Wow! What a day! In reality, it’s been two days but with a long overnight flight and packed days, it seems longer…

After a slightly delayed flight, we arrived at our hotel in Madrid at 9am Sunday. Our view is beautiful, we are overlooking the palace. Nick’s only request when planning this trip was to see castles. We found out about this hotel via Rick Steves. Thanks Rick, it’s perfect!

We couldn’t check in immediately so we toured the palace. Have you ever seen embroidered wallpaper or porcelain cherub wallpaper!? With stuccoed flowers on the ceiling? Of course, all these rooms were off-limits for photos but the Royal Palace of Madrid is beautiful. Quite eclectic too with sphinx tables, Stradivarious stringed instruments, and lions (Spain’s National Symbols) at every turn. We have new, quite preposterous decorating ideas. The last stop was the throne room which is the only room unchanged since the kings and queens of the 1700s ruled. This leaves us in awe of their sense of history, tradition and national pride. ❤️🇪🇸

By 1pm we were both dragging and ready to leave the beautiful but crowded palace. We popped into a nearby restaurant for tapas and sangria. Yes please! Sangria is just how I left it 3 years ago, thank you tradition. The tortilla española is served hot, like it never is in the US, and the croquettes are simply delicious.

We needed a nap, so we took it. Too long in my opinion but we’ll see how tomorrow goes… The ultimate equalizer of jet lag. We then toured the city by foot, stopping for drink or food as we pleased. It was a beautiful, easy evening.

On the way home, as Nick and I were crossing the street, immediately he said to me, “Did you see…?” which was interrupted by a scream and what I can only now determine was a consecutive slew of Spanish curses as a woman grabbed her purse and chastised the man walking next to her. Nick began again, “… that’s what I was going to tell you. He had his hand in her purse as we crossed the street. Something didn’t look right…”. Nick was absolutely right. I held my purse tight, happy in my decision to buy a crossbody with three zippers and store my cash and cards in the hardest to reach pocket. Those of you worried, Nick is part superman. 😊

We also bought a bottle of cava on the walk home for 3€. 👍👍👍