Euro Trip: Madrid, Spain

March 29-31, 2017 | Euro Trip 2017 begins!

My wonderful parents, Nancy and Larry, flew out to Madrid on March 29th and stayed with Tim and me in our 2-bedroom apartment for 3 nights (perfect usage of the second bedroom, if I do say so myself).

It was so fun to walk them through our neighborhood and point out various fruterías (fruit shops), restaurants, and grocery stores that we go to all the time!

Over three days, we took them all around our stomping grounds: by the school where I work, to a couple of our favorite cafés, and up to the Círculo de Bellas Artes terrace, which has a fabulous view of the whole city. The weather was quite nice, so we also wandered over to the Madrid Río river walk to enjoy some cold beverages and people watching.

Whenever we’re with my parents, we seem to find ourselves constantly eating delectable food. One night, we ate dinner at Bosco, a cool Italian restaurant attached to COAM (Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid a.k.a. Madrid Architects’ Association).

The next night, we wrapped up our Madrid adventures by snagging an upstairs table at Restaurante Botín, the oldest continuously running restaurant in the world (founded in 1725). Fun fact: Francisco de Goya, a famous Spanish painter, worked at Botín as a waiter before joining the Royal Academy of Fine Arts!

At Botín, we were serenaded with music and song by a talented band of male university students. These groups are very common in Madrid and are called La Tuna for some reason (and it has nothing to do with the fish!).

Overall, our short time in Madrid provided a great springboard for the rest of the trip. More to come!

– J