A return to Madrid (plus Sevilla and Cordoba)

Many times when we think about travel, we immediately think about going somewhere new. That kind of travel is all about novelty: new landscapes, new cultures, a new understanding of the world around us.

But there’s another kind of travel, one that may be a bit overlooked or underappreciated: traveling to places we’ve already been. Some of my best trips, incidentally, have not been to brand new locales, but returns to places I’ve lived and loved, from New York City and Miami to London and Madrid.

The façade of my old building on Calle Calvario in Madrid, now adorned with a colorful mural

I lived in Madrid for about a year and a half from 2003 to 2004, as a young twentysomething English “teacher.” I put “teacher” in quotes because I did not work in a school; I “taught” for a handful of business English companies who dispatched me to teach classes at companies in the Madrid area, including Avon Cosmetics, Dell Computers, Sun Microsystems, and Atofina, a subsidiary of Total, the French petroleum company.

It was the best of times, and definitely not the worst of times.

Sure, I made no money (20€ an hour, but when you only work around 20 hours a week, that is not that much!) and sure I had no meaningful long term career options, but I made a ton of amazing friends (many of whom remain good friends to this day!), learned a litle Spanish (well, un poco) and basically fulfilled my dream of drinking excessive amounts of strong coffee, smoking cigarettes, and night clubbing until the break of dawn as much as my twentysomething health would allow me.

Plaza del Dos de Mayo, a spot where I spent a lot of time drinking coffee or cañas when I lived in Madrid

(And of those three pasttimes, only drinking strong coffee remains a part of my now definitely-not-twentysomething life! Very glad the cigarette days are long behind me…)

Anyway, I had been back to Madrid twice since 2003, once in early 2005 while I was living in Miami for ad school and later over Thanksgiving of the same year while I was living in Amsterdam (again for ad school). I’d visited Spain in 2013 for a friend’s wedding in À Coruña, but hadn’t made it back to the city that I called home in over a decade. So, when a friend moved there, I decided to seize the opportunity and return to mì Madrid.

Madrid is a city that takes a hold of you in a way like no other city. New York City may impress with its pulsating, nonstop energy, London may charm you with its cosmopolitan contrasts of new and old, and San Francisco may dazzle with its glittering watercolor dusk light, but Madrid, if you stay long enough, finds a way into your heart and makes its home forever in your soul.

Many people venture to Madrid for a day or two and, not finding it as immediately artsy and hip as Barcelona or as “Spanish” as Sevilla or Cordoba, dash off before they have a chance to let the city’s beauty wash over them.

When I lived in Madrid, I never took much notice of these tiled façades. Returning over a decade later, I was obsessed with them!

That’s because, I believe, Madrid is like a poem that is pretty at first glance but whose poignant meaning takes a while to seep into your consciousness. Madrid is discovering history around random corners, savoring a glass of wine and a tapas in La Latina on a Sunday afternoon, standing at café corners downing a café con leche, the floor strewn with tiny paper napkins and cigarettes. Madrid is dining at 11 pm, and heading home from the clubs at 9 am … while your Spanish companions chastise you for not being able to continue on. And of course, it’s also about world class museums, gorgeous city parks, and a never-ending array of shops, bars, galleries, restaurants, and clubs, each one seemingly cooler than the last.

So, without further ado (or getting more nostalgic), here is how I spent a week in Spain, revisiting my beloved Madrid and seeing Sevilla and Córdoba for the first time. ¡Vamos!

Three Days in Madrid

My first day in Madrid was spent sleeping off my long flight from San Francisco at my hotel, Only YOU Atocha, a hip boutique hotel just outside the Atocha train station, which I picked in part for its proximity to the museums and Parque Retiro. I met my friends at a café, then after wandering around a bit, we headed to one of Madrid’s famed attractions at the Chocolatería Valor: churros con chocolate!

Touristy, but delicious: churros with dipping chocolate sauces at Chocolateria Valor, Madrid

I took another nap (what can I say, I was tired from my trip and, hello, I was in the birthplace of the siesta), then met up with my friends for tapas at a little restaurant in La Latina, followed by drinks and dessert at La Musa Latina.

I kicked off day two with a coffee in Parque Retiro (one of my favorite pasttimes and places when I lived there) and to see the exhibition at another one of my favorite Madrid spots, the Palacio de Cristal. I then checked out an Egpytian exhibition at the Caixa Forum, met my friend for lunch, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon touring around the Reina Sofia, admiring the extensive (and borderline exhausting) works of art.

For dinner that night, we ate a random restaurant in Malasaña, then I dragged us to one of my old haunts, the Tupperware Club. It’s changed a little since my roommate Candela first took me there in 2003 (the air’s no longer thick with cigarette smoke, for one thing) but I was relieved to hear the soundtrack of indie pop and see the crowd of super young hipster kids remains the same.

Two Days in Sevilla

Flamenco at the aptly named La Casa del Flamenco

I headed the following day by train to Sevilla (and with my hotel right across from the Atocha train station, getting to my train was as easy as could be!). After checking in at my hotel, the Casas de la Judería, I wandered around the old town which was jam-packed with Spaniards enjoying their Saturday afternoon out at the many pubs that line the streets. I stopped for a late lunch at Mama Bistro, then continued on to check out the Cathedrale de Sevilla. Fun fact: Christopher Columbus is buried there!

For dinner, I wandered around for a while looking for a place that looked delicious (and would not be a huge hassle to eat at by myself, which can be a bit of an issue in a country like Spain). I settled on an Italian spot, La Gallina Bianca, and feasted on pasta, before heading back to the Casas de La Judería to chill in the lobby listening to piano while enjoying some delicious Spanish wine.

The next day was spent checking out the Real Alcázar de Seville in the morning and heading to the Plaza de España in the afternoon. Then it was back to the hotel for a bit of relaxation before catching a flamenco show at La Casa del Flamenco and enjoying paella for one at La Mata. (Side note: it can be difficult to find paella for one in Spain, I was stoked La Mata offered a small portion!)

A Night in Córdoba

Can it get any more European!? A moped rests against an orange tree in Córdoba, Spain

I headed off the next morning to Córdoba, about a 45 minute trip from Seville. After getting settled at my hotel, the amazing Hotel Hospes Palacio de Bailío (which I highly recommend), I headed out to see Córdoba’s main attraction, the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba. And what a main attraction it is. I’ve seen a lot of amazing places in my day, but nothing prepared me for the incredible feast for the sense that the Mezquita-Catedral held in store. I rank this site up there with Bagan, Schwedagon Paya, and the Hagia Sofia (just to name a few). It’s that incredible. So, if Córdoba hasn’t been on your travel list, add it! Immediately!

That’s pretty much all I did in Córdoba — gaze at the cathedral and wander the pretty little streets of the old city. I had a good menu del dia at a little café for lunch and a decent dinner at a restaurant recommended to me by the hotel (good but nothing to write home about or, er, post about here). After all, one of the main attractions at my hotel was its spa and Roman-style baths in its basement, so after my sightseeing adventure, I headed for my hour long appointment to soak in the hot bubbling water and chillax.

An artist at work at the Prado Museum (and a photo I took before being scolded for taking pictures)

Back to Madrid

I headed back by train to Madrid the following day, and after setting down my bags at my final hotel (the original Only YOU Hotel in Chueca), I set off for the Prado Museum. Although our trip to the Reina Sofia should have been an indication, I’d forgotten how vast and sprawling the Madrid museums can be. After exploring room after room after room of incredible works of art for several hours, my feet aching and my enthusiasm for art beginning to wane, I finally admitted defeat and hobbled back to my hotel to recover.

I met my friend for dinner in Malasaña at a lovely restaurant called El Cocinillas, then headed down to La Latina to El Viajero, a bar I loved back in my days of living in Lavapiés. After a glass of wine (or three), it was time to call it a night and head back to the hotel to get ready to say adiós to beautiful, busy, bubbling, bold, beatific Madrid.

Well, not adiós. Only hasta la pronto.