Travel: Europe - Visit Spain: Madrid & Gran Canaria, and Portugal (Lisbon)
Links are provided to locations where possible.
Couple’s trip to Madrid, Spain (April 2024)
Visited Madrid for the weekend for my birthday with my husband because he liked the trip he took in January with his son (Phone photography).
We walked around the city, visited Retiro park, and a lovely rose garden. The weather was lovely! Then we visited the telephone museum, which was an interactive experience, and best of all, it was free!
After that, we went to the Sweet Space attraction, which was awesome and a fun experience with different rooms and a sweet treat in each one.
(We walked a total of 23 thousand steps!)
Couple’s trip to Gran Canaria (January 2025)
Went with my husband for a couple of days - the weather was stunning at 22 degrees! (Just what we needed from the cold UK winter)We stayed at the Royal level hotel, an adults-only hotel, and had half board, in Las Palmas. This was my first trip as an adults-only space, and having half board was a nice experience, and the food was incredible! (Phone photography)
We drove over to see some geographical features. The drive from one end of the island to the other is only 45 minutes - we went the scenic route to see the beauty of the island. The minerals that have been pushed up out of the volcano have turned blue and orange. I hadn’t seen anything like it, so it was a good experience.
We then had a hike to see how the rainwater had created a canyon in the mountain, where some random chickens were just chilling. I hadn’t seen a canyon before, so I enjoyed this exploration.
Finally, we stopped by a viewpointto see the location that the locals used to hide from attackers in caves in the mountains, at the centre of the island.
The next day we had a little walk around the town and to a park; it was more of a chill day than an explore day.
Madrid Family holiday - July/August 2025
We stayed in an Airbnb with a pool, an hour’s drive from Madrid. The kids, of course, loved the pool! We had a weird experience, since the toilet wasn’t hooked up to a sewage system, so we couldn’t flush our toilet paper down the toilet. It’s a strange thing to wipe and put in a bin, which of course gets very smelly, especially in plus 30 degree weather, so it had to be emptied daily.
This holiday we decided to have a day out, then a day at home, rather than to pack our schedule fully. This would allow us to explore and rest at the same time. We hired a car, and also went food shopping every few days.
Highlights:
Warner bros theme park (Madrid: this place wasn’t too busy and had great rides)
Safari Madrid (You can drive around and feed the animals from your car)
Atlantis Aquarium (Madrid; this was ok, but unfortunately they have penguins, which don’t have access to natural light, which they need - I don’t recommend).
Water park (Madrid)
Europa Park(Madrid: A free park with lots of large iconic landmark sculptures from Europe; this place is lovely and highly recommend it)
Sweet Space museum (Madrid: this place is so fun, lots of interactive rooms, you get a sweet in each room and end up in a ball pit)
We also visited a little garden with sculptures in.
Lisbon, Portugal (April 2025)
For this weekend trip with my husband, we stayed in a 5-star hotel for my 40th Birthday. I didn’t take my camera, just my phone. It was a lovely birthday, and I love Spain and Portugal because they pronounce my surname correctly.
Things we did:
Had the Alma experience, a 5-star Michelin restaurant: I had a tasting experience - they brought out 14 courses of food! (7 select menu, and 7 surprise dishes)I chose Alma, and my husband had the coast-to-coast. The staff were amazing, and I ate many new foods and almost died lol
Visited Balham Tower circa 1500’s.
Had my first tuk-tuk tour around Lisbon, which was amusing because our tour guide was American. After exploring the city a little, we rode the oldest funicular back up the hill.
I hope that if you’re looking for some travel inspiration, you have found some! <3
Phoenix85
Please note the journal cover photo from UnSplash supplied by Squarespace.
