We got to Madrid late on Tuesday night. Bella had to leave Wednesday morning, so I spent the remainder of the trip exploring the city with people from our hostel, before returning to London Thursday night. Madrid was my least favorite of the three cities, but it's hard to compete with beautiful Barcelona and festive Seville. This collection of photos represents how random my time there was.
Sangria on tap
Fruits at an outdoor style indoor market
Cocktails on display at the market
Desnudo by Roberto Fernández Balbuena at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid
My friend and I spent a lot of time people watching in the surprisingly stylish city of Seville. This is what we discovered:
Everyone wears tights. Sometimes with pants. Not just tights under a skirt or shorts to keep warm (which at 77F/25C, just isn't necessary), but we saw them under jeans, khakis, and spandex! The moments we were hot and sweaty in our dresses, we were just baffled by the idea of wearing tights in addition. But, I think it's more of a traditional, ladylike thing for them, which is understandable.
Few people have individual style. The people were certainly stylish, don't get me wrong. But, most people wore what everyone else was wearing. Spring colors, the same suede heels, but in different colors. I think the most stylish girl we saw walking around on Monday was wearing an aqua colored dress with a large print and a deep blue sequence sweater. She was 12 years old.
Incredibly dapper men. Men were dressed in suits, slacks and a nice sweater, or jeans and a smart shirt just about everywhere. We decided that they dress better than the women.
Children are very stylish. Were you ever dressed in an absolutely embarrassing outfit when you were little? Well, that would've never happened if you grew up in Seville. Parents just love to dress their children to the nines. We guessed that it might be a sign of wealth or class, because some kids just didn't make the cut. Poor things.
Espadrille wedges. These were the it shoes at the fair. Rightly so, as they originate in Spain, are very comfortable, and come in a million different colors. We also saw quite a few cute ones walking around in the city.
We had just an hour to shop for ourselves and buy gifts for other people before we left. My friend found this beautiful necklace at a vintage store for her friend back in California. I was so sad that I didn't see it first!!
I found this beautiful crystal hair comb from a vintage jewelry store. I'm planning on wearing it with cascading curls in my hair and an ivory lace dress.
How adorable is this skirt?! I bought it from a store called AtalantA on Calle Francos. The store owner was there, and sold me the skirt personally, advising me what to wear it with, and giving me her honest opinion on my selections. She goes to Paris often to buy for her store. Wonderful shopping experience.
Bella and I also found this cute shop called Malvaloca. They stock very feminine, lovely clothing, and display unique pieces of jewelry in a little shabby chic jewelry armoire.
Day 5: April 22
I, unfortunately, had to send some emails for work while my friend went for spa treatments. I spent most of that time actually talking to our host and his 11-year-old daughter, attempting to speak Spanish along with them and learning a few things about their culture. The little girl's favorite subject in school is English, which I thought was very cute.
By the time Bella got home, we were both starving. I quickly got ready, and we went a place called Taberna Coloniales for tapas. The restaurant is always busy, and this was our third attempt at eating there! After about a 15 minute wait, we were seated upstairs. It was much more tame than the lower level, and the staff were very friendly. We had wine and ordered papas a la brava, tabla ibérica, spinach croquettes, and quail eggs with chorizo. The potatoes were my favorite, but the tabla ibérica has salmorejo in it, which as a native food, is definitely worth trying.
Tabla ibérica: quail eggs over ham and salmorejo on toast
After lunch, we did our usual wandering and ended up at Plaza de España, a gorgeous, picturesque building, full of history. While we were walking down a set of steps, a flower drifted on the ground right in front of our path. There wasn't a tree or anything above us, so I decided to designate it our lucky flower. After leaving there, and heading back towards our apartment, we walked through a few narrow streets, and saw a pretty secret garden behind iron gates. We ended with refreshing cocktails on a rooftop bar and later had a yummy pan of paella.
Day 4: April 21
Our five hour train journey from Barcelona to Seville (Sevilla in Spanish) was full of chatter and drifting in and our of sleep. We were happily awoken by the liveliness of Seville, riding in a taxi through narrow streets full of people outside of bars drinking and laughing. My friend, Bella managed to find a bright, lovely apartment right in the center on Airbnb. Our host was so funny, and he made both of us feel incredibly welcome. He recommended a number of places, marking them on a map, and setting us free on our quest.
We eventually set out on our search for food, but found that at 5:30pm, most tapas restaurants weren't serving food until 8pm. We grabbed a bite at a random place, and headed towards an area we were directed to find something a bit more substantial. Bella and I took our time, wandering around hoping that the later it got, the more likely it would be to find a good place to eat. We walked past stunning architecture, and through a little outdoor market, where I found a leather tobacco pouch for my boyfriend, which I've been searching for forever. We made our way towards a shopping area, finding an adorable vintage shop along the way. Bella bought a beautiful long, flowy dress with light pink flowers against a nude background. Walking farther down the street, we saw a sea of people standing outside of a bar and realized the Barcelona v. Real Madrid football (soccer) game was on. I'm not a fan, but my friend was jumping with excitement. We ordered a pitcher of sangria and tried to blend into the crowd of t-shirt wearing men, with our girly outfits. I was more interested in watching the intense reactions of the crowd than the actual game.
Bella and I left just in time to make our way to the flamenco show our host recommended. It was in a bit of a hole in the wall in a sketchy area, but in my experiences, those places are always the best. The performance was at a bar where people practice the art before going professional. It was 5 to enter, and the place was a bit cramped, with rows of wooden chairs lined up before the stage, and people filling just about every seat. We found two empty ones in the corner, relieved that we wouldn't have to stand on our aching feet any longer. The show started with a solo guitarist, who later played alongside a woman who literally sang with her soul. It was incredible. But, it was the dancer that amazed the crowd the most. She danced with such strength and passion, and the swiftness of her feet kept me mesmerized. A video of part of her performance is below. My battery died before I could film any more, but you can see how amazing she is. Great way to end our night.
