"Madrid" Madrid by nikki-the

We loved Madrid, and Spain in general, in spite of the fact that we were somewhat unsure of where and what to eat.

We stayed in the center of Madrid, just off the Plaza Del Sol. We paid about 50 Euros a night for a room at the Europa Hotel with no air conditioning. Unfortunately, they were doing some renovation while we were there and the elevator was out of order. The doorman, however, was good enough to carry all of our bags up the three flights of stairs. Though we don't normally eat at hotel restaurants, the food was good and affordable and we were in an excellent location to check out the rest of the area.

Plaza Mayor (picture) has good eating establishments which were also a bit more pricey. One of the main things to eat in Madrid, from our experience, was the vast array of types and qualities of ham. We enjoyed it so much that we brought some home with us. We did not try any of the famed tapas places, though, as we were unsure of where to go. All of our insecurity about the food was linked to the fact that, the first night we went out to eat there, my husband ordered a paella which had spoiled shrimp in it.

I can say that this was one of our more conservative holidays as we were a bit less adventurous. Next time we go, we'll live a bit more on the edge.

Crystal Palace, Royal Park in Madrid

There is an excellent tourist bus system in Madrid which is comprised of 4-5 lines which can take you to all of the different sights in central Madrid. You can purchase a daily bus pass (@12 Euros) or a three-day one (@25 Euros) and ride as many times as you like.

One of my favourite aspects of Madrid was it's AMAZING parks. The parks, it seems, were donated to the city by the royalty and are generally kept in immaculate condition.

The only negative experience I had while in Madrid (not including my husband's bad shrimp) was being "flashed" by a man in the park. Actually, I wasn't as upset by it as much as I was struck by the strangeness of it...I now wonder if this is a pecularly "Spanish" thing (ha ha).

50 m from our hotel at Plaza del Sol, Madrid

Re-reading my comments on Madrid, I even give MYSELF the impression that we didn't have a very nice time.

This is not at all the case. The weather there is fabulous, the sun goes down at 9:30 at night, the people are open and pleasant, the plazas are full of people and activity all hours of the day and, in general, it's a wonderful place for a holiday.

My being extremely pregnant during the holiday didn't make it an easy one.