trip | Denisse Samantha

Hi guys,

This time around I will be sharing my travel adventure in Madrid, Spain. I seriously loved the time I spent in this beautiful city. This place is known for its culture, food and architectures. If you have been following me for a while, it probably seems like I say this all the time, but I seriously think that I get so excited to explore different places, see the beauty in everything and end up loving it!

We stayed in a great hotel called H10 Tribeca. The full address is Calle de Pedro Teixeira, 5, 28020 Madrid, Spain. It was near to a few metro stations and very close to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. There were a lot of restaurants, tapas bar, pubs and supermarkets surrounding the location.

The food was AMAZING, but perhaps this is because I’m Filipino. The Philippines were colonised by the Spanish from 1521 to 1898. Therefore, the Spanish culture and cuisine influence on us Filipinos are still very strong up to this day.

Best churros in Madrid was from Chocolatería de San Ginés, it was so delicious! This place is considered as one of the oldest cáfes in Madrid, which is located near the Plaza Mayor. I would recommend for you to try their chocolate con churros (unsweetened deep-fried dough dipping in hot dark chocolate, for those of you who doesn’t know 😊).

While in Madrid, I had to pay the Rizal Monument a visit. This is located at the junction of Avenida de las Islas Filipinas and Calle Santander. José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (most commonly known as José Rizal) is the Philippines’ national hero. This was built in 1996 and also stands as a replica of the Rizal monument at the Luneta in the Philippines.

I had to visit Mercado de San Miguel as this is one the oldest market in Madrid. I believe it was built in the 1910s and reopened in 2009 after several years of construction. This place is full of life and really reminds me of Borough Market here in London. From gourmet hams, cheeses, paellas, fried seafood and fresh fruits – I feel that Mercado de San Miguel really does have something for everyone.

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a famous football stadium in Madrid, with a current seating capacity of 81,044. I believe that this is one of the world’s famous football venues.

Every time we go to a new destination, I feel like it raises our tolerance for uncertainty, just like being out of our comfort zones. When I travel I usually come across situations where things don’t always go to plan. However, this for me is one of the reason why I love travelling – it gives me a chance to explore myself, physically and mentally. When exploring new places, I make it to a point that I would have to visit a church (and just to be clear I am not claiming to be the most holy person, before someone comments regarding religion). I love visiting churches – not only because of the impressive architectures, but most importantly it helps me get a better sense of myself. It helps me reflect, be humble and grateful. The churches in Madrid are amazing, but my favourite on is the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

Have you been to Madrid before – what was your favourite about the city? If you haven’t, where is your next travel destination?

Lots of love,

Hey, nothing new with the intro.. it has always been the ‘I can’t believe I’m back to blogging again’ opening sentence! It has truly been a long time since my last post – exactly 9 months ago. I know that is absolutely terrible but here I go again, trying it for the N^thtime to be consistent with blogging for 2019 🙂

So finally another travel blog and this time it is all about Brussels! From London (St Pancras International station) to Brussels (Gare du Midi station), it only takes approximately 2 hours via Eurostar which I think is amazing. Personally, I had a comfortable journey on the train itself, the temperature was nice and cool, you can bring your own food and wine or any drinks that you wish to have on the train. They also sell food and drinks on board. However, the only problem I found was the disorganised boarding process from St Pancras. Though the checks and passport control was smooth when leaving Brussels, it was the opposite when we were checking in at St Pancras. The queue was long and disorganised but I figured that there were three trains departing few minutes apart from each other (two Paris trains and our train to Brussels) at the time. There was hardly any space and people were sitting on the floor in the waiting area.

The Grand Place (Grote Markt), which is the central square of the city was the main one my list and it did not disappoint when I got to finally see it. It is registered on the World Heritage List of the UNESCO and it is absolutely beautiful. It is surrounded with the guild houses, City Hall and Maison du Roi. I have seen the place in daylight and at night and they are both just as lovely.

In the summer, they have the famous Flower Carpet on the Grand Place and last year’s event was devoted to Guanajuato, which is a Mexican region with exceptionally rich culture and flower tradition.

I love the Mont de Arts area, the first time I went to see it was just before sunset and it was so beautiful, but unfortunately I couldn’t take much photos due to lighting. However, I loved it – we just walked around, chilled after a long tiring day, watched the sunset while there were singers performing by the steps of Mont de Arts (how romantic 😊).

I then made sure that we go back to the place the very next day when it was much more brighter and sunny so I can take photos. Also, when you go up the stairs, you can see a fine view of the lower central city and the whole view of the beautiful flowers/garden.

While on our way to find Parc du Cinquantenaire, as soon as we exited the metro station we spotted the EU building. I saw it before as one of the list to visit for Brussels but I honestly didn’t think much of it. It was so unexpected but I am glad that it was close by to our itinerary and we were able to take photos from the outside of the building.

We also visited some amazing churches and other tourist spots.

After a few days of being a tourist, walking and exploring around the city can get so tiring and draining. Parc du Cinquantenaire was the place where we got to relax. On our way, there was a corner shop where we got our snacks and cold drinks from to bring to the park. We chilled and enjoyed nature for few hours and I must say that it was great being able to go to a tourist spot and yet still get to relax at the same time. Also, when we went around just after lunch time, there weren’t much people which is sometimes nice.

Of course, the other thing that I did enjoy was the food. Mussels, Belgian fries, beer, waffles and chocolates were some of them.

Overall, I was so happy with my Brussels trip. I have been tracking the weather for about a week or two before I went and it was supposed to be rainy and gloomy for all the days that I am staying but fortunately enough it was the complete opposite – sunny and warm.

I will do a separate post for my Brugge, Belgium adventure because it is worth having a separate travel diary for that beautiful city.