Madrid | Jardines de Sabatini, Madrid

Guess who just got into town!!!

That’s right Pia!
She’s such a trooper, all the way from L.A. to have a long layover in NYC to get to Madrid, to spend a measly 24 hours with us. Now that’s love!

We caught Pia up with the shopping, the churros, the plaza de Sol, and walked straight the Palace so she can see the sights. We decided to visit the infamous Jardines de Sabatini. The view was gorgeous from above the stairs, and once we stepped inside the garden, the mazes was all I wanted to step into. 

Madrid | Nice Meeting You Paul


A nice night out, Chris I noticed a bar that was having live music. We got ready and ran out to the streets. When we walked in it looked like a college bar. The music that was playing was old school rock, not really what I was expecting for Madrid. I guess it was more of a tourist trap.

Since the place was so packed, I started playing a guessing game with Chris. I picked out where we were going to sit, and boom, the space became available. Right before we sat, I mentioned that the guy sitting right in front of us will make friends with Chris, and hahaha… we ended up naming him Paul, especially since we never got his name. He actually even recommended a beer and offered C some of his.. go Paul!

It was  enough sitting down for us, I wanted to dance.
We roamed the streets looking for a place with loud music, and before we even had a chance to decide a promoter came up to us and led the way. Our night was full of dancing, just like I wanted. We got a little lost getting home, but nothing that we couldn’t fix in 2 minutes. Hopping in to bed was much needed after a long day of walking… tomorrow’s another day!

Madrid | Textiles and Temples


Almudena Cathedral, it wasn’t even one of the stops we were headed to. I’m so glad we walked in. I’ve seen the inside of many churches, and  yes they are all so beautiful in their own ways, but this one had patterns for days. When you look up high it seemed like there were textiles on the ceilings. Intricate details with so many colors.

There was this one room, aw man, you would just die if you saw it.

Tourists were not allowed to enter, which makes it obvious that pictures weren’t allowed to be taken. I stepped in anyway, took a seat in the back and just observed quietly. The whole room was golden  mosaics, images of saints, Jesus Christ, Saint Mary, everything was just everything… gold. I loved it.

Christopher is a huge fan of Egypt, so when we learned that there was a Temple that was donated to Madrid, when they helped aid their temples. We got to the Temple of Debod right on time, the tour guide was just starting. I actually found the spanish a bit difficult to understand, and tried my best at every pause to translate for Nikki.
After such a long day I was excited for dinner. I was starving and on our walk back I was eager to find anything that these 2 picky eaters could finally say “yes” to. Everything wasn’t good enough. I was staring to get a bit cranky, and all the wait was well worth it.  Chris spotted Fatigas Del Querer, right on Calle de la Cruz, it was just calling us in. Gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce) was delicious, which I didn’t order, but hey, if Chris orders it.. I get a cut.

Madrid |Croissant Killer

I’ve been in the mood for a good croissant, and as soon we stop by a bakery close to our home, we splurge on some cronuts and I get the croissant. Nikki and I get distracted by some shops before we hit Puerta de Sol, the main plaza that resembles our own NYC’s Times Square. We walk into Pull and Bear and there’s a huge sale going on. I told myself I wasn’t going to go crazy buying random things, but everything was so pretty and cheap. I was debating on even having to pay for an extra check in if needed.

I ended up just getting a few necklaces, a skirt, a purse and a pretty dope wallet for only €18.00 which is basically only like $20.

I would have grabbed more if I could.

Someone was falling asleep while the girls shopped, so by the time it was time to eat, Chris devoured the croissant all by himself, how rude!

Ramon kept raving about how good the churros are in spain, so naturally we had to go find some. We walked into Los Artesanos, Churreria Chocolateria and all the waiters were dressed up all spiffy, in white suits. Our waiter was this older man who had such a grungy voice and grunted when he spoke. I kept thinking how great he would be if he was a cartoon character.

The churros were delicious and the hot chocolate was so thick it was perfect to dip into.
Today was a day for walking, a lot of it. It was raining and the last thing I wanted to do was get all cute. My curls have been shit this whole trip, which explains why I’ve had tiny buns and braids for most of it. It’s constantly raining, and since we’re always rushing in the morning, who am I to hog the mirrors.

Everything in Madrid seems to be at a walking distance and with our better luck, our apartment is right in the center of the city, at least according to my map it is. One side to the other only takes 30 minutes , so unlike Paris once we stepped out of the Metro when came from the airport, we never had to get back on it again.
Our first stop was visiting the Palace, El Palacio Real de MadridIt was grand, huge and was packed with tourists. We attempted to to make the line to visit inside, but we never made it in. Boo.