Travel Diary: Day 4 in Madrid

For our final day in Madrid I started my breakfast with a plate of fresh fruit, goats curd and a glass of cava because holiday.

After breakfast we were treated to a tour of the hotel’s private rooftop urban garden – the largest of its kind in the world. The vegetables and herbs grown in the garden aren’t just for show; the hotel uses them in dishes at the private Club Wellington. With mid-day approaching, it was time to check out and enjoy our final day in Madrid.

First we headed back to Parque del Retiro to row on the lake. Jeff started out by rowing us to the far side of the lake, indulging me with a few pictures (Try to make me look like I’m cool!) and then passing over the oars. Turns out I’m not too shabby at rowing and that I enjoy it, too. I refused to give the oars back until our 45 minute rental time was over and we needed to give them back to the rental service.

Next we walked to Platea for a tapas lunch and musical show, where the food is self-serve and the drinks are provided by table service. The food was incredible (with Spanish options on the ground floor and international options on the lower level), the decor a great mix of modern and elegant with an art deco influence, and the musical show was so much fun with the dancers and singers performing around and interacting with guests! We enjoyed olives, cheese, pickles, cured meat and a little salmon mousse vol au vent. And wine; plenty of wine.

While I’ve been to the Prado before, it was Jeff’s first trip to Madrid and it would have been a shame had he not visited. So after lunch we headed back towards the Parque del Retiro for a stroll around the Prado where we made sure to see as many of the masterpieces as possible in the time we’d allowed ourselves.

With a bit of time to kill before it was time to take a taxi to the airport, we headed back to the Parque del Retiro to explore the stunning jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez and walk past the lake one more time.

And then, like all holidays this one came to an end much too quickly. We collected our luggage from the hotel, piled into the taxi and made our way back to London.