{"id":1149,"date":"2025-07-15T05:49:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T05:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/?p=1149"},"modified":"2025-07-15T05:49:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T05:49:44","slug":"palaces-parks-and-paella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/2025\/07\/15\/palaces-parks-and-paella\/","title":{"rendered":"Palaces, Parks, and Paella"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today we had a visit to the Palacio de Real Madrid. Getting to these attractions a little early always pays dividends as it allows you to take in the surrounds and, in this case the Palace itself before entering. Also booking for the earliest time slot means, while there are still crowds you don’t feel rushed and claustrophobic. Also the staff are still fresh and smiling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Palace itself was, well… Palatial. Trying to imagine how the royals lived in the 18th century is pretty much impossible for us mere mortals.  But the audio tour was great in telling their stories and explaining the way of life that was their norm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A short ‘treasure hunt’ from Marsh took us to a recent but moving statue ‘Escultura Jes\u00fas Desamparado’ by Thimoty Schmalz depicting Jesus as a homeless man sleeping on a park bench. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We then took a short but rather warm walk to the Templo De Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple gifted to the Spanish in 1968 in gratitude for the help they gave saving the various Egyptian archaeological sites that were in danger of being flooded due to the building of the Aswan dam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We navigated the Metro to Plaza Mayor ticking off some fun sites suggested by ChatGPT and visiting a small art market (we like to find an artwork from each city we visit as a memento )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a siesta and Wimbledon break we headed back out to to Mercado San Anton for an oxtail paella before calling it a night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Arriving at the
Palacio de Real Madrid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The impressive ceiling of the main entrance hallway <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
At the top of the stairs in the main hallway <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"

Escultura Jes\u00fas Desamparado<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Templo
De Debod<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The view of the palace from the Templo
De Debod<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The bear and the strawberry tree on Plaza Mayor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Nikki and our artwork making their way up the stairs of our Airbnb <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we had a visit to the Palacio de Real Madrid. Getting to these attractions a little early always pays dividends as it allows you to take in the surrounds and, in this case the Palace itself before entering. Also booking for the earliest time slot means, while there are still crowds you don’t feel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,91,6],"tags":[108,97],"class_list":["post-1149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royandnikki","category-spain","category-travelogues","tag-madri","tag-spain"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3751-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ocy4-ix","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1046,"url":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/2025\/07\/07\/saltwater-sangria-sunset-streets\/","url_meta":{"origin":1149,"position":0},"title":"Saltwater, Sangria & Sunset Streets","author":"Roy","date":"10 months ago","format":false,"excerpt":"The day started off earlier than usual. Nikki agreed to join me for an early morning sunrise swim at Cas Catala, a quaint little beach a few bus stops away from our hotel. Nikki was able to watch and chat to the regular bathers while I managed a fun swim\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Roy & Nikki"","block_context":{"text":"Roy & Nikki","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/category\/travelogues\/royandnikki\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3025-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3025-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3025-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3025-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":577,"url":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/2019\/07\/01\/royals-and-artists\/","url_meta":{"origin":1149,"position":1},"title":"Royals and artists","author":"Collette","date":"10 months ago","format":"video","excerpt":"It was so nice to have a little lie in this morning and not have to rush out. After getting ready and eating a lovely breakfast I headed out to Amsterdam once again. I have always loved the royal families and so decided to visit the Amsterdam Royal Palace. 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One thing we didn't want to miss while in London was the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.\u00a0 This requires you to write-off a large chunk of the morning, as you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Roy & Nikki"","block_context":{"text":"Roy & Nikki","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/category\/travelogues\/royandnikki\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/1d2c46f9-14e5-45c3-81e7-0d1759f0418a.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/1d2c46f9-14e5-45c3-81e7-0d1759f0418a.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/1d2c46f9-14e5-45c3-81e7-0d1759f0418a.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/1d2c46f9-14e5-45c3-81e7-0d1759f0418a.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76,"url":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/2017\/07\/06\/the-strength-of-the-english\/","url_meta":{"origin":1149,"position":3},"title":"The strength of the English\u00a0","author":"Roy","date":"10 months ago","format":false,"excerpt":"Today we experienced moments in history where the English people pulled together in moments of adversity. Phew, so hot today - temperature up to 29 degrees Celsius! A wonderful start at Kensington Palace - so beautiful and tranquil. We walked down to Lady Diana\u2019s memorial which was a happy, busy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Roy & Nikki"","block_context":{"text":"Roy & Nikki","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/category\/travelogues\/royandnikki\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/img_133.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/img_133.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/img_133.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/img_133.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1015,"url":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/2025\/07\/05\/sand-sea-spanish-sporting-greatness\/","url_meta":{"origin":1149,"position":4},"title":"Sand, Sea & Spanish Sporting Greatness","author":"Roy","date":"10 months ago","format":false,"excerpt":"Started the day with coffee and cove-spotting, then scored big with a peaceful early swim at Parc Mondrag\u00f3 \u2014 crystal clear water, pine tree shade, and Mediterranean magic. After lunch, it was game, set, match at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where we geeked out over tennis legends, flopped at an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Roy & Nikki"","block_context":{"text":"Roy & Nikki","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/category\/travelogues\/royandnikki\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_2911-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_2911-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_2911-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_2911-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1132,"url":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/2025\/07\/13\/baroque-and-roll\/","url_meta":{"origin":1149,"position":5},"title":"Baroque and Roll","author":"Roy","date":"10 months ago","format":false,"excerpt":"Our first day in Madrid started with a short bus trip to the Museo Nacional de Prado. \u00a0 The guides we had read had stated that you would spend about 2 hours here. We might not know a Rubens from a Rembrandt, but two and a half hours later, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Roy & Nikki"","block_context":{"text":"Roy & Nikki","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/category\/travelogues\/royandnikki\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3658-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3658-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3658-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/img_3658-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1149"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1161,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149\/revisions\/1161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}