Apologies for the delay on this post, Christmas, my Birthday and New Years Eve got in the way, so Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to everyone reading! I hope it’s a great one for you, and one full of new destinations for myself. My final layover before Christmas break was to Madrid, a new destination for myself! Departing Dubai at 7:15am, it was 8 hours and 45 minutes over to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain. Landing just after lunch, and staying just outside the city, myself and another crew went into the city to explore and visit the Christmas market.

I wrapped up warm ready to sight see in the cold and we got dropped off at Plaza Mayor and walked towards the Opera. With it being a Sunday afternoon it was pretty busy in the town centre and weaving in and out of the people we admired the Christmas decorations and browsed a few of the stalls.

As we wandered through the streets on this cold and crisp day, we were soon ready to stop for a glass of sangria in the warmth served with cheese.

From here we were starting to feel a little peckish and I’d been recommended by a friend to visit the Mercado de San Miguel and I can completely get why he said why. This place is completely up my street.

The Mercado de San Miguel is a sort of indoor market place filled with numerous food and drink stalls selling all kinds of incredible things. I didn’t know where to begin, it was honestly like a food lovers paradise. I started with an empanada with a crisp glass of white wine, before moving on to oysters, calamari and white bait, before ending with some olives served with crab and octopus.

The food was insane and I could have stayed in here from morning until night just grazing and drinking the day away. I highly recommend Mercado de San Miguel to anyone visiting Madrid as there really is something for everyone, just remember to save one food receipt if you’re wanting to use the toilet as they’re for paying guests only.

I could have stayed out a little later but my colleague Margarita was wanting to get back to the hotel, so we jumped in an Uber back to the hotel where I skyped my parents before heading to bed. It had been a long and busy day with the early morning start, a long flight and then going straight out into the city.

I slept for a long and very much needed 11 hours before the flight back to Dubai. One of the crews Mum had sent her back with a traditional Spanish Christmas cake which tasted INCREDIBLE. It was a round sponge cake filled with the most delicious whipped cream and topped with nuts and candied fruit. Inside the cake was a small figurine of a king and a large bean. If you ate the slice of cake with the bean in then you are meant to pay for the cake, and if you find the king, it is to bring you good fortune for the forthcoming year and you wear a crown. It was good fun, and the cake was demolished in about five minutes after we made a PA over the aircraft to come for a slice before we started boarding. A great trip, with a great crew all in all.

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