The king of Spain and his family weren’t in when we visited, but we still enjoyed his nice house.Our three-week Spain/France adventure ended with four nights in Madrid — a city that needs far more time than that to fully appreciate all of its marvelousness — museums, architecture, public art, food (including the world’s oldest restaurant), parks (among them centuries-old gardens), nightlife, and on and on. So much so that this part of our vacation is split into more than one post!
“Flamenco & the Sitting Cat,” my novel-in-progress, is titled for my love of Spain and multi-culturalism. My husband and I arrived tired and late. Driving from León took longer than we planned, and rain made finding our accommodations extra troublesome.
The next morning we slept in, and then took a leisurely stroll that quickly revealed tons of political graffiti, much of it for gender equality, amid the big city hustle-bustle…
After a stop for lunch, we started to feel ourselves again, so we ventured further to where the king and his family stay when they’re in town.
The Royal Palace of Madrid was built in 1764. From floors to ceilings, it’s packed with non-stop gorgeous art…
Does the royal family find their ceiling art a pain in the neck?
Check out Marvelous Madrid, Spain, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
In the meantime, if you’d like to know about the rest of our trip…
It started with a weekend in beautiful Barcelona …
where we rented a car and stopped in wonderful Huesca …
Then crossed into France to pretty saint-jean-pied-de-port …
and the next day spent an afternoon in enchanting Espelette …
For several days in phenomenal French Basque Country, we enjoyed Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne, and Biarritz …
Back in Spain, we enjoyed delicious food and seaside dogs in San Sebastián …
followed by the breathtaking city of Bilbao …
Before we got to Madrid, there was lovely León!
What’s the longest you’ve taken on a vacation?
Daal, thank you for sharing the photos of your vacation. The paintings in the Royal Palace are truly breathtaking but I can imagine the neck strain from staring up. You got great photos, I’m impressed with your skill. (At least one thing you didn’t have to worry about was tourists getting in the way of your photos.) You and Hubby covered a lot of Spain on this trip, seems like the way to travel. I’ll have to come back and make sure I’ve seen all your other entries.
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thanks for all of your sweet comments, Sharon — I keep my posts on the short side, same idea as your “I got a plane to catch” post — I don’t think folks want to read long posts especially on internet
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3 weeks? Oh you lucky you.
I’m in love with Madrid.
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🙂
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your trip to Madrid is exquistely gorgeous. The paintings in ROYAL PALACEare really breathtaking.
Iam so impressed that would like book a flight for a week or so to be there .
great description of the place as such with living photos.
if interested visit my site
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glad you enjoyed it, Brij
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yes very much. I like travelling . One day Iwill make trip to Madrid.
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🙂
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I love Madrid—we’ve been twice! It’s a beautiful city. I hope you got to the Prado. I’m looking forward to your other posts!
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🙂
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Wonderful pictures and thank you for sharing your adventures!!… 🙂 it is obvious that you and the someone special in your life had a wonderful visit and hope that it were all that you wished for it to be!… 🙂
“Life gives us brief moments with another, but sometimes in those brief moments we get memories that last a lifetime, So live that your memories will be part of your happiness.”
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❤
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I like the The Royal Palace of Madrid and the weather was gorgeous, I love the color of the sky with the clouds !! …
I’ve never taken more than 3 days in a row on a vacation !!!
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but wait — here in US we all hear that French people get loads of time off…
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it depends on the job !! … I meant I never spent more than days in a row travelling (away from home) … (I did when a kid but my parents paid back then)
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WOW!😳 Awesome pictures of your travel. The pictures of your trip to Barcelona were amazing. Unbelievable that church is still under construction from the 1800’s. So TALL!
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glad you enjoyed, Allen 🙂
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stuck in here between studies and mundane lifestyle,the pictures of exotic spain is no more less than a dream drawn by pablo picaso.Hope you are doing well.Much love.
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you are so poetic, Neha 🙂
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Is it??
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Indeed
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After such a journey to get there, arriving late and shattered, I would have wanted a few days in bed let alone a little lie-in! So I’m glad you managed to make the most of the four nights there, and wow, what a place. I love the graffiti, I do quite like the ‘personal touch’ when there’s some bigger reason behind it like politics, justice or equality. The architecture of the Royal Palace is absolutely stunning, and I do think that ceiling art would have been a complete pain in the neck for the artiste(s)! Lovely photo of the two of you against that gorgeous skyline by the way, and such gorgeous rolling greenery in the background 🙂
Caz xx
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thanks, Caz ❤ — greenery is the royal 'garden'!
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How interesting and exciting.
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Three-week in Spain / France and some nights in Madrid … Wow! It sounds like a fabulous trip. Glad you enjoy this special time with your hubby. Love your photos, especially the graffiti ones. On my way to look at some of your links. Have a wonderful weekend.
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glad you enjoyed — have a fun weekend you too, dear 🙂
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Sorry for my late reply to you. I had some computer problems in the past few days. Have a wonderful week.
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Urgh — unfortunately I’ve been there too…
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It shall past as they say. Have a great day!
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Ah, da-AL, I had never before considered traveling to Spain until I saw your pictures and read your descriptions. It was almost as if I were experiencing Spain vicariously. Three weeks? I think I’d want to spend at least 3 months simply absorbing the atmosphere. Thank you.
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3 months even better for sure!
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