I recently flew to Madrid for a long weekend, it was exciting to go somewhere new and get back to exploring a little. I have to say there is a reason I don’t like travelling in summer…the heat it was high 30’s while I was there.. As it was my first time in Spain I booked a Tapas and Wine tour on the Friday night and a day long bus tour to (Avila and Segovia on the Sunday This will be in Spain Part2.) I always try to see more than just the city I am in to get a better feel for the country but also to ensure I see more in case I don’t go back. My favourite way to explore a new city – Hop on Hop off bus wasn’t running, so my exploring of Madrid was on foot around where I stayed and via the taxi trips I took.

The Tapas and Wine tour lead by Carlos was amazing, a small group walking around the old town area going to 4 different restaurants for tapas and wine. Each place we went to had a house speciality whether it was the Arzúa cheese with membrillo(quince paste), the way cider is poured, the wines or the most amazing garlic prawns. I truly recommend doing the tour check out http://www.gourmetmadrid.com I booked through Viator but you can book directly. Carlos was a fab host who made sure any special requests were accommodated. I know this will come as a shock to some of you but I was enjoying myself so much I didn’t get to take photos of the food on the tour!

In walking around the area I stayed in which was the literary area, I noticed an amazing array of beautiful doors, it was like every couple of meters there was another stunning door. So I took lots of photos of doors.

Around there was plenty of interesting architecture, tilework, arches and statues. Some are below.

No trip would be a Sandra trip without photos of food, and the food in Madrid was excellent, below a sample of some of the fab food.

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#spain #exploring #madrid #travel #architecture #foodgloriousfood