Top Takeaways (Twenty Three) - Western Europe

We've covered a lot of ground during two months in Western Europe but we feel like there is still so much more to see! Here are our top takeaways from our time in the Netherlands, Spain, France, Portugal, England and Italy.

One of our favorite spots: The Amalfi Coast.

1. Tourism is alive and well. While we knew that the countries we visited in Western Europe appealed to many tourists, particularly Americans, we still weren't prepared for the hoards of people we encountered near ever major sight. We tried to adjust to waiting in lines and fighting for the best view but we never really enjoyed the experience as much as some of our previous sightseeing.

2. Having said that, it's still possible to get off the beaten path. If you are comfortable missing some of the "must-see" places, you can easily create a unique and enjoyable travel experience, even in crowded cities. We bypassed the Uffizi gallery in Florence and didn't venture inside St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice but instead found empty side-streets and perfect hilltop views. Our preferences have definitely evolved over the past year and we now actively seek the road less traveled.

3. Besides maybe Japan, Western Europe is the most expensive area we've visited. Portugal aside, we found most places to be very pricey. If you are looking for a more budget-friendly trip, we would recommend Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe first!

4. Unfortunately, crime can happen anywhere. Of all the places we've been, we didn't expect France to be the sight of the single worst occurrence during our journey. We consider ourselves pretty tough New Yorkers and are constantly alert, but the truth is no one is immune from opportunist criminals.

5. Paris remains the city of romance. Alex and I had both separately been to Paris in our teenage years and didn't have particularly fond memories of the city; coming back together was a completely different experience. Given the city's size, we found it easy to just wander around and get lost in the charming streets and neighborhood parks. Even after five days, I felt like we didn't get to see everything and now I can't wait to come back!

6. England's reputation for disappointing food is unwarranted. Seriously! We admittedly had excellent hosts who directed us to the best restaurants but we had some of our best meals in the land of the British. Alex and I can definitely get behind the local pub food and traditional Sunday night roast!

7. Italian food really is as delicious as advertised. Speaking of food, we really can't deny the appeal of Italian cuisine. In addition to the perfectly cooked pasta, oven-baked pizza and fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, the local seafood and cured meats were equally tasty. Certainly not the healthiest way to end our journey, but probably the most delicious!

8. Nearly everyone speaks English. Alex and I rarely encountered a serious language barrier - the major cities in Western Europe attract so many tourists that English is widely spoken. My favorite example of this was an American mom and teen who commented (negatively) on my outfit in English while I stood next to them at a crosswalk in Rome; I assume my deep tan implied that I was an Italian, but seriously the Italians speak English too!

9. Traveling within the Eurozone is very efficient and highly convenient. In complete contrast to the US, train travel in Europe is fast, easy and relatively affordable. We were most surprised that no one checked our passports between countries (until we got to the UK) - guess we'll just have to come back for those passport stamps!

10. There will always be a reason to come back to Western Europe! We still feel like we barely scratched the surface and we are excited that we still have so many future trips to take. Completing the France road trip we didn't get to take and visiting Scandinavia are probably the two standouts for us.

Peak: Celebrating the wedding of our friends Blythe and Cody with our friends in Levanto

Pit: Getting robbed in Marseille

Next Stop: Japan (by way of New Jersey / New York)

Barcelona

Our early Sunday morning wake-up call, coupled with our fun-but-exhausting previous week with Jigar, resulted in a dire need for some rest once Alex and I arrived in Barcelona. Having been to the city twice before, I was confident I could show Alex the best sights - plus a few new ones - in two full days after using our first day to relax and catch up on some final trip planning. We spent the day mostly perched within our guest house, ventured out for a couple meals and ended the evening feeling relaxed and recharged, ready to take on Barcelona in the morning.

We started Monday by walking to the Sant Pau del Camp, since it was on the way to the Barri Gotic neighborhood, our primary destination for the morning. Unfortunately, a concert was scheduled to take place within the church so it was closed to visitors. While not that impressive from the outside, we did love the flowered walls nearby. 

Alex now knows how to spell "bougainvillea" because I love it so much and always point it out.

We continued walking toward the Marina and stopped briefly to check out the various monuments, government buildings and, of course, the many boats anchored nearby.

A lot of these boats sailed from pretty far away!

Checking out the seemingly-out-of-place Picasso statue near the water.

Next, we headed to El Casal, a small off-the-beaten-path café for lunch and enjoyed a quiet and delicious meal away from the hoards of tourists we encountered on Las Ramblas. After a delightful leisurely lunch outdoors (a standout was Alex’s appetizer – fish gratin, which was like a rich, fluffy crab cake), Alex and I continued to stroll through the Gothic Neighborhood, finally ending up at the Catedral de Barcelona.

Looking up at Placa St Jaume.

Everone seemed pretty impressed with the classic gothic-style Carrer del Bisbe archway.

The Barcelona Cathedral is an enormous Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain. It was constructred during the 14th-16th centuries and is known for the many gargoyles that line the various roofs. We meandered through the beautiful interior and were also able to ascend to the rooftop for views of the city and nearby rooftops. The outdoor scenery wasn’t quite as impressive given the numerous television antennae but we still enjoyed being able to look out across downtown Barcelona.

Looking up at the impressive altar.

Now looking back.

View of the steeple from the rooftop.

We only saw the front as we left the building!

Park Guell, our next stop, is one of my favorite places in Barcelona so I made sure Alex and I allocated an afternoon on a clear day to check it out. The park was designed by Antoni Gaudi, whose unique architectural style - typified by bright tiles and unique curving walls - is displayed throughout Barcelona. Unfortunately, upon arriving we learned that the admission rules have changed since I was last here and we could only buy tickets for two hours from the time we arrived. Fear not! The park has siphoned off a “free public area” where we were able to grab a beer and stroll around to pass the time until we could enter the main area. Once we were able to enter, we were not disappointed; the beautiful tiled architecture and views of city, sea and sky were just as good as I had remembered.

Not a bad view from the "public area."

There were many contrasts between Guadi's more modern architecture and older styles.

One of the best spots n the park, in my humble opinion.

Looking out toward Barcelona.

The tile makes everything look so bright and colorful.

We saw our brief opening without other tourists and pounced on a friendly English tourist to take our picture.

One more shot of the tiles and cityscape.

And one of me in my favorite place.

Some of the more "modern" columns.

Looking up at the pavilion ceiling, also detailed with tiling.

Walking down the hill – which was much easier than the steep incline up! – Alex and I settled on a restaurant near to the bar at which we were later meeting a friend-of-a-friend. We took the subway to the Eixample area and checked out the Casa Mila on our way to dinner.

Commonly known as La Pedrera, Casa Mila is the largest civil building designed by Gaudi in Barcelona.

If you are ever in Barcelona and find yourself “tapas’d out” definitely go early to snag a seat at Foc I Oli. The small place is very casual, only has about ten seats and serves one thing: delicious burgers.

Tiny unassuming place (I mean, we are basically on top of the cash register!) but amazing burgers.

After dinner, we met up with Jill, who is friends with our friend Kristen from NYC and just happened to be in Barcelona on her yearlong travel adventure! We sipped cocktails – a welcome change from Spanish wine - and shared travel stories for a few hours before realizing it was way past our bedtime. It was great to meet a fellow traveler and swap recommendations for our upcoming destinations; Alex and I are really looking forward to France now!

Today we woke up to a cloudy, rainy day – our first in a while – so we took our time getting ready and headed back to a nearby spot we discovered with amazing brunch options.

Copacetic is such a great neighborhood gem – the servers are super friendly, the food is delicious and the chefs can accommodate just about any allergy or preference!

Feeling refueled, we took advantage of a brief rain interlude and walked with our takeaway cappuccinos to catch the subway to Sagrada Familia. Learning from my admission experience at Park Guell, I had prebooked tickets online so we were able to go in immediately upon arriving – no waiting in the rain for us! We walked around the church outside and marveled at the structure – and how far the builders still have to go in order to complete it.

So strange to be able to see the old and new parts of the church side-by-side.

Once inside, I was shocked by the changes that have occurred since I was last here five years ago. I remembered dusty floors, dark wooden scaffolding and empty areas that were blocked off to tourists; now the interior is almost complete and the finished product seems within reach.

We thought the newer interior was very alien-like.

Quite a different looking church altar!

Alex and I both felt like the brand new inside was at odds with the older feeling outside, but obviously it is difficult for harmonious architecture to exist when the church has been in construction for nearly 100 years! By the time we had finished checking out the inside, it was pouring rain again so we stepped into a nearby coffee shop to wait it out for a bit. Once the rain let up a little, we headed to our last Gaudi stop in Barcelona, Casa Batllo. The house was built by Gaudi for the Batllo family and is fashioned in the typic Gaudi “funhouse” style (as I like to call it). With no right angles in the construction, we thought the structure was more reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland than a real house that people lived in.

The exhibit illustrated how the façade was designed to evoke feelings of water, nature and man.

I’m not sure what Gaudi’s views on drugs were but the crazy design in some of these places make it seem likely that he took a liberal stance!

We had one last Spanish meal of meats and cheeses at a cute tapas spot near our guesthouse, Vino y Otros Remedios, before heading home to get some sleep. Tomorrow we fly to Marseille and both Alex and I are excited to spend a few weeks driving through France!

It's Always Sunny in Seville

Our return to Madrid was brief and uneventful. We were all a little tired from our early flight back so we decided to do like the Spaniards do – eat a heavy lunch, then take a nap! After we felt rested, we walked around the city for a few hours to show Jigar some of the sights we saw when we were here a few days earlier. After a light Mexican meal (we were all tapas’d-out!) we headed to bed early so we’d have plenty of energy for Seville on Thursday.

The train ride from Madrid to Seville was very nice. The service was exactly on time and we even got fed a hot meal onboard. Some of the other passengers on our car ordered multiple rounds of wine (which was free), though none of us were in the mood to imbibe at 10am. I think these other passengers have done this before because the wines were served in mini-bottles and many of the passengers just tucked them in their bags for later! Oh well – I don’t think there will be a shortage of Spanish wine in Seville!

We booked an AirBNB apartment for the next three days so we checked in with our host and set out to explore the city. It was REALLY hot on Thursday – RealFeel temperatures were over 100 degrees! – so we moved at a slow pace and tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. Our first stop was Metropol Parasol, the largest wooden structure in the world. While it certainly is a huge wooden structure, none of us really cared for it that much because it struck such a sharp contrast to the more traditional Spanish architecture that defines the rest of Seville.

On our way to the Metropol Parasol, we found ourselves strolling down one of the many beautiful, small streets of Seville.

Old meets new: the Iglesia de la Anunciación and a corner of the Metropol Parasol.

A very strange structure indeed.

View from the top of the Metropol Parasol, looking south at many of the city’s main landmarks.

And the view looking north.

Even exploring the Metropol Parasol slowly left us drained in the extreme heat so we decided to take a break at one of the many restaurants in the area. This one happened to be advertising the cheapest beers in Spain - €0.40! – so we figured it was as good a place as any to cool off in the A/C. The drinks cost that little because they were tiny, but it was still a good place to relax for a few minutes. Next we walked south to see some more of the city, but before long it was time to duck into Bar Alfalfa to escape the heat!

There is a beautiful courtyard waiting around almost every corner in Seville.

Another beautiful alleyway.

Sarah popped her head into a private courtyard to snap this great picture.

My favorite street in Seville.

After a hot day of exploring Seville, all three of us were ready for some food. Our first stop was Taberna Coloniales for traditional tapas. It was here that we were first introduced to salmorejo, a thick, tomato-based gazpacho soup – it is delicious, make sure to try it if you ever visit Spain! After a few rounds of tapas and people watching from our table on the street, we walked over to La Azotea for our main courses. I opted for an omelet, Jigar got roasted vegetables and Sarah got a mini-burger. All were amazing!

Didn't realize I was getting freshly (and thinly!) sliced ham - straight from the leg - on my omelet!

Not "traditional" tapas, but still delicious (and excellent presentation!).

We slept in until an embarrassingly late hour on Friday, but when we eventually rose we headed over to the Seville Cathedral to see (arguably) the city’s main attraction. When we arrived, however, the lines to get in were absurdly long. We figured it would be best to let the crowds pass and eat a leisurely lunch at Bodeguita Romero – this place is known for its sandwich tapas and the pulled pork / chorizo / black bean sandwich was one of the best things we’ve eaten so far in Spain!

The Seville Cathedral. Beautiful from the outside (we'll explore the inside after lunch).

Another shot from the outside of the Cathedral.

When we were done with lunch, the crowds to get in had practically disappeared – timing is everything! Our wait to get in only took 10 minutes and we explored the incredible Cathedral for a couple hours.

Almost inside, we snapped a picture of this statue by the entrance.

This is the largest Gothic-style cathedral in the world. But the pictures don't even come close to doing it justice!

Looking up at the main dome of the cathedral - the different lighting provided quite a contrast.

One of the many intricate "treasures" on display in one of the side rooms.

We were able to climb to the top of the Cathedral to get some great views looking down on the rest of Seville.

Back down in the courtyard, looking up at the Cathedral's towers.

After the Cathedral we headed down to another of Seville’s tourist attractions, the Plaza de España. This beautiful, but modern, structure was very pleasant to walk around for an hour or so. There were row boats for rent to explore the moat but we opted to take in the views from dry land.

The Plaza de España.

Another benefit of having Jigar around: we always have a photographer on hand!

And Sarah is always happy to return the favor for a shot of the two of us.

Incredible tiling detail throughout - really a spectacular place.

Since we were close to some of the bridges that connected us with Triana, the west side of Seville, we figured we'd cross over and see what that side of the river had to offer. There were a handful of bars and restaurants, but many were closed when we were there. Extended siesta, perhaps? In any case, it wasn't long before we headed back to the downtown Seville in search of tapas. After bounding around a few places we didn't really love, we ended up at Bodega dos de Mayo and loved it. The food was great (even though we were a little full from our earlier, less delicious tapas) and the place was packed with locals.

Aging pig legs: our view for dinner. When in Spain!?!

Sarah and I decided to get up early on Saturday to see the city when it wasn't bustling with people. Jigar said on Friday night that he planned to join us...but it's always difficult to pull yourself out of bed before sunrise! He stayed behind, but we got some great pictures of the city without too many other people blocking the views.

Sunrise at the Cathedral.

Empty plazas...

...and streets.

The Christopher Columbus Monument.

Lots of joggers along the river this morning - with views like this I don't blame them for choosing that route!

After we returned for a nap, we woke Jigar at his regularly scheduled hour, 12 noon ("It's the jetlag!" does not work on the 7th day of the trip!), and walked south to explore Seville’s palace, Alcázar. Though not as impressive as the sights we saw yesterday, it was still well worth a visit to see the beautifully tiled rooms and impressively manicured gardens.

Me and Jigar at the main gate of Alcázar.

One of several great courtyards in the palace.

Some Islamic features of the palace design are hard to miss - haven't seen archways like this since Dubai.

A quiet corridor of the palace (and Sarah's favorite part).

Ok maybe this was Sarah's favorite part.

We concluded our evening - and our time in Seville - with a Flamenco show. We'd been meaning to do this in Spain and our AirBNB host recommended a great place so we figured it would make a fun end to our time with Jigar. These shows are obviously geared towards tourists but I can't tell you how much we all enjoyed it! Really incredible guitar, singing and dancing - well worth it if you are in Seville (or Spain in general)!

OLE!

Jigar just left us on an overnight bus to Portugal. Sarah and I will probably get just as much sleep as Jigar since we have to be on the move by 5am to catch our flight to Barcelona, but we all enjoyed our time in this lovely town. It's hot in the summer months but definitely worth a visit!

San Sebastián

After meeting up with our friend Jigar at the Madrid airport on Sunday, we took a small propeller plane to San Sebastián and arrived around noon.  Realizing just how small the airport there was (there are only six flights a day), we were thankful for the sole taxi that showed up about 15 minutes after we landed. Alex managed to direct our driver in broken Spanish to the Pension we were all staying at and we made it to the center of the old city just as the many pintxos bars were filling up. Pintxos are similar to Spanish tapas – though there is much debate as to what separates the two – and are a cornerstone of the Basque Region cultural experience. We were ready to “pintxos hop” and luckily, our host had prepared a helpful map of the best local spots for eating and drinking. Over the course of our three days here I tried to keep a detailed list of what we ate and where we ate it but my rioja consumption may have caused me to miss a few spots…nevertheless, we have some great recommendations if you ever make it to San Sebastián!

I was reminded a bit of Bourbon Street – every sign marks a different bar to grab a drink and pintxos!

Main drag in San Sebastian, leading up to the Iglesia de Santa Maria.

A Fuego Negro - Our first stop was recommended by many as the best place to grab a mini-burger. While the burgers were good, we didn’t think they quite lived up to the hype. No problem – time to move on to the next spot! 

Gandarias –Literally down the block from A Fuego Negro as all of these pintxos bars are located within a few blocks of each other. We tried a variety of the options waiting for us along the bar as well as the local white wine (served in a large cup). Best for: croquettes and skewers of sautéed mushrooms and prosciutto.

La Cepa – Just a quick stop here to grab a glass of wine and take in the views from a perch outside.

View from the doorway of La Cepa.

Beti Jai – We loved this place as the options were plentiful and the food and service were great. The interior is definitely more modern than many of the other options, but there is a well-appointed seating area, which we appreciated after a couple hours on our feet. Best for: presentation. Definitely the most appetizing spread we saw with lots of great options.

Really hard to go wrong here.

Feeling like we had a pretty satisfying afternoon of casual eating and drinking we headed to the water to watch the sunset. The views were incredible and we loved the comraderie among both locals and tourists just happy to sit and chat on the pier while taking in the scenery.

Easy to see why so many people gather to watch the sunset!

"Sarah, get one of me holding the sun." NAILED IT! So happy to have you Jigar!

Perfect way to end the day.

Since the sun didn’t set until after 9pm, the pintxos bars were starting to fill up again for the “evening shift.” We will still pretty full from our afternoon of eating but we managed a few additional stops before calling it a day.

Nagusia Lau – None of us remember much about this place and based on online reviews I think there is a reason for that…

La Vina – Famous for its tarta de queso, this highly recommended spot lived up to the hype! Alex and I convinced Jigar we only needed one plate to share and were glad we did. Best for: dessert. The cheesecake is worth it!

We slept in pretty late on Monday and all three of us were feeling a little exhausted from the previous day’s bingeing so we headed to a quiet lunch at Maiatza, which I highly recommend if you are feeling tired of pintxos.

After regaining some of our lost energy, we walked across the bridge and checked out the Zurriola Beach before heading south.

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was pretty quiet on Monday.

Me and Alex in the center of town.

Looking back at the San Sebastian Cathedral.

Our Pension host had warned us that Mondays would be much quieter so our subdued activities for the day certainly fit in with the local vibe. Having spotted a few boutiques I wanted to check out, I left the boys for a few hours and did some shopping while they grabbed beers.

Atari Gastroteka – More of a sit down restaurant though tapas are offered. Best for: its spacious area with beer garden-style wooden benches.

I met up with Alex and JIgar in the evening and we continued our new favorite pastime of pintxos hopping.

Bar Sport – Popular place that I had read about on TripAdvisor, though it doesn’t look very impressive from the outside. Best for: fried spicy meatballs and hot chorizo sandwich.

We decided to take it easy went to bed early so we could get up early and hike to the lookout on nearby Monte Urgull in the morning.

Today we grabbed coffee and successfully “climbed” (much more like an uphill stroll) Monte Urgull. The weather has been cooler and hazy here so the sky wasn’t very clear, but we still got to see some great views of San Sebastian.

Even on a hazy day, the beach views are something to behold.

Even a cloudy day can be a great beach day.

Looking out over the dock where we watched the sunset.

Having completed some – albeit limited – physical activity for the day, it was obviously time for more pintxos! We headed to probably the most highly recommended pintxos spot – seriously everyone kept talking about this place – and settled in, expecting magic.

Bar Borda Berri – I was definitely more impressed with this place than Jigar and Alex. Jigar didn’t care that much for his goat cheese and Alex feared the pesto glaze used on the meat dishes contained nuts so it was left to me to eat most of the food! Luckily the veal cheeks were outstanding, though I will note that the atmosphere of the place is much more subdued than most of the other bars: quiet, indifferent service and no pre-made pintxos lining the bar. Best for: tender veal cheeks, peppers stuffed with veal cheeks.

Our trio popped into a few of the other places we had already visited so Alex and Jigar could get some lunch and then we strolled down the beach to the Miramar Palace.

The sun finally started to come out!

Looking back on San Sebastian.

Turned out to be a pretty nice beach day after all!

Pretty picturesque.

Needing something other than the local rioja and white wine options we had been sampling over the past couple of days, we headed to a local beer bar our Pension host mentioned.

Bar Extenzo – definitely the broadest selection of beers we saw here but virtually no English to be found. Best for: trying local beers, obviously!

For our last dinner in San Sebastian, we finally heeded all of the advice we’d received about where to go for a delicious steak meal.

Bar Nestor – Famous for only serving five items (but doing all of them very well), this place has been feautured in multiple publications and guides. We really enjoyed the whole experience but were a little let down by the famous meat. Best for: everything they serve besides the steak - tomato salad, omelet (make sure you get there early before the only one they make each day sells out!), shisito peppers.

So rare and so much fat - we thought those yellow blobs were potatoes at first!

Satisfied with our extensive culinary immersion in San Sebastian, we headed home to get some rest. Tomorrow we fly back to Madrid briefly before catching a train to Seville for the next few days.

Madrid

Sarah and I arrived a little late in Madrid – our AirEuropa flight did about four circles of the city before we were cleared for landing. Needless to say, after eight train / bus connections in Amsterdam to get to and from Keukenkof (and back to the airport) and a delayed flight, we were both ready to crash when we got to our hotel. Sarah occasionally mentions that we’re on our honeymoon when booking hotels (mostly for the purpose of making sure we get a room with a double bed, rather than a room with two twins) and the Hotel Claridge definitely took this to heart – we were upgraded to one of their two suites! We sprawled out in the spacious room and got to sleep early so we’d be fresh for the rest of our time in Madrid.

Given that Madrid is a little more spread out than some of the other cities we’ve been to recently, we decided to book two days on a hop on / hop off bus to get around the city’s main attractions. Before setting out for the day, though, we took advantage of the “spacious” gym in the hotel. “Spacious” is a bit of an understatement…this is the biggest and nicest gym we’ve seen so far on our trip! We got a great workout in, then headed to grab coffees and “hop on” the first bus.

Some views from the bus. Here’s the beautiful Plaza de Cibeles.

A courtyard off of Calle Mayor, one of the city’s most historic streets.

In a change from the usual Spanish architecture, we passed this building with cubist figures on the top.

After riding around the city for an hour or so, we got off near a restaurant Sarah had scouted out for lunch, Casa9. We are still adjusting to the Spanish eating schedule because we were expecting to be on the later end of the lunch crowd by arriving at 2pm…but we were the first lunch diners to arrive! (The place was packed by the time we left at 3:30pm, though.) The food was excellent – every day a new three course menu is prepared – and we left feeling a bit lethargic. Good thing we can just sit on the bus for the next hour to see the remainder of the city!

We rode to the Botanical Gardens and got out to walk around there for a bit. The Gardens, and nearby Retiro Park, are beautiful and not overly crowded. We had fantastic weather this afternoon so we took advantage and strolled through the greenery for a couple hours.

One of the many pathways through the Gardens.

Like Central Park, the Gardens are lined by buildings on all sides – a reminder that we’re still in downtown Madrid.

A statue of King Charles (a.k.a. Carlos) III, who created the Gardens here in 1774.

Pretty scenic views this afternoon.

Monument to General Arsenio Martínez-Campos in the Retiro Park.

The Park is so big that we were by ourselves in many of its more remote corners.

Looking into the Park at the Monument to Alfonso XII.

Though we were both enjoying the walk around the Park, Sarah’s not-so-well-broken-in sandals began to give her some serious blisters. So we headed out in search of some other footwear in the Salamanca district we passed on the bus earlier today.

The Alcalá Gate. We walked past it on our way to some of the shops.

Unfortunately we didn’t find any new sandals for Sarah. So instead we decided to find a place for dinner and perch there for a few hours. In need of some place to sit quickly, we popped into Triana for a drink. Little did we know that with each drink order you receive a tapa as well! So we let Sarah’s feet rest, sipped a drink and munched on croquettes.

The real tapas highlight was at La Catapa for dinner. The joint was jumpin’ with locals enjoying tapas on a Friday night so we had to wait a few minutes to find a place to stand at the bar. We stood out as Americans (since every other person there was a local) but that actually worked in our favor – the chef came out and explained the entire menu in very good English! We placed an order for a handful of small plates and were extremely happy for his delicious recommendations. Full of tapas, we headed home to get some rest after a long (but very fun) first day.

We had a very leisurely start to the day on Saturday – we slept in pretty late, then had another long workout at the gym. By the time we were ready to leave our hotel, it was already time for lunch (and by that I mean, it was already 2pm). Sarah found a place nearby, Rincon de Fogg, which we both thought would have more of a brunch-type offering. Turned out that restaurant is better known for burgers…fine with me!

After lunch we hopped on the bus again to explore the second route around the city. This route was reviewed as the “less popular” route and after taking both we definitely agree. I think the main purpose of this route is to get people up to the stadium where Real Madrid plays – not that many other interesting sights to see on the bus. We did get a good view of the Christopher Columbus monument, though.

The Christopher Columbus monument.

It was really hot on Saturday so by the time the bus had completed its route, we were both ready to cool off in the shade and re-hydrate. We grabbed some waters and sat down at The Cask to cool off. Next we headed to Grand Via for Sarah to continue her hunt for sandals. I hung in there for a couple stores, then decided an outdoor bar with free WiFi was a better place to pass the time!

Grand Via, one of the main shopping areas in Madrid.

Once Sarah was done shopping – though still no sandals! – we walked over to the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Almudena Cathedral. We’d passed these sights on the bus yesterday but wanted a closer look.

Some of the beautiful buildings nearby the Palace.

The Plaza de Oriente, just across from the Palace.

The Royal Palace of Madrid.

The Almudena Cathedral, next to the Palace. We saw a few couple taking wedding photos out front…but we don’t think any of them actually got married in there.

Our last stop of the day, timed to coincide with sunset, was the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian temple reconstructed here (the temple was donated to Spain in the 1960s). Sarah read that this was an excellent place to watch the sunset and her travel research proved spot-on again. Not the sunset view I was expecting in Madrid, but spectacular nonetheless.

Sarah’s favorite building in Madrid (we walked past it on our way to the Temple of Debod).

Dusk at the Temple of Debod.

As the sun set behind the trees, the temple became illuminated by lights in the ground. Easy to see why many flock here to see the sunset!

Most of the locals who came to the Temple of Debod to watch the sunset brought light tapas with them to snack on. We probably should’ve done the same (the sun didn’t set until 9:30pm!) but we hadn’t thought that far ahead. So as soon as we’d snapped some pictures we headed to two tapas places to eat. Entrevinos was our first stop, then we went to Origen. Entrevinos was very tasty, but more expensive than many of the other places we’d been; Origen had a more modern spin on traditional Tapas and we loved the unique dishes there (especially the caramelized tomato!).

Meat spread at Entrevinos – it tasted as good as it looked.

Tomorrow we are flying to San Sebastian for three days in what many describe as a “magical” town. Our good friend Jigar is meeting us at the airport to join our travels for the next week – so we have even more reason to be excited for this next stop!