Haven’t had a girl’s trip in a long while so I said yes to a three-day trip with Cristina and Cristina (yes I was the odd one out) to the historic capital of Spain.
First stop, the city’s largest park which belonged to the monarchy until it became public in 1868 – Jardines del Buen Retiro, now a UNESCO world heritage site. Here is the stunning Rosaleda (Rose Garden).
By the main entrance of the park, is the Parterre del Retiro. King Philip V took inspiration from his grandfather Louis XIV’s gardens in Versailles. On the right we posed behind the lake built in 1634 that used to hold mock navy battles presented to the royals inside this vast garden.
The Palacio de Cristal, a cast-iron greenhouse built in 1887 to showcase Philippine plants and artifacts was unfortunately temporarily closed at the time of our visit. On the right is the Palacio de Velázquez, built in 1881 originally to display mining and metallurgy achievements.
Within the park, you would encounter talented artists like monsieur who was peacefully crafting jewelry and I excitedly bought some earrings and bracelets for myself and my best friend Yuri. Monsieur Yonatini was proudly showcasing his paintings. He stopped Tina in her tracks and when he discovered she’s also an artist, invited her to take a picture together. He guessed that we are Filipino because, ‘we’re always smiling’. I asked him if that’s a good thing and he said, ‘Yes, it’s a good thing to spread positivity.’ How sweet was he?
On our first night, we ate at a restaurant called Triana that served Andalusian food. Our appetizer was Fritura andaluza estilo Triana – deep fried seafood that goes so well with aioli. We also ordered Arroz del señorito and my favourite dish of the night, the juiciest and flavourful grilled beef steak – Entrecotte de vaca madurado a la brasa.
Going back to art, we stumbled upon a charming shop called Ágata de Fuego and the loveliest Spanish woman, Lola who patiently and laughingly succumbed to Tina’s persistent haggling. We all bought a piece of jewelry but we wanted everything inside the store. We shall be back, Lola!
Naturally, we decided to visit places associated to Dr. José Rizal our National Hero on our second day. I’m sure the girls would agree that our favourite was Viva Madrid restaurant where Rizal often hung out at. I ordered a piña colada, perfect with chipirones fritos.
We had to see the José Rizal monument located in C. de Santander which was a metro ride away from the city center. On the right and back to the city center is Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, now a museum and gallery was where Rizal took painting lessons.
The concept of pasalubong (souvenir) still mighty strong in our veins, drove us to Mercado de San Miguel in search for dried meat to bring back home to the husbands. Not before stopping to snack on some churros!
For old times’ sake, since growing up Catholic, I told myself why not go with the girls to mass and I even took communion. The cathedral, right across the Royal Palace is called Catedral de Almuneda constructed in 1883.
To cap off our Madrid trip, we needed to satiate our craving for Filipino chicken at Jollibee Madrid! I haven’t had it since my last trip to the Philippines in December. To my awesome surprise, the peach mango pie was twice as big as the size back home and I just had to buy a chicken joy bucket to bring back home to Toulouse.
Historic, hysterical and overall fun, can’t wait to travel again with Cristina and Cristina.
