FamilyTakeFlight View on: Spain

During a quick layover in Spain, we were able to see a portion of the city and experience some of my favorite culture. We spent a little time on the front and back end of our trip to Marrakech and tried to make the best of it. Between the amazing food, the vibrant culture, and the amount of history, it is definitely a place I will need to go back for longer to appreciate the city. Even though we only scratched the surface on Spain, here is what our experience was like :

Places visited : Madrid.

Time spent in country : 3 days, 2 nights

Language barrier : Actually, one of the most difficult places I have ever been for a language barrier. I would say only half of the people spoke English and even had troubles at places like the airport, train stations, and large tourist areas. Not that it was a problem anywhere we were but it just took a little more time to communicate.

Transportation from US to Madrid : We flew Iberia from O’Hare direct to Madrid. It was a very easy flight and was not an issue getting to downtown.

Transportation while in country : Since we did not stay long, we were fairly limited to transportation. We took the train direct from the airport to the city center and walked the rest of the way. We did buy a hop-on/hop-off bus which was nice to see the city quick and use this as our transportion.

Hotel : We stayed in AirBnb’s for both stays in Madrid. It made sense traveling with another couple and we were able to stay in city center and split the bill.

Food : Spanish food is one of my favorite foods in the world. There is such a variety of bold flavors and ingredients that it’s hard to pick what my favorite dish is. Madrid did not disappoint during the few times we went out to eat. From a table full of tapas, we tried our best to navigate which bite to pick up next. From there we shared a huge paella that could have fed an entire restaurant. Washing it down with fresh sangria, we could not be happier with our choices.

Excursions and things to do : My favorite outing we were able to experience was a traditional Spanish bull fight at Las Ventas. If you have kids like me and have seen Ferdinand, it is the exact stadium from the movie. Now, while this is a little difficult to watch, you must look at it from a traditional Spanish standpoint where the bull fighters would fight the bull in the ring for sport. It was almost surreal seeing the matadors fighting in an almost modern day colosseum type sport.

We were also fortunate enough to visit the Prado museum. The world famous museum displayed a lot of famous art and was a look into Spanish history.

Like I stated earlier, a hop-on/ hop-off bus is a great way to see the city and hit all the hotspots. In addition, you get transportation covered and don’t have to worry about taking multiple taxis around the city. With our bus tour, we were able to check out the Real Madrid stadium, multiple monuments, and enjoy the second floor open air of the city bus.

Cost of living : The cost of living was similar to any Western European city. It is expensive, comparable to any of our cities domestically.

Did we have kids with and would we recommend : This trip was before we had kids but I definitely could see how easy it would be to take kids to Spain. It was kid friendly and would be easy to find parks, museums, etc for your kids to enjoy. Just note, kids are not allowed to attend a bull fight (and for good reason).

What to expect : Just like any other capital city, it is a sprawling metropolis. You will get a lot of people wherever you go but you there is definitely places to find a more quiet atmosphere. Take time to enjoy the food and the culture and the Spanish will not disappoint.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Cost: 3/5

Safety: 4/5

Food: 5/5

Convenience/Functionality: 3/5

Beauty/Charm: 3 /5