This trip was taken on January 2023. I originally had planned this Spain trip back in 2019 with flights, hotels, and activities booked for March 2020. Ultimately the trip did not pan out… for some reason. (get it? pan as in pandemic). I started the trip in Frankfurt. And followed it with a couple days in Madrid before arriving in Barcelona.
Loved the Thompson Madrid. Staff was really friendly, the location is perfect at the city center and nearby metro/bus stops. They offer complementary jamón ibérico and wine upon check-in! The rooftop has really nice but the pool and bar wasn’t open when I went. It’s going to be real nice once it’s completed though. They had a really nice gym also. It’s currently Cat 4 but I’m pretty sure it will go up next time Hyatt reorgs their hotels.
I checked out the Museo Reina Sofía in the evening (free after 1900!). I tried to take a picture of the Guernica but got caught. It is a huge painting and worth a look. For dinner had a very filling but delicious cocido madrileno at Malacatin, and had a night cap of churro y chocolate at Chocolatería San Ginés.
I woke up much later the next day so I missed some of my planned sightseeing. I had breakfast/lunch at Casa Dani for their tortilla and spent time walking around El Retiro Park and the neighborhood. In the evening, I visited the Museo Nacional del Prado (also free at night) and bocadillos calamares from Bar La Campa.
It was my last day and made sure to wake up early to eat some “sweetbreads” at Casa Toni. The walk there was really nice. Really the neighborhoods in Madrid are picturesque. Going back to sweetbreads, this was probably one of the best things I ate on this trip. It’s the pancreas or thymus. Just trust me on this. After eating, they offered a house liquor to shoot. Not sure what it was but it was good.
Kicking Twigs 
Leave a comment