Of Serendipity and Spain – things to do on your 10 day Spain trip

Barcelona → Madrid

We took the RENFE - Spain’s high-speed rail network - to Madrid. We passed by beautiful vistas of Spain from the comfort of our seats. Once in Madrid, we took walks around its many Plazas.

Plaza de Espana

Located in central Madrid, this square faces two magnificent skyscrapers - Madrid Tower and Espana Building. In the centre of this square is an eye-catching monument dedicated to Spanish poet and playwright Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. And just ahead, we marvelled at the sculptures of Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza - characters from one of Cervantes’s popular work by the same name. Towards the southern end of the square we strolled towards the Royal Palace and Gardens and caught one of the most brilliant sunsets. The sun dipping into the horizon behind this ornate building, colouring it ombre is a dazzling sight.

Plaza Mayor

One of the prettiest plazas in Madrid, Plaza Mayor is most definitely a sight for sore eyes. Bordered by apartments of a uniform ochre hue and laid in cobblestone, the street life here is vibrant. Come December, it even hosts a beautiful Christmas market.

Plaza Isabel

Home to a monument dedicated to Queen Isabel and the great voyager Columbus, Plaza Isabel is located along the Spanish equivalent to the Champs Elysees - Gran Via, Spain’s very own upscale shopping street. The grand marble statue in the centre depicts Queen Isabel permitting Columbus to go on his journey.

The Madrid tour

We began the next day with a tour around Madrid. Excited, to say the least, we began with the Financial district. It was one of the few places around the city with towering skyscrapers, while the rest of the city swathed with a spread of heritage buildings.  Our next stop was the famous bullring of Plaza de Toros. It even hosts the San Isidro fiesta every year between May and June - the best time to experience bullfighting.

Next on the itinerary, we surveyed the Toledo and Alcala gates. The most recently built of all of Madrid’s monumental archways, this acts as a gate to the city of Toledo. Imposing piece of architecture, the sculptures atop this were added to signify the power. The gate to Alcala is a lot older. Rumour has it that when the Spanish king Charles III had the gateway commissioned to be designed, he fell in love with two designs. So, today the gateway stands differently designed on each side!

Madrid and no football? Blasphemous. Our next stop was the Real Madrid football stadium. It doesn’t take a football fan to appreciate the beauty of this place. One of the most prestigious football venues and sports arena, Santiago Bernabéu is built to be an architectural marvel, too.

Next to Plaza Mayor where the cobblestone path came alive with the sights and sounds of a happening market. A quick glance and we headed toward the Royal Palace - just a short walk away from here. Upon entering the palace, we saw the word grandeur took on a whole new meaning in our minds. Beautiful furnished and richly decorated we couldn’t stop gawking as we toured the throne room, reception rooms and the private rooms of King Carlos and Isabel.

Tapestries, mirrors, furniture, and chandeliers transported us to a realm of luxury we never knew. Even the staircase was leading upstairs was imposing. Just when you think you have seen it all, another wall hanging, another intricate design on the marble bowls you over. When you think you need a break from the awe, luckily there are the lush gardens outside where you can breathe easy. Until the sun dips behind the opulent building - there goes our breath again.

To take things a bit easy now onwards, we headed down the Gran Via, the upscale shopping destination of Spain. We glanced at shops, restaurants and did what we do best - window shop. And when the hunger pangs strike, savour some of that gourmet food displayed tantalizingly at storefronts.

We promised ourselves one last square/plaza for the night and found ourselves at the Peutra del Sol. The place to be when the clock ticks 12 on New Year’s Eve, Peutra de Sol is also where all Spanish roads start. Quite an extraordinary thing to be told. While standing at 0 km, we decided to mark the occasion by enjoying a show put up by street performers. What a fun day - and we were just getting started, Madrid!

Toledo calling

Two days into Madrid and we were already headed towards our first escapade - the medieval town of Toledo. Known for its Cathedral and El Greco museum, Toledo is listed World Heritage site. With winding streets and tapas bars lining every corner, Toledo’s landmark gothic Cathedral hosts artworks by some of the greats.

Another landmark here is the palace-fortress of Alcazar. Sitting atop a hill, we reached the top using five escalators. This medieval castle is partly destroyed but the battlement structures still remain.

After a tapas intervention, we sped back to Madrid. The routine museum tour was still on to-do so, we headed on to explore some Madrid museums on the 1 km stretch Art Walk:

Rene Sofia museum: Regarded as Spain’s national museum for 20th-century art, Rene Sofia is mostly dedicated to Spanish art. It displays collections of Spain’s best - Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

Timings: 10:00 - 21:00

Entry fee: (general admission) 10 euros

On Mondays and Wednesday - Saturday, free admission can be secured between 19:00 - 21:00

Prado museum: Renowned for being one of the world’s best art galleries, the Prado was apparently inspired to live after a Spanish queen’s visit to the Louvre. Today it hosts a huge collection by Italian, Flemish and Spanish artists.

Timings: 10:00 - 20:00

Entry fee: (general ticket) 15 euros

The entry is free for the unemployed, journalists, tour guides, students (with a valid id) and everyone under 18 years

Thyssen museum: Located next to the Prado museum, it along with Rene Sofia and Prado form the Golden Triangle of Art. While the other two display the best of the best, Thyssen seeks to tell the story of art - displaying works from different eras like Italian primitives, the German Renaissance, Impressionism, German Expressionism and Russian Constructivism and even 19th century American Art.

Timings: 10:00 - 19:00

Entry fee: (general ticket) 12 euros

Not too far from Prado museum, the green lustre of Buen Retiro Park called to us. So we stopped everything we were doing and rushed and sat on one of its benches overlooking the lake. Spreading out to a good 118 hectares, Buen Retiro is a premier destination for hosting many events.

After an invigorating Madrid, we prepared to head on to Seville →

Madrid → Seville

Pronounced Say-vee-ya, quite the mouth-twister, we boarded a train for our two-hour ride to Seville. Driving through narrow lanes, passing by quaint old buildings we checked into our apartment in the historic center of Seville. Andalusia’s capital, we already saw, in hints, what made it Spain’s most charming city. Home to Flamenco, so, of course, we ate a hearty Spanish dinner to the sounds and sights of a spectacular Flamenco performance. Unable to control the anticipation, we headed down the streets of Seville to take in the views - the Cathedral, the Palace, the Bullring, Plaza de Espana, Town Hall and the University buildings. We couldn’t wait to get started!

Trip to Cordoba

We hustled to this small town that we had heard so much about. This medieval city full of winding streets, famed for preserving a Moorish heritage from an era gone by. To say we were excited, was quite an understatement. What we loved and remembered most from this charming town was the Mezquita. This mosque-turned-church is one of the most beautiful pieces of Spanish Islamic architecture. And, no doubt, it has quite an interesting story. Story time: What used to Visigoth Basilica in the year 1146 came under the Muslim Caliph’s influence and transformed into this masterpiece - a confluence of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque art.

Splendid works of art lined up alongside a grand array of columns, arches and domes, the Mezquita teaches you or one two things about ageing with grace. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of this trip!

Good to know:

It’s home to some old-school tapas bar so a quite bite, if not a lunch break, is a must-do here

There is a law that actually limits the height of building here to ensure only Mezquita towers this town’s skyline

Ever heard of being told to stop and smell the flowers? This is the perfect place to smell the flowers - especially the neat potted jasmines and geraniums that line the patio of the houses here.

 Visiting hours: 10:00 - 19:00, entry fee is 8 euros

 Entry is free for children below 10 years

Granada incoming

Sitting on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Granada was next on our list. Known for housing the best of both worlds - mountains and beaches, we were excited to see what else it had up its sleeve. Our first stop was, doubtless, the 13-century city of Alhambra. This palace-fortress complex houses the Alcazaba fortress, the Nasrid Palace and Generalife Palace. We explored the Moorish throne room and courtyards adorned with splendid fountains. Even nestled in mountains, a plaza isn’t too far away.  Plaza Mirador de San Nicolás, catch another dramatic sunset. Don’t take out that camera, just close your eyes and feel the wind gush against your face on this elevated platform. If you open your eyes and look into the horizon, you might just feel serendipity take over your senses.

Moments of Serendipity from our trip;

Our tryst with the Spaniards Gazpacho, Paella, churros with hot chocolate and Sangria struck us first. (Yes, you can be a vegetarian and still not revert to Indian food in Spain)

We recount the friendly Spaniards - always hospitable and fun-loving.

The pleasant warm weather that made walking, driving and just living more pleasant.

Spain’s top class public transport system that made every commute of ours smooth.