With the constant running around the past couple months, we were ready to be in a culture that was slower paced and low stress. Madrid was a pretty good place to be in such a laid back atmosphere without the pressures of having to do and see it all, especially since both Jason and I had been to this city in our pasts.

Upon arriving to the city our first night, we were reminded of what a late night culture it was. In fact, sitting down to dinner at 11pm was completely the norm. Plaza Santa Ana, the square a half block from our hotel that is filled with tons of restaurants, was absolutely jammed with hundreds of people all dining at that late hour. We were amazed to see entire families out with young children, frolicking into all hours of the night. I was actually kind of embarrassed that these little kids had more late night stamina than us!

Since we were up much later in the evenings while in Madrid, we ended up sleeping in so much later then we normally do. By the time we ate breakfast and did our morning routines, our average day wouldn’t begin until about 1pm. Most afternoons basically consisted of choosing a different area to wander around and exploring it. We managed to check out and get lost in a good chunk of the town, spending 5-6 hours a day just walking aimlessly.

My favorite afternoon was spent in El Retiro Park, aka the “Central Park” of Madrid (it actually reminded me more of Golden Gate Park in SF). Our Sunday afternoon was so lovely, minus the botched picnic where bees attacked our bocadillos. It was wonderful to stroll through this massive park, taking in all the great sites as the Crystal Palace, the row boats in the Estanque Grande, and all the ornate fountains. We even brought our books so we could read in the shade of a tree. This perfect afternoon was followed up by a coffee in the Plaza Mayor, a great place to sit and watch the frenzy of the masses.

Overall, Madrid was a pretty uneventful city for us – not bad, but also not great. The food was very average, something I remember about Spanish cuisine -- we were however suckers for the churros con chocolate and sangria, and of course Jason loves all the pork! The siesta hour from 2-5pm became a complete nuisance, seeing as everything shuts down and leaves one with limited options of places to eat or shop. AND, the people weren’t as friendly as I remember, especially considering Jason was doing his best to communicate in Spanish. The strange thing is, my memory of the city from when I was here 10 years ago was so much more positive then my experience this time around – maybe age has jaded me!

We have however just arrived to Seville, and already from our afternoon of exploring the maze-like alleyways that criss-cross the city, like the vibe here! Hope that feeling continues. . .