We Launched a Travel Blog—First Stop: Madrid, Spain!

Shal & James
Mar 11
3 min read

Updated: May 24

We're turning our travel obsession into something official with this blog, and we'd love for you to join us on our journey to visit as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible—before we kick the proverbial bucket!

✨ First Stop: Madrid! ✨

We kicked things off in Madrid on James’ birthday, where we wandered through a few of the 3,418 rooms of sheer extravagance in the Royal Palace. It's the largest palace in Western Europe with 3,418 rooms covering 135,000m2. Picture a Rocco-style room that took 55 years to finish, French crystal chandeliers weighing up to half a ton, a room entirely clad in porcelain and more velvet than you've ever seen. With so many rooms, how did they even remember where they put their crowns? Oh, that’s right, the current monarchs don’t wear them or sit on thrones in the spirit of democracy.

Next up: a day trip to Spain’s former capital, Toledo, where we were blinded by the 25m (82ft) shimmering gold cathedral altarpiece with an equally ornate transept—the first we’ve ever seen with an oculus. It looked like a portal into heaven! We’ve seen a lot of cathedrals, but this one practically said, “Step aside, Vatican, I’ve got this.” And if medieval bling wasn’t enough, this UNESCO world heritage site is known for its rich egg yolk marzipan and swordsmithing (sadly, airport security frowns upon carrying on souvenir broadswords).

Toledo Cathedral high altar and transept with oculus

There were tiles with Jewish symbols grouted into cobblestones and buildings by Caminos de Sefarad, a tourism program launched by the Spanish government in 2012 in an attempt to atone for and remember the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492.

During a day trip to Segovia, another UNESCO-listed site, we marvelled at the 167-arch Roman aqueduct, a 1st-century engineering flex built without a single drop of mortar. Let that sink in. No cement, no reinforcement bars —just stone stacked so perfectly that it delivered water for nearly 2,000 years, which is more than we can say for our kitchen plumbing.

While we came for the aqueduct, the Alcázar of Segovia—a 12th-century fortress perched atop a rocky cliff—was also very impressive. We were particularly drawn to the Hall of the Kings that features a frieze of 52 seated Spanish monarchs glittering gold. In the late 15th century, a Czech traveler mistook the polychrome statues for real gold and started a rumour that once crowned, a Spanish king had to hoard gold for their posthumous statue.

And then there’s Madrid’s food scene: After being hangry in Barcelona nearly a decade ago, we came with a plan. First, we ate our way through Mercado San Miguel with a bonus impromptu sherry tasting from a sommelier we befriended at a wine counter. We were utterly charmed to learn that this wine originated in a little place called Juarez; however, due to British mispronunciation, the drink became popularised as “sherry” around the world.

If you haven’t eaten dinner a couple hours past your bedtime in a restaurant that feels like a dance club, have you really been to Spain?

At Inclan Brutal Bar, the ceiling was lined with giant fake roses and the whole place glowed red. We sipped cocktails to beats of yesteryear as we watched our tuna tataki glide onto the table in a boat of dry ice. And even though our cocktails were made with curry syrup in glasses rimmed with chili powder, our choices were tame next to locals drinking cocktails from giant Joker heads and Cracken-shaped cocktail glasses.

Despite the traditional Spanish fare Shal plied on James in tapas bars on Calle de la Cava Baja (famous for 50 tapas bars within 300m), his favourite? The carne asada tacos at Primo Taqueria. He loved them so much, we went back the next day—where he polished off seven!

Flamenco was another highlight. We went to two different shows where the dancers stomped with such intensity and passion we’re surprised they didn’t leave dents in the floor. Fun fact: despite being Spain’s most iconic dance, flamenco actually has roots in India from over 900 years ago.