We stayed at Hotel Convencion on O'Donnell, which was a great location (a 20 min. shuttle ride from the airport, a 5 min. walk to two metro stations, a 10 min. walk to Retiro Park, and a 20 min. walk to Palace de Cibeles and the Prado Museum). The hotel was not as great as it says it is on the website though (we were in one of the older rooms) but it was perfect for what we needed it for, a.k.a. a place to sleep. We got a discounted room rate that included a breakfast buffet and late check-out. For 3 nights is was 345 EUR which wasn't too bad for that location during an eventful weekend (Real Madrid was playing Sat. and the Rock'n'Roll Marathon/Half Marathon was Sun.).
Anywho, once we got settled in we took the metro (you can purchase a 10-ticket booklet for 12 EUR) to the race Expo and then hit up the Royal Palace...
...and the 2,000 year old Egyptian Temple of Debod. The kid's were more interested in the temple (we may or may not have told them a mummy lived inside) and the gorgeous park it was in!
For dinner we found a little tapas/pizzeria place to eat near Plaza Mayor. Dining was difficult for our family in Spain (we have the world's pickiest eaters). Not only was the food "different" but lunch wasn't served until after 1:30 p.m. and restaurants did not reopen for dinner until 8:00 p.m. (and many people didn't speak English or have English menus). The kids did enjoy their churros con chocolate though! The sangria wasn't too bad either!
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| (Walking along Gran Via) |
The next day we toured the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The kids really had fun seeing the soccer field and touring the stadium. The only thing we didn't get to do was go into the changing rooms (there was a game going on that night) but we got to see the trophy room, press box, VIP lounge, president's box and field!
We also took the metro out to the Las Ventas Bullring. We did not tour Las Ventas (I understand the culture is different but I cannot stand the fact that those poor animals are tortured and murdered for sport) but they were selling tickets for tours and actual fights at the window.
There were TONS of things to do in Madrid but we were really playing this trip low-key. After Spring Break we were pretty traveled out and this was more of a "race-cation." Some of the things we didn't get around to (but seemed interesting) were the cable car ride, countless art expos and museums (including the Prado Museum), the zoo, the Rastro (a weekly flea market), more parks and plazas, flamenco dances, etc. If you go to Puerta de Sol you can see the stone "Kilometer Zero" slab which is the official starting point for Spain's six national roads. Botin, the world's oldest restaurant, is also located there!
(Oh, and FYI if you plan on going and will be there for a few days or want to hit most of the museums and be able to bypass the queues you may be better off getting the Madrid Card).
All-in-all it was a great weekend making memories in Madrid!
Awesome pics!
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