Travel Diary: Day 3 in Madrid

Day 3 in Madrid started off with a lie in and poolside lounging before making our way up to our hotel’s roof; I’d seen a few snaps from up there on Instagram, so I was determined to find the little balcony up on the 8th floor! You know, for someone who’s scared of heights I’ve been making my way to quite a few rooftops on this trip…

The view from the Wellington Hotel rooftop was truly spectacular in the afternoon sunshine, with the terracotta rooftops and clean white house fronts all laid out in front of us. I also took advantage of the privacy, and Jeff snapped a few pictures of me for a What I Wore post – preview above, and keep your eye out for more!

From there we wandered over to Mercado San Anton (with quite a few detours so I could photograph the rooftops and balconies I am so obsessed with!) for a snack of cured meats, mojitios and salad (not pictured – we ate that too quickly!) on the rooftop there. While we had the option of walking through the market and selecting food, we opted for table service where we ordered dishes from the market and had them served to our table. (Lazy, yes, but we were also on holiday!)

Post-snack it was time for another rooftop drink, and we made our way a few streets over to Hotel Room Mate Óscar, and the edge of the Gran Via, for the rooftop terrace. The building itself is reminiscent of the Bauhaus movement in style, with a fantastic modern style twist. On the terrace we were able to lounge on sleek white sun loungers by a crystal-clear pool and the Madrid skyline unfolding around us. It was one of those moments where I just had to pinch myself because I felt like I was dreaming! The cocktail menu offers lots of different options, all with tongue-in-cheek descriptions and ironic hashtags. I ended up selecting the #Kerem: gin mare, coriander syrup, fresh lemon juice, rose lemonade and cardamon bitter topped with a dehydrated lemon and a sprig of rosemary. So good!

This was our last evening in Madrid, and considering we hadn’t exactly gotten around to doing many touristy activities or seeing many tourist landmarks we decided to hop to it. As we left Room Mate Óscar for the metro we passed Círculo de Bellas Artes from below and saw the iconic Metropolis building in silhouette while the sun began to set.

First we went to Plaza de España, a large square and popular tourist destination located in central Madrid at the western end of the Gran Vía. The sky was beginning to glow pink with the sunset while we strolled through and enjoyed a few moments of people watching. Next we walked over to the Royal Palace of Madrid, the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family but which is only used for state ceremonies, just in time for sunset. (How amazing are those clouds!) Next up we passed through Mercado de San Miguel, the last remaining iron market hall in Madrid, to have a nosey about before navigating the narrow, winding streets that would bring us to Plaza Mayor. (Which was built during Philip III’s reign and is a central plaza in the city.)

We ate at our first ‘touristy’ restaurant for dinner purely because of its name: Museo del Jamón. While we enjoyed sitting outside on the terrace in Plaza Mayor, we both slightly regretted the decision almost immediately. Table service was patchy, the order initially brought out wrong, a plate of fries served cold and – finally – having a wrong item placed on our bill. To top it off the food was not the most delicious of the weekend, but I’m willing to overlook that because of the atmosphere of the plaza.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel for a final drink of the night and the most glamorously presented drinks of the trip, complete with porcelain china, biscuits and an array of salted nuts to snack on. Oh my!