This Spanish quote I heard from the popular anthem of the football club Real Madrid, translated to English as 'Come on Madrid!...and nothing more'. And I wondered, huh? what's the thing about Madrid that people love? Lucky me, I get to have this family getaway trip to Europe and it's time to find out.
We've been planning this Western Europe trip for months, as God knows how hard it is for us to get the visa and travel there. When our visas were approved, we were super excited and looked into it. We've never been to this part of Europe before, so it's all new to us. And I can't wait to share it with you Hiveans.
Now, let's start with
🛫 the Flight ✈️
As we were leaving Thailand from the Suvarnabhumi airport, at the gate they were so weird of letting us inside and we had to wait in front of the gate. What? So many people were there too. I have to say that we started the trip pretty weirdly already.
Finally, after a long wait, we were allowed to get inside. We flew with Emirates Airlines, so that means we got to transit in Dubai. Our flight from Bangkok to Dubai lasted 5 hours and 30 minutes. 94% of which I slept, because I was so tired, and according to Bangkok Timezone, it was almost 1 am.
Hello! Dubai. It's been at least 5 or 6 years since I was here last time. (I think)
We were looking for our connecting flight gate and basically just followed the crowd. There it is! Gate A21. We gotta go there. Fortunately, we had enough time so we didn't need to rush and we just casually walked there. It was 5 am there and I was half awake from the plane.
On the way, there's lots of stuff to shop. These sweets(?) in the right picture, I thought they were really cute and funny and I should have bought them.
Our ride is here and I'm ready to go back to sleep in my economy seat. (sad poor middle-class people tears 😭😂)
One thing about Emirates, that I've always liked is the entertainment on board. They always had cool new movies, and games to play and you can call people in the other seats. All the things I could do if I wasn't sleeping. However, sleeping will always be my first choice.
After more than 10+ hours (combined) of flying, we'd finally landed...
✈️ the Arrival 🛬
It was around 11 am. (local Spanish time) that I first set foot at the Madrid airport and I remember distinctively that it's COLD! 😰
We got our luggage from the belt and walked out to the car outside. The airport looks pretty cool. The main color is yellow and my favorite is they have the sign telling you how to let go of the handle of the cart. Cute :)
We got to change to warmer clothes and frankly, I, for one, didn't want to be in my plane pajamas any longer so I was glad I got to brush my teeth and change. We later get in the car and it's time for...
🇪🇸🔺 the City, Madrid 🔺🇪🇸
<<< (left) Me and my mom out in the cold.
(down) The city welcomed us with pouring rain making it colder, wetter, and mistier than I imagined Madrid would be. Still, I was excited about the cold and that I got to walk after the long flight.
It was a rainy afternoon with quite a traffic, like any other big city, but we made it to our stop on the first day...
🇪🇸🚩 "The Royal Palace of Madrid" 🚩🇪🇸
We met with the local guide, who gave us this earpiece device thing, so we could hear the explanation from the tour guides as we walked through the castle.
Even before getting inside, I was already captured by the beauty of European art and architecture
The entrance hallway was introduced by the red velvet carpet that led to the upstairs main hall.
What always fascinates me is the decoration on the wall, the paintings, and the sculptures. It really gave out the vibe of Versailles Palace in France, which they claimed to be bigger and more extravagant. (But our Thai tour guide said that of course, they could claim this because they were building it after Versailles, so they could easily be built bigger. 😂)
This is Philip V, the King of Spain and the first of the Bourbon dynasty, who began the construction of the current Royal Palace. However, he was dead before it was done, so his family got to live here instead of him.
Now, let's start with
🏰 the Halberdiers' Hall 🏰
This is the room we were allowed to take pictures at the start of the tour. The name Halberdiers came from the early era of the 20th century. The time this room was used by the Halberdier guards, who watch over the royal family. Now, it turned into a welcome space to a big hall with a big picture of a present-time royal family hanging in the middle of the room.
Here on the left and right, you'll see the tapestries decorating the room. I learned that Europeans love using carpets not just as normal carpets, but when it's winter time, they will hang these on the wall not only to decorate but also to keep the room warm.
Walking inwards, there are more sculptures around the room and the chandeliers. Just think about the time that all these chandeliers needed to be lit by hundreds of candles. Thank god for electricity nowadays, huh?
This is actually just the beginning entrance of the palace and I'd love to take you guys on the tour with me and show more of the beautiful rooms inside, which I'd take to the next post because it's gonna be super long and lots of details. I hope you guys will stay tuned with me on this trip as I was just getting started.
Let's enjoy the beauty of the architecture and keep traveling, guys
Khob khun kaa,
Nomnomnoodle 🍜