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?
Happiness Between Tails by da-AL 
How interesting and exciting.
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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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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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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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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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