Being one of the largest city in Europe, Madrid has a lot to offer. Like any tourist we did the usual site seeing. We visited the famous bear and cherry tree in Plaza de Sol (which is the symbol of Madrid), toured the art museum Prado, walked around the Royal Palace, and stayed right on the main street Gran Via. We ate mouthwatering tapas, relaxed in the park, weaved through countless alleyways as we explored the city, and of course ate at least one gelato a day. Also, Madrid is really freaking hot. Most restaurants that have outdoor seating have misters to cool customers as they wine and dine!

My two favorite things in Madrid were complete opposites of one another.

The first was simply spending an evening in one of the city’s local squares. To save a few dollars we went to a local supermarket to get some cheap sandwiches and beer. I felt like we were the only tourists there (or even English speakers for that matter). Children played soccer in the middle while adults sat around exchanging conversation. It was so relaxing. No one seemed like they were on a crazy schedule or had to be anywhere by a certain time, they were all simply living in the moment and enjoying each other’s company. I feel like in the US we focus all of our gatherings around an event like a birthday, baseball game, or holiday. This local square had no reason for everyone to gather there which is why it was so special to me and probably why it allowed me to relax more than I normally can.

The second was club Kapital. Having no expensive activates prior we splurged a bit for this one. It was a 22 euro cover, but luckily I found us some coupons that saved a few bucks and got us extra drink tickets. Upon entering, I was shocked by the size of the place. 7 stories, a S-E-V-E-N level club focused around one main DJ room with balconies lining all edges filled with people. In the center of the room was a cool fog tornado would explode down like a cannon cooling the room off when the DJ dropped the base just right. It was the most insane club I had ever been seen. The doors didn’t even open the doors until Midnight and its peak hours were after 3am. The DJ, light show, dancers on stage, and two friends I was with made for a club night that would be nearly impossible to top.