Alex did 90% of the rowing and I enjoyed being rowed around. We then got some overpriced ice creams from a stand located right outside the boat hire exit. We then headed to Monumeto a Alfonso XII to eat our icecreams and read our books in the sun. 

After making our way back to the hostel for our (my) mandatory siesta, we walked around the corner to Ole Mole. Which is a sort of chipotle-type Mexican chain. We probably wouldn’t recommend going as it wasn’t as cheap as you’d expect from fast food; we probably should’ve just eaten at the bar we’d end up going after, Ojala, where we tried even more sangria. Ojala is quite a popular spot with the locals so be prepared to queue for an outside table if you go but the olives were worth the wait! 

Day 4: Madrid 

_07/10/2021

Woke up relatively early (for Spanish life) to retrieve our mandatory coffee. The coffee shop we went to was really nice and called Bianchi Kiosko Caffe and we would highly recommend it! We decided it was about time we did some shopping to make ourselves look less like tourists and more European. Alex found some checked trousers whilst I bought a very nice black denim jacket to wear in the evenings. 

After having seemingly scaled the biggest Primark building in the world, we agreed it was best to refuel with some grub. Using our boomer travel guide (aka Alex), we found Zenith which turned out to be amazing. As it was past 2pm, we agreed that cocktails were acceptable; Alex decided on a Bailey’s Espresso Martini whilst I chose a Bramble. As Alex had already eaten which meant he just got a bagel whilst I decided to branch out and get tapioca. Safe to say it was amazing and we would definitely be coming back. 

After another mandatory siesta, we visited the Museo de las Ilusiones which was as fun as the pictures show. As we’ve outlined, we aren’t really museum people but this one was really interactive and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite having only eaten a few hours earlier, we felt we were hungry again. decided we were hungry again. Luckily we stumbled across a local restaurant serving two tapas’ and a jug of sangria for 25€. Alex decided it was about time he tried one of Madrid’s local delicacies, a bocadillo des calamares (calamari sandwich) which he very much enjoyed.

On our walk back, we stumbled across some very good buskers, in a bustling Puerta del So, so we stood and enjoyed the music. Midway through the performance, however, a group of silent disco-ers that we previously encountered, and were all noticeably as high as the moon, passed on through in some very interesting states. Before bed we stopped off at another local Mercado, Mercado de San Ildefonso to purchase a jug of Sangria to finish off the evening. 

Day 5: Madrid 

_08/10/2021

Woke up at a good time for our mandatory morning coffee. Alex decided he was hungry, so we stopped off at what seemed like a chain bakery that sells 1€ baguettes. Unsurprisingly these were quite small so Alex was still hungry afterwards but he seemed to enjoy them at the time. 

As I realised that I was running out of socks (I stupidly only packed 7 pairs for an around the world trip) so we ventured to the local Primark on Gran Via. We then attempted to find a rooftop bar but our first choice was unfortunately closed for repairs. Having wandered around a little, we stopped off at Rodilla for a sin gluten (gluten-free) ham and cheese toastie which went down a treat. 

We then went on the search for another rooftop bar. On the way, we stumbled across a gluten-free churro chocolatier. We decided it would’ve been extremely rude not to sample any. Safe to say it was very nice and we highly recommend it. Despite the delay, we made our way through the Plaza Mayor to The Hat Hostel where we took in the views (and sangria). 

We then retreated home for our mandatory siesta after a long day of eating and drinking in the city. We woke up hungry (shock) so trekked for 10 minutes to a local gluten-free restaurant for some tapas. The ham and cheese croquettes and oxtail were unbelievably tasty and I really enjoyed the octopus as well. Ultimately for the price and the fact we were still hungry, maybe not be the best place to go. However, we do support and appreciate eateries serving gluten-free food since I am a coeliac.

On our way back, we popped into the local Mercado to check out the bar. Alex accidentally ordered the wrong drink so couldn’t try the Pina Colada he really wanted (first world problems). When we got back to the hostel, we got chatting with our German roommate who had nowhere to stay on Saturday and Sunday nights. Unfortunately, all the hostels in Madrid were full and he wasn’t prepared to pay 100€ a night to stay in an Airbnb. We then discussed many solutions to his problem – some very entertaining! He also asked why Alex was in bed the whole time as that’s the only time he’d see us which was quite amusing. We eventually went to bed as we had an early start the next morning! 

Day 6: Madrid to Barcelona 

_09/10/2021

Kick-out time was 11am so we got up “early”, sorted all of our clothes out, and (somehow) managed to squeeze it all into our bags. We then went out to refuel at the local square before heading over to Zenith again to kill some time. I ordered the tapioca again since it was so good the first time; highly recommend it! 

We got back to the hostel and sank a farewell pint before getting onto the metro and to Madrid Atocha Station. We eventually got on the train and into our (comfy) allocated seats ready for the 3-hour journey to Barcelona. 

Madrid Summary

Alex = Madrid was absolutely amazing and would definitely recommend going for a 3 day (max) city break. Spanish culture was absolutely fascinating given the late afternoon siesta and the bustling squares and streets at 10pm. Amazing place. 

Leah = Very like London with the layout and vibe. Love the culture of doing important things during the day, having a nap, and then drinking in the evening, Patatas Bravas was a highlight but I potentially ate too much of it. Really nice city that is easy to get around and would 10/10 go again (for 3 days). 

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