My girl squad and me, quite randomly decided to have a Girls Trip this December. We were out drinking beers and out of nowhere we had booked a trip to Madrid. Why I will always remember this trip you ask? Keep reading below and you will find out..
Our last girls trip had been in November 2019 in Rome, Italy and as always, having a break with your girls is all the therapy you need. During that one I was 3 months pregnant and had just come out of that horrible phase where I used to vomit all day long. About that, why they call it morning sickness I will never now, as it lasted all day long.
Here are a few shots from that trip:
This time it was #Madrid #Spain and we were super excited about this trip. Spain is always exciting after all. This time around we didn't travel with a huge list of attractions to visit and the expectation that we would check out every tourist spot in 3 days. As a matter of fact, I didn't make a search at all. I just wanted to enjoy some time with my close friends.
We traveled on the 16th of December on a direct flight from Tirana, with Wizz Air. We landed in Madrid around 9pm. With our booking of an apartment came a free taxi ride from the airport so our journey was quite smooth. On our way from the airport to the apartment we concluded the check in online through the app and luckily the door of the building and apartment opened via app. The only negative side was that the elevator was not working and we had to climb 3 stairs by foot. Not a big deal at the end of the day.
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/354abd_c992329e25214c70affe8da688b9f723/1080p/mp4/file.mp4We were five girls and the apartment was composed of 2 bedrooms and one living room where the couch opened to an extra double bed. So we had plenty of space to stay comfortably. We were located close to Plaza de Santa Ana and our neighborhood was full of bars and restaurants. So as soon as we arrived, freshened up a bit and left for dinner. We walked a maximum of 10 minutes when we spotted La Mucca. It looked like a cozy restaurant with a tempting menu. We ate our dinner and just as we were about to call it a night, the music changed and the place turned to something like a disco. Everyone started dancing and the atmosphere was amazing. We ended up drinking a third bottle of wine before we called it a night.
The next morning, or shall I call it midday, we left for breakfast and a coffee, hoping to accompany that with a brioche. What we noticed was that in the mornings the roads were very quiet and the atmosphere was not that of a night ago. During the evening and nights the streets of Madrid were full of people. They even danced and sang on the street but in the morning it was terribly quiet. Anyway we settled into that routine pretty quick. Late nights and late mornings for us as well.
That day we walked around Madrid through Plaza Mayor, Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great, the Cathedral of Almudena and ended up at the Royal Palace. Of course when we arrived at The Royal Palace of Madrid we regretted not buying our tickets in advance online. We tried doing that on the spot but of course there were none available. After thorough discussion we decided on waiting on the long line of people and definitely visit the Royal Palace. The ticket on the spot cost 16 Eur/p and it included a guided tour of the Royal Kitchen. After visiting the whole palace (which of course was beautiful and worth the wait) we went to our meeting point to gather with the group for the tour of the Royal Kitchen. What we didn't thoroughly think is that the kitchen was enormous and composed of various rooms (one for desserts, one for ice cream and so on). By the second room we were so tired and didn't have the patience to continue with the tour. So I must admit, we skipped it and left the palace.
On our way home we went to various restaurants for lunch but it was impossible to find a place without prior reservation. So we stopped at a snack bar and ate a quick lunch and a beer.
For the evening we booked a flamingo show so we thought to head home, rest a bit and prepare for that. But shops distracted us and we ended up shopping and arrived home pretty late. We had to rush to get ready and "run" for the flamingo show. This was a great decision because the Flamingo Show at Torre Bermejas was a great experience. We were seated next to the stage and could feel the stage shake at the dancers steps.
Here is a short video of the final dance:
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/354abd_3c6d904786f74877a01f82f42dcdb147/1080p/mp4/file.mp4We chose to just have drinks as the show lasted one hour and after that left for dinner at Taberna La Carmela were we tried la paella. I must admit not an unforgettable experience but at least we found a place to eat and the ambience was quite nice.
The next day things got interesting.. We headed toward El Retiro Park. I dressed up in a satin skirt (even though it was quite cold) but I wanted to get some nice pictures for my Instagram feed. And the pictures and videos came out great. We visited El Palacio de Cristal as well and took some more amazing pictures. This time we booked lunch at Aarde Restaurant which was very nice and seated outside to enjoy our lunch. The service and food was great and we left feeling happy.
By this point, since we had different shopping goals we decided to split. Me with my friend Jona, and the other three friends separately. We were almost finished with shopping and checked the map to return home. After that, in a couple of minutes I noticed that my coat pocked was empty (I kept checking my pocket the entire day because my Phone had a rope attached to it and I assumed it was in danger). Just like that my phone disappeared and I didn't notice it at all. We tried calling it but the person who took it turned it off. So in the middle of the street I was left without the most important extension to my body: my phone. I go everywhere with it, even the bathroom so as you can assume I was in shock.
After that I could not enjoy my trip any longer because all the beautiful photos from that day had disappeared and I could not take new photos and post them. It was a terrible feeling. From that day, as a reflex I would touch my pocket to grab my phone, only to be reminded it was not there. So I will always remember this trip with the awful memory that something very important was taken from me. I back up everything on my phone so luckily I lost only the photos of that last day which were not yet backed up because of lack of wi-fi. My friends shared all they had so I still have wonderful memories from that trip that I am sharing here with you on this blog.
After coming to a realization that my phone was lost forever and I could do nothing about it, I wrapped my head around it and got ready to head out for an evening at the Amazónico Madrid (see pictures above). It was a beautiful place and the food was great so that made me feel a bit better. I could not share it with all my friends on Instagram but lets not think about it..
The next and final day in Madrid, I had accepted the fact that I had no phone and to tell you the truth I enjoyed the feeling of being completely free and did not have to worry about taking pictures and posting them. We spent the whole day shopping, eating and drinking until 6pm where we headed for the airport (by taxi again). The trip cost only 30 Euros for 5 persons so it was much easier than taking the train or bus. We landed in Tirana at around 1am feeling tired but happy. We've been friends since 2004 and have had our share of happy moments and fights as well. Luckily this trip didn't end up with a huge fight. Just with a phone missing
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/354abd_24478b359fea483d97196d1a8f3ec47f/1080p/mp4/file.mp4Just kidding, I replaced my phone the next day. Material things can be replaced just like that, but the memories and people you love are hard to be replaced. 2022 robbed me of my most important person in the world, my big sister but I feel lucky to have the possibility of spending time with friends that know and supported me during those hard times (even though I "make" them take part on my vlog and help record my reels).
,Picture above was taken in Rome in November 2019 and picture below was taken in Madrid in December 2022.
May you always have friends like mine close by.
Love you my Gangsta squad
(Jona P, Artenisa, Jona B and Ledi)
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/354abd_379adeb0eba24594a095394bc6ee9525/1080p/mp4/file.mp4Thank you for taking the time to go through this blog post. Please reach out if you have any questions or to simply share your experiences in Madrid. Would love to hear back from you.
Xoxo,
Eneida
