Madrid!
An overdue birthday present for himself - we went to Madrid for three nights in February. Often I think the best bits about getting away for the weekend, sans enfants, is even just the anticipation after you get over the guilt. It is a euphoric feeling sometimes to be yourself for a while.
It wasn't the most cultured of weekend visits we have to be honest. There was a lot of beer, champagne and wine. There was also far too much cheese and cake.
We stayed in the Petit Palace which is right beside the Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor is full of cafes and street performers and honestly you can pass the day people watching, eating tapas and sipping your drink of choice.
The shopping is great, plenty of boutiques and larger chains, and of course a huge El Corte Ingles which has a small Sephora. There are also several branches of Kiko Milano which is truly a candy shop for me.
My two main finds was firstly this little coffee shop and bakery.
It was called La Duquesita and the cakes and atmosphere was gorgeous. Here, like all across Madrid and Spain, there were the most glamorous Spanish women drinking a coffee. They tend to have a style that is so chic and appear so effortless with sleek hair, minimal makeup with glowing tanned skin, and carry off the most beautiful camel and cream tones and the most amazing footwear.
The other great coffee shop was the El Riojano - an authentic Madrid cafe on the Calle Mayor. A small shop front that you went through to the cafe at the back. It was a little difficult to navigate in broken Spanish as we were hungover and needed carbs and coffee to function. I ordered the Pan con Tomate and a coffee. I could have eaten at least three of them but the fear was setting in so we moved on. But a beautiful little find if your nerves weren't at you.
http://www.confiteriaelriojano.com/
We loved Madrid. There are so many squares and the Palace is amazingly beautiful. It was lovely crisp Spring weather when we were there at the start of February. Cold out of the sun but for a couple of hours in the afternoon you could easily sit outside in the sunshine.
