3 Days Madrid Itinerary
7:47 PM
We got lucky we have Dwidaya to
plan our Madrid trip. It was the first time for both of us to visit Madrid.
Having someone to prepare everything for us, once in a while, could be very
comforting. I know, when you’re so used to travel solo, joining tour will
always be in your least preferred scheme, but there always be a good and bad. This
time, we just want to sit back, relax and enjoying the whole trip like a king.
We know we deserved this *wink*.
DAY 1/ OCT 31st (Flight from Jakarta-Istanbul-Madrid)
So, we started our trip from
Jakarta. We flew with Turkish Airlines, business class, enjoying the infamous
premium service. Right upon check in, Dwidaya set everything ready for us.
Luggage, check in, immigration, say good bye to the queue. In no time we can
sit and sip a cup of tea waiting for our boarding time in their lounge. Uhlala!
Thank God the flight was so
smooth, the food and service was great. Oh! I have to mention about their
business class seat. Their seat might look just like the ordinary business
class seat but trust me, it is so comfortable. There are few others business
class seat type, most of them allow us to recline the seat to almost horizontal
position, BUT, this one is different. You won’t feel like you slip down when
you’re sleeping. The cushion is so comfy. Because I know some other airlines
business class seat is just so stiff and slippery, you can’t stay still when
you’re sleeping. While others won’t give you a chance to sleep in straight
position. You will have to curl or slant following their seat structure. When
you have the budget, you should give this a try.
Transiting in Ataturk Istanbul
International Airport for almost three hours, means a chance for us to say
hello to their beautiful Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge. We love the
beautiful interior that is so Turkish yet elegant at the same time. There are
plenty of food, which mostly are Turkish best local dishes, free flow liquors,
wines, premium selection of Turkish teas and coffees. Shall I mention that they
have massage therapist and shower lounge too? YES! I love how they dress the
ladies and the shower lounge. Suddenly I feel like in five stars hotel room.
DAY 2/ NOV 1st (Arriving Madrid-Madrid City Tour)
After shower, a cup of cappuccino
and some cookies, we’re ready to continue our journey to Madrid! Arriving in
Madrid around 11AM local time, we headed straight to hotel for checking in and
do a quick change to our outfit. We were famished. First stop we went for
buffet lunch in Gran Via, the
busiest shopping street in Madrid. Right after lunch, the tour brought us for
city tour, from Puerta del Sol, Plaza
Mayor, Cibeles Fountain and we made few stops in Plaza de Espana and Plaza de
toros Las Ventas.
Being so thoughtful and knowing that we just arrived from long flight, Dwidaya and Madrid Tourism tried not to squeeze too many activities in the first day. They let us went around the city and gave us a complete story telling about their history. Frankly I love to do this kind of hop on hop off city tour in the first place, so that I can see the whole picture and decide where to visit the next day. Some place worth for extra time while some just for our eye candy and good for photo purpose only.
Talking about highlight of the
day, I can say it goes to Plaza de toros
Las Ventas. It is the biggest bullring in Spain. Inaugurated in 1931, it
has 25.000 seats capacity. For me personally, I was in an awe and sad at the
same time. I believe you know what I’m talking about. I’m not saying that I’m
against this but I am a strong animal lover. So, this is just not my thing.
But, I love how majestic this
bullring is. Like some other building in Madrid, it is influenced by Arabic
design. It has Moroccan touch which we can clearly see from the shape of the
gates, tiles that they’re using and the reddish color from this bullring.
Should you are interested to
watch the match, you can come during the bullfight season which is from March
to October. The match would be once a week, every Sunday starting from 6/7PM
and last for about two hours. Special during the month of May, the month of San
Isdiro bullfight festival, they will have bullfight everyday. The ticket price
range is from few euro up to hundreds depends on where are you seating at and
who’s the bull fighter. The more famous the bull or the bull fighter, the more expensive
the ticket will be.
Our local guide did explain that
bull fighter is one of the most prestigious job in Spain. They will start their
professional debut at the age of 18 and end their career around their thirties.
Too young? Well, you have to be super fit to be a bull fighter. Average weight
of every bull that they need to take down is 700-800 kg and most of the bull
fighter can take about 5-6 bulls in every match. Interesting? Surely it is.
DAY 3/ NOV 2nd (Royal Palace-Palacio de Cristal-Santiago
Bernabeu)
The next day we went to Royal Palace of Madrid or Palacio
Real de Madrid. I can say
that this palace is a MUST GO place while you’re in Madrid. They open every day
from 10AM-8PM, but you can always check thru website in case there’s sudden official
event that needs them to close the palace for public visit. Otherwise, you have
to come and don’t forget to follow the guided tour.
Been to a couple of palaces in
some other country before, in my honest opinion, this palace is truly one of
the most beautiful. For me, this palace is just as beautiful as Chateau de
Versailles. The king and the queen don’t live in this palace anymore, they only
use it for official purposes only.
After the royal palace, our
lovely guide brought us to visit another landmark in Madrid which is Palacio de Cristal. It is not a palace
but it is as beautiful as one. It is a glass house that was built in 1887 for
exhibition place. Palacio de Crystal surrounded
or we can say that it is located in one big garden in the heart of Madrid.
Other than the beautiful glass
house, we did really enjoy our way to this glass house. All the trees and
leaves turn yellowish around this time of the year. There were a lot of
families, children, elderly and couple taking a slow walk enjoying the nice weather,
not too cold and not hot, around 17-21 degrees celsius during the day. It’s
just perfect. Always love spending some time in the garden every time I visit
Europe. Well, it’s something that I can hardly find in Indonesia.
Done with the walk, we head to Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the home of
Real Madrid football team. We’re not that lucky to meet Christiano Ronaldo,
since the whole team were away in London for Champions League, but thank you to
Dwi Daya and Madrid Tourism, we still can enjoy the stadium tour. Sitting on
Sergio Ramos seat, went inside their locker room and you know what’s the most
exciting part? Going inside the virtual bus, experience how is it like to be in
the champion’s bus surrounded by their fans singing and calling their name out loud.
Some people even running and following the bus as it moves. Never seen this
kind of virtual bus before, so Madrid, this is a brilliant idea!
DAY 4/NOV 3rd (Saint Lorenzo de Escorial-Rozaz Village
Outlet-Las Carboneras Flamenco)
On our third day, we were brought
to Saint Lorenzo de Escorial. Located 47 kilometres away from Madrid, it is a
small yet beautiful and historical city. This city located about 1032m above
the sea level and famous for the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial or
commonly known as El Escorial.
El Escorial is a historical
residence of the King of Spain. As a Spanish royal sites, it is also functioned
as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university
and hospital. We were in an awe from the very first moment we stepped into the
monastery complex. Unfortunately we’re unable to take any photo inside to
protect all the historical sites.
It is one of the UNESCO World
Heritage Site and Spanish property of cultural interest. We strongly advice
you, whenever you’re in Madrid, to make time and visit El Escorial. I can say
that this place is another must go place (after the Royal Palace), when you’re
in Madrid. El Escorial is so majestic and truly a place that full of history.
One good trip is never completed without shopping time. From El Escorial we head to Rozaz Village Outlet. Rozaz Village Outlet has more than 100 brands such as Prada, Burberry, Gucci, etc. Shopping paradise for all the shopaholic!
Our last stop, a sweet closure to
our Madrid trip is Las Carboneras Flamenco Show. Again, Spanish wow us once
again with their culture. Flamenco is such a dramatic and passionate dancing.
It’s not only about the dancer, but the whole team which includes singer and
guitar player. Really love to see the chemistry among them. Seems that Flamenco
is their life, their passion, not only their profession. Don’t believe me? I
guess photos won’t lie. Here are some photos from our Flamenco night in Madrid.
DAY 5/ NOV 4th (Flight from Madrid-Istanbul-Jakarta)
Well, that sums up our short but
sweet stay in Madrid. Three days Madrid tour. I’ll be very honest that
currently, when I write this blog post, I’ve been missing our days in Madrid.
Unexpected, but hey, great things come when we least expect them, right?
We’re so glad to meet the best travel buddies ever, Trinity and Kadek Arini. We won’t forget how we accidentally met Jose Mourinho, former Real Madrid team coached, who currently manager for the other football giant, Manchester United but got rejected when Kadek was asking for photo. It was one hilarious moment!
We just want to say thank you
once again for Dwidaya Tour, Madrid Tourism and Turkish Airlines. So looking
forward for the future shenanigans. We really had a great time! Guys, Dwidaya
is celebrating their 50th Anniversary, let us show some love for one
of the oldest tour and travel agent in Indonesia. They are now available in
Android app, so one step closer to your dream holiday. Just grab your phone and
start planning your trip with Dwidaya!
16 comments
Keren bangeett ... cerita nya bener-bener mendeskripsikan .. serasa kaya dibawa ber-imajinasi ke Madrid .. heheh ..
ReplyDeleteDan photo-photo nya pun bagus banget ..
Gbu , ci .. ��
Thank you Mariane!
DeleteKeren banget tante plot ceritanya waktu di madrid kayak berimajinasi seakan akan aku ada disana.. Semoga tante fio bisa jadi penulis yang terkenal yaa.. Semoga tante fio juga bisa menyebutkan nama om dion di buku karyanya tante fio sendiri.. Semoga langgeng yaa tante fio dan om dion sampe maut memisahkan kalian.. God bless you 😊
ReplyDeleteSalam dari aku sendiri buat tante sama om dion.. Jadi pengen ketemu kalian berdua.. Ayo tante dan om dion main ke Surabaya ya hehe
Thank you Anggy untuk supportnya selalu
DeleteWah keren banget ceritanya dan fotonya, gak pernah tahu kalo Dion pintar menulis dan photography
ReplyDeleteThank you Suzan
DeleteSelalu kagum sama hasil jepretan nya bg Dion hehee
ReplyDeletethank you, Candro!
DeleteFoto foto serasa mendoakan gue akan kesana..tjakeep ko dion dan ce fiona😍
ReplyDeleteamiiinnn.. thanks, Julie!
Deleteini fotonya di edit pake app apa? dan yang foto ada fiona d seberang dan ada mobil lewat itu using which shutter speed?
ReplyDeleteHi, Thall. Editing pake Lightroom (desktop version) untuk lebih details dan maksimal. Preset memakai VSCO, selanjutnya di-adjust sesuai selera. Untuk foto di lampu merah di setting speed 1/60, apperture menyesuaikan lighting saja. thank you!
DeleteHalo kak Dion dan ka Fiona, kalo untuk beginner photographer saran dr kakak pake kamera yg gimana ya? Mirrorless or dslr kah? atau yg lain maybe? Minatnya sih di street photography like you both (spesifically kak Dion hoho) do now, because your photograph is always mesmerizing for me hehe.. really eager to take my own shoot, but still confused to pick the right gun btw hehe
ReplyDeletehi, Hanifa. Sorry for late respon, untuk beginner keduanya sama kok kegunaannya. Menyesuaikan dengan budget aja, dan kebutuhan. Kalo masalah dengan size, ya memang jawabannya adalah mirrorless. Tapi selama size dan berat bukan masalah, DSLR pun bisa jadi pilihan. Untuk brand camera yg pasti balik lagi sama si pengguna dan budget yg paling penting. Semoga jawabannya bisa memudahkan mengambil keputusan yah, Hanifa. Thank you!
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