{travel} favorite rooftop terraces in madrid

The weather in Madrid is wacky. One day it is 95 degrees, and the next 72. No matter what temperature it is, the best thing to do during the summer is to find solace on one of the city's gorgeous rooftop terraces. My friends and I have tried out a few. These are our favorites!

1. El Viajero: Plaza Cebada, 11 (La Latina)

El Viajero is situated right in the heart of La Latina. The rooftop is decorated beautifully, and the drinks are cheaper than what you'll find on top of one of the fancy hotels. This rooftop is extremely popular with 20 and 30 somethings. There is typically a wait on the weekends, but it goes quickly! Tip: Buy a drink downstairs and bring it up. It will save you a euro. Before or after you visit this fun rooftop, make sure to check out Taberna Almeria - my favorite tapas restaurant in Madrid. My friends and I are especially obsessed with their tostas. Order the queso de cabra con cebolla confitada. All of my friends who "don't like goat cheese" have been converted by this tostada at Taberna Almeria. Yum.

2. Atico de las Letras at Hotel de las Letras: Gran Via, 11 (Gran Via)

This rooftop is probably our favorite.While the drinks are a little pricey, and the view is partially blocked by the walls, the atmosphere is fantastic. This rooftop is on top of a gorgeous hotel on the most famous street in Madrid, Gran Via. The terrace is covered with plants and beautiful flowers, and you can relax on white couches, or sit at a table and order a meal. I've never ordered food here before, but I always love the huge dish of olives you get with a drink. A glass or bottle of wine here is about a euro or two more expensive than most other places, but totally worth it for the atmosphere! Oh, and the gin and tonics are delicious. Just do it.

3. La Terraza de Oscar at Room Mate Oscar: Plaza Vazquez de Mella, 12 (Chueca/Gran Via)

This terrace feels very Miami Beach to me. There is a pool off to one of the sides of the rooftop, which definitely limits seating. However, the best part about this one is the view. We just stood to the side of the terrace and took in the gorgeous sunset. Expect to pay a lot more for drinks here. Cocktails are about 13 euros, and wine about 4-5 euros a glass.

Let me know if you are ever in Madrid and try out one of these terraces!

PS. I've created a Facebook page for this blog. I'd love you if you would like it. :)

xx, Jen

{travel} barcelona, catalonia, españa

1. view from our hostal [hostal oliva]. 2. old drinking fountains. 3. la boqueria market. 

4. painting from a balcony. 5. barcelona harbor. 6. magic fountains.
7. tapas at tapas 24. 8. sagrada familia. 9. sardana in front of the barcelona cathedral.
8. l'antic bocoi del gotic. 9. barcelona beach.

{life} so beautiful, like a mannequin

Hola chicas!

I'm getting very excited because my very first visitor from America arrives tomorrow! Weeeeeee! Can't wait to have yet another excuse to try some new restaurants and bars on my ever-growing list of eats and drinks in Madrid. In fact, I was able to go to one last night!

I went to dinner with my roommate and her parents at a restaurant called Taberna Gastromaquia in the barrio Chueca. I discovered this restaurant due to glowing TripAdvisor reviews. It looks incredibly unassuming from the outside, with a chalkboard hanging by the door showcasing typical Spanish food like pulpo gallega and croquetas. Needless to say, I was a little bit skeptical and wondering if I was in the right place! We thankfully decided to try it out anyways.

If we hadn't we wouldn't have gotten our delicious guacamole with banana chips starter.

Or two absolutely delicious salads - queso de cabra a la plancha con miel and salmon ahumado:

I can't wait to go back! We also ordered a potato dish, asparagus dish, and pork skewers. For dessert we ordered the almond cake. The incredibly friendly waiter/owner brought us the mojito sorbet to try - topped off with a generous pour of Bacardi rum. Everything was absolutely delicious!

In other news, I chopped a lottttt of hair off.

I love it so much! If you live in Madrid, I recommend going to the stylist I went to. 

The school year is quickly wrapping up for my students. AKA, my job is wrapping up quickly. Eeeek! Need to find some summer work. 

How will I survive the summer without these conversations with my primero students?

S: "Profe, you look very beautiful today." 

Me: Thank you Roxana! That is very sweet.

S: Like a mannequin!

Gracias?! 

Gotta love the children of Spain!

xx, Jen

{travel} hiking la pedriza

I love living in a big city. One of my joys in life this year has been wandering through the narrow streets of Madrid and stumbling upon a million beautiful cafes, restaurants, and shops. I love the energy of people all around, and obviously channeling my (not so) inner girly girl. 

But sometimes you just really need to escape the city, breathe some fresh air, and experience a different way of life in Spain.

I had been looking up places to hike near Madrid for a while. I finally decided that I really wanted to check out the hiking near a town called Manzanares el Real, just 45 minutes north by bus from Madrid. After researching the area a little bit more, I figured out that a local hiking group, Hiking Madrid, was headed out to the area as a group to hike the following weekend. I gathered a group of friends and signed us up.

I'm soooo glad that I did. It could not have been a more perfect day in the mountains.

We started in the small town Manzanares el Real, which has a medieval castle in it! We saw it when we were driving up to the town. We thought that we might have enough energy at the end of the day to go check out the castle before heading back into town. Yeah... we were wrong about that. ;)

The area we hiked in is called La Pedriza which is a part of the Guadarrama mountain range. The Manzanares river runs through much of La Pedriza's area. The river is absolutely gorgeous with crystal clear water.

There were tons of huge boulders and rocky cliffs throughout the hike. There were also tons of wildflowers and greeen trees, thanks to the rainy spring we had in Madrid.

The group of girls I went with - three TEFL friends, one friend from home, and one new friend!

Can I just wake up to this view every single day for the rest of my life please? PS. I chopped off a bunch of hair about two weeks ago. Surprise! 

If you ever get tired during the hike in La Pedriza - do not fear. There are little cafes and restaurants scattered throughout in the middle of nowhere. Cerveza anyone?

Look at that water. I can't wait to go back on a hot day and cool off in the river.

After following the river for a while, our hiking guide started to take us up, up, up the mountain. It was so peaceful in the middle of all of the trees. This is where the hike started to get difficult. I was huffing and puffing (since I haven't seen the inside of a gym since December... oops.)

The pain was all worth it in the end. Look at that VIEW. 

We weren't even all the way up yet.

View from our lunch spot, and the highest elevation we hit (about 820 feet). So beautiful.

On the way back down we saw a huge mountain goat and a herd of cows. I was a little concerned for my life walking through the cows. Thankfully they were just happily munching on grass in peace.

Cannot get enough of this river. 

The hike ended up being 10K, or 6.21 miles, round trip. I was bone tired by the end of it, but it was certainly worth it! It was so nice to get out of the city for a bit. 

I will definitely do another hike with Hiking Madrid!

If you'd like to go on your own, take bus number 724 from Plaza de Castilla to Manzanares el Real. Get off on the stop after the castle. It is a beautiful town to wander around. It took us about 35 minutes to walk to the river from the main square. The bus costs 8.40 euros round trip if you don't have an abono or have a Zone A I believe. My ticket only cost 4 euros round trip because I have a B3 abono.

xx, Jen