Madrid | Harriet & her Hens

Not long after returning from Valencia, it was time for me to make my way to Gatwick for my second Spanish city break, hello Madrid!

My first trip to Madrid was for a particularly special occasion, to celebrate my good friend's impending wedding which I think you all know what that means; a good old knees up for her Hen Party! 

On arrival at Gatwick, the Maid of Honour greeted us with personalised Hen Party tops and a glass of prosecco!

What better way to kick start the weekend! 

On arrival we decided to attempt public transport to get to our Air BnB, which was a nightmare and took us at least an hour and a half but eventually we got there and by that point we were starving! The Maid of Honour and one of the Bridesmaids stayed behind to decorate the flat whilst the rest of us went in search of some tapas and sangria. 

We were lucky that our apartment was tucked away down a little side street so we found a small tapas bar hidden around the corner away from the beady eyes of tourists. To be fair it wasn't great, the food but the sangria and sunshine made up for it. After successful filling our stomachs we had some errands to run for the weekends preparations. 

Most of us headed to the closest supermarket to collect food and drinks which meant plenty of €1.50 Cava, olives, cheese, aioli, chorizo and bread. After lugging it all back it was time for us to prepare for the impending evening.

The apartment looked amazing complete with a selfie station with suitable props, a married date suggestion jar, Hen Party survival kits (flip flops, paracetamol, hair bobbles, safety pins, nail files and lollies) obligatory naughty straws and plenty of couple photos.

Finally we were ready and pouring the cava awaiting a special surprise guest. 

Harriet was blindfolded and had to guess who each of us were but in the line included our special guest, a Spanish butler in the buff. Safe to say it was definitely a surprise. After awkward giggles we settled down to cava and hen party games which Harriet had prepared down to the T. 

We then finished our evening at a classy rooftop bar with amazing nighttime views across the city.

On the Saturday we all enjoyed a bit of lie in, before heading to one of the squares for some brunch which actually ended up being paella and sangria. When in Spain...

After some grub we headed to a different area of Madrid for a booked activity; B Bikes! Basically a bike type trailer with 10 pedals to give it a bit of horse power. Not sure my explanation is great, so have a look at my photos. Oh also there was music and unlimited sangria.

After enjoying lovely views of the city and properly hydrated we headed to the main market. It has a proper grocery market, a tapas type market and then a rooftop bar. We strolled to tapas market enjoying oysters and croquettes before making our way to the rooftop bar. We managed to get a great spot and we enjoyed a few cocktails (I went for a Bloody Mary my new favourite)! 

Before heading back to the apartment as the sun set.

We had a quick turnover time as we had a table booked for 9pm and after getting lost on the way home we had around 20 minutes to get ready for our 'All White' night. 

Holly nailed the restaurant choice. We started with champagne, more croquettes, jamon and cheese before picking between duck or tuna steak. I went for the tuna and it was an excellent choice as it tasted just as good as it looked. 

It was a great atmosphere and great food. After dinner we had booked to go to the biggest club in Madrid, Kapital! We decided to get a table in the RnB room which included drinks, we had an amazing night and stayed up until the early hours dancing.

Safe to say the next day was a struggle for us all. 

The majority of the girls headed to the famous park in Madrid with the boating lake to catch some sleep in the sun and picnic. But Mel, Wenna, Steph and I headed for a rooftop cafe that I was recommended.

It was amazing, if you are in Madrid I really recommend heading here.

We then headed to the park to join the others before it was time to head to the airport.

We had an AMAZING weekend in beautiful Madrid celebrating Harriet's last few months as a unmarried woman and I can't wait to be her Bridesmaid in September!

Madrid I will be back! Keep posted for my next travel post. Next stop; Budapest!

Xoxo

Valencia | Sun, Sea & Sangria

Half days at work are the best, especially as you know the second part involves travelling to your holiday destination, so here comes my blog to Valencia (Spain).

Girls trip with 9 of us including friends from various different groups organised by my work number 1 Lana who lived there for a year as part of her uni degree.

Lana and I arrived a good few hours before the rest and got in the holiday mood with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

After the others arrived we browsed the shops (duty free Zara I meannn...) before heading to the gate for our delayed flight. 

Our accommodation was incredible and very central, right by Placa De La Verge and the cathedral. Take a look at it here. So after unpacking we decided to go to the square for a pre bed drink which ended up being fish bowl sized gin and tonics. 

Day 1 // We woke up to an overcast square so we headed out for a tostada and coffee whilst we waited for 2 more to join us.   

Pretty quickly the sun started to make an appearance, so we headed to the park for a sun tan session.

We later discovered after realising we should probably get out the sun that we'd positioned our towels on a bed of giant ants, which would explain what I could feel in my hair. Far from pleasant. On route home we stopped by Llaollao for a sanum froyo... Yum!

And then our first sangria in the square!

After a well-needed shower and snooze we went for dinner at La Lola, Lana and Georgie's favourite restaurant, but not before a group pic in the square.

Dinner was amazing, we sat in the cutest little courtyard and had a 5 course meal with wine for 30 euros.

We weren't ready to get back to the apartment was dinner was over so we went for a dance.

Day 2 // Tostadas and coffee became and thing and whilst it was a little cloudy in the morning we thought what better way to enjoy the city than to do what the Spaniards do. After the previous day's ant infestation incident we decided that the beach was today's destination. Blue skies and palm trees. 

After lying in the sun for the majority of the day we needed some grub so we walked towards the marina and had a selection of tapas; patatas bravas, calamari, king prawns and croquettes. 

One of the girls living in Valencia was celebrating her birthday so we went home to get ready for her birthday night out. 

We hopped in a taxi and headed back to the beach to La Marina Beach Club and the setting was amazing! 

We had such a good evening, which

involved Melissa and I practicing our salsa which we obviously thought we were so good at, not sure what those around us thought. 

Day 3 // We all woke up with slightly sore heads but it was Lana's birthday so we had to do it all again! 

The weather was amazing yet again so did exactly the same as the day before. Mid afternoon we headed for some paella on the beach, we opted for traditional seafood and also Valencian which involved snails and rabbit. 

Back at the beach, the clouds started to roll in and the wind picked up so we decided to call it a day and get ready for the evening festivities.

That evening we had a pre party at our apartment before heading back to the beach to a different club, Aquarela.

We had such a good night and it was great because we had the option of either dancing outside or inside. 

Day 4 // After another late night, we decided tonight would be our night off and our day of sight-seeing. 

Breakfast consisted of tostadas and coffee in a cute little cafe in one of the little squares of Valencia before we headed off for a quick beach session. It was hot, so we didn't stay for too long before going off to visit the City of Arts and Sciences, which was totally different to the rest of the city. Abstract, modern and awesome architecture. 

We then took a long walk back to the apartment through the park. For dinner that evening we headed out late for tapas we found down a tiny little alley.

Day 5 // The night before was a much needed earlier night so we decided to get up earlyish for a spot more exploring.  We started at the cathedral where we climbed millions of stairs before we got this view of the city and saw the Bell Tower.

For breakfast we went to the food market  for some local pastries and browsed some other market stalls and I found this tiled wall which is beautiful.

Then off to the beach we went again so our final sun tanning session.

For our final evening, we went left the apartment around 10.30pm in search off tapas again and we found another cute tapas restaurant in the square nearby. The evening ended with some unexpected dancing and a much later night than planned, but we had to make the most of our last night.

All in all Valencia was amazing. Little English was spoken locally, it was beautiful with amazing buildings and a lovely beach. Would highly recommend it.

Next stop; Madrid

Xoxo