When in Spain…

Madrid was the first stop of many on our huge backpacking trip. I fell in love with the city, food, culture and sangria quickly. As a matter of fact we enjoyed quite a bit of sangria on our very first night in this beautiful city. It was the perfect place to start our European and Moroccan adventure.

We stayed at Ok Hostel and it was much more than ‘Ok’. It was one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed in. The people were friendly and we made a lot of friends from all over the world including Belgium, Ireland, England and Argentina. I would go back to this hostel in a heart beat. The rooms were clean and it was in a great location. We were able to tackle Madrid on foot without the use of public transit. The hostel even offered a free walking tour which was a great way to get your bearings. They also had all kinds of activities including pub crawls. If you want to go out, as we did on our first night, this is the way to do it. There was a large group – it felt very safe. We moved from pub to pub as a group. I can’t say enough wonderful things about this hostel! Carlos, worked as a bartender in the hostel – he was phenomenal. He always made sure that everyone was included. He made our stay at Ok Hostel even better!One restaurant that we really enjoyed was called La Encomienda and it was only a short walk from the hostel. It’s an adorable vegan restaurant. They had a number of gluten free options as well. We had a tasty salad and pad thai.

Here is our Spanish adventure in pictures:

We spent most of our time wandering through the cobblestone streets, checking out the palaces, walking in the parks and enjoying the patios. Madrid has the city vibes with the home-like feel. It was a relaxing first stop.