Sonya's Patates Braavos: Edition #14 💌🥔

TLDR: Spain week one (Dublin, Madrid, Sevilla)

welcome note 👋 

Hello, brave patates! 🥔 The last 6 days I’ve been in Europe and boy, was it a journey to get here!

travel blog 🇮🇪🇪🇸

We bought cheap Aer Lingus flights to Madrid with a layover in Dublin. Our first flight was delayed. We ran to our connection and missed it by a few minutes. We asked an Aer Lingus rep to escort us back to the transfer desk. Many people needed help — 500 passengers affected by delays that day — so we waited until it was our turn. They offered to fly us through London, Heathrow (another connection, a 3-hour layover, and a 2-hour flight) but that would’ve been too much… So I just asked if we can go on the next direct flight tomorrow morning and if they will put us in a hotel. To my surprise, they easily said yes, booked everything, AND all the food there was included. We even got to choose a hotel in the city center and all airport transfer was paid for. The Irish are the nicest people so everyone we interacted with was beyond helpful. The modern hotel had a restaurant with full table service so we enjoyed local (and free!) breakfast, whereas I was fully expecting Continental breakfast… Then we explored Dublin! We saw Trinity College (zero encampments but one flag), Dublin Castle (didn’t even know that was there), its gorgeous gardens, and two FREE museums, one of which is dedicated to antique rare books. I’ve been to Ireland before so it was nice to be in a familiar place and show David around. We had a pint at a bar established in 1782 and went to bed at 10pm, waking up at 3am to catch our next flight. ⬇️

In the early morning, we arrived back at the Dublin airport. Security took 30 seconds because you didn’t need to take anything out of the bags (amazing). Then, I scanned my boarding pass to board the plane and it said “already boarded”… Turns out Aer Lingus took us off the plane at 4:13am. Thankfully, the rep just put us back on because there was no way we were staying there for another day…

After 2.5 hours we finally made it to Madrid and took a Bolt (local Uber) to David’s sister’s house where we stayed for a couple of nights. She’s been living here for a couple of years so knows all the good spots. She has a nice apartment with a big sunny patio and large windows. The apartments are not insulated so you can hear your neighbors cough, go to the bathroom, and do whatever even through multiple walls, not to mention the garbage trucks outside and the mopeds. Also, there are no screens on any windows but no bugs come in.

On the first day, we explored Retiro Park, a now-public and then-royal garden sprawled over 350 acres (142 hectares!) in central Madrid, dating back to the 1500s. It is a UNESCO Heritage site. There are manicured cypresses, rose gardens, centuries-old trees, fountains, and lakes. Turns out it’s also home to many creatures: black Swans, Egyptian Geese, 4 owls!!! that we randomly saw in the middle of the day in the trees, peacocks, cats, magpies, pigeons, ducks, turtles, sparrows, and more… Heaven! For dinner, we had classical local food: jamon (ham) croquettes - deep-fried rolls with bechamel and potato filling, and a typical local drink: tinto de verrano - red wine mixed with sprite, lemonade, or sparkling water.

On Day 2 in Madrid, we went to Museo Del Prado, a national art museum, specializing in baroque, gothic, and religious paintings. I’ve never seen so much Jesus in my life. The Spanish LOVE Jesus and Catholicism. Turns out, there were a lot of regular secular paintings throughout the ages too, but religious ones survived the best because the churches protected them during wars, etc. The museum was cool but after the Louvre, my expectations were too high. I did enjoy seeing Bosch’s garden of earthly delights, Rembrandt, and the painter who influenced him: Rubens. After, we saw peacocks at the Retiro Park and grabbed tuna tartare at a local restaurant - service is fast and pleasant here. The best part: tipping is not mandatory! In the evening, we went to Yom Haatzamut - Israel’s Independence Day celebration held at a hotel (albeit in the basement through the toilets.. for security?). It was satisfying to gather with other Jews on the land they got exiled from in 1492. We got 4 beer tickets included in our ticket price of 15 euro! Met some cool people. Like 15 people unfollowed me after my post LOL toodles. If the existence of the Jewish nation offends someone that much, our paths are not aligned anyway.

On Day 3, we wanted to go to Toledo but the trains were sold out so we went on a big walk and explored the main artery of the city. First, we stopped at a market where Phil from Somebody Feed Phil had tortilla: a typical Spanish dish made with egg, potato, and onion; and a smoked oyster under a dome of lemon wood smoke. We saw the biggest Spanish flag in the country, the City Hall (formerly post office), and the palace. We also ate churros with liquid chocolate that Phil had, too. Then had a drink on a rooftop with a nice view of the Madrid hills. In the evening, David made steak and cuttlefish on a charcoal bbq on the patio and we had champagne and strawberries! Living good lol.

On Day 4 in Spain, we took a high-speed train (257km/h+! via rail where you at?) from Madrid to Seville - the largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia, in the South. It was first a Roman city, then captured by the Islamic Conquest, then a North African Berber Muslim empire, then Catholics. It has an old town with buildings dating back more than a thousand years, representing the combination of all the different influences, with a giant cathedral in the middle. At a church, we saw a Spanish wedding! For dinner, we went to a tavern with taxidermied bullheads and managed to order the weirdest things - cold tomato soup with tuna, ham, and egg; and stuffed avocado with chicken, corn, lettuce, and prawn…

On Day 5 in Spain, we went to Seville’s main attraction - the Royal Alcazar - a historic royal palace that began in the 10th century by Islamic rulers and then taken over by the North African Berbers. It’s also where Dorne from Game of Thrones was filmed! The castle has beautiful intricate wooden carvings and Arabic writing (somehow preserved by following conquests), and a gorgeous garden with peacocks, pomegranate plants, and old-growth trees. For dinner, we went to a nice restaurant where I had 5 euro/each ocean oysters, and beef tartare which they made in front of me! with local Andalusian dry sherry wine and David had sirloin steak and ham croquettes. Altogether we paid 88 euros (CAD130) which is incredible value for better ingredients, that much food, drinks, and great service. I paid that much for a mid-range dinner in Toronto which was 2 dishes, 2 drinks, and a dessert…

till next time!