Spain Photo Journal: Day 3

It's time to go SHOPPING!!! :) Today, S and I decided to check out the "atas" shops in Madrid. Girls, CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, Barcelona does NOT have a lot of things. My advise is to leave Barcelona for CLOTHES shopping like H&M and Zara as there are many outlets all over but for the luxury brands, get your items from MADRID. Madrid has an actual street full of the branded stores and you really feel like you are literally at Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. And many of the luxury brands can't be found in Barcelona. So for LUXURY BRAND shopping, do it in MADRID to avoid disappointment.

started off the day with some Macs. Breakfast ain't a big thing in Madrid/Spain, so McDonald's here don't serve a breakfast menu. This burger is pretty nice though: CBO - chicken, bacon, onions (hope I am remembering this right) and I love their fries. Soft and SALTY!! :p Just the way I like them!

S queuing for coffee at Mc Cafe. This Macs joint is huge and comprises of 2 floors!

My 1st stop: Loewe at Gran Via

As Loewe is made in Spain (Madrid), it is significantly cheaper here. No price difference in all parts of Spain but it is about 30-40% cheaper here. Remember to claim your VAT!!

And my engine was just getting started! :) Love the paper bags and the cloth tape they put across. Service was very good too!

Madrid's version of Rodeo Drive: Serranno (I think)

Hee I was on a roll I tell ya..Bottega isn't super cheap in Spain but relatively cheaper than SG still. There is NO Bottega in Barcelona so please get your bags from Madrid. Same goes for LongChamp and Prada.

Absolutely love this entire area. It's a girl's shopping paradise. :) Love it how the individual boutiques line the street and look so classy unlike in SG whereby due to space constraints, everything's stuck in a mall.

You will find many Asians in stores like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and Prada. Pretty much the more staple brands literally breed Asians. Loewe too!

Zara and H&M are everywhere really. hahaha but less common in this "atas" neighbourhood. You will find them every few metres in Barcelona though. The guys stuff are significantly cheaper than SG but for girls, I would say just slightly. Great selection though. Every outlet has something a bit different from the one next door. ;)

Check out stores like LEFTIES and Divalirious? I saw the latter in ION. It sells pretty good stuff as well. Oh and S'fera which you will find more common in Barcelona. MANGO is actually quite expensive in Spain and seemingly more "atas" than ZARA.

We decided to take a break from shopping. At Serranno there aren't many eateries and alfrescos like the rest of Madrid. In fact it was difficult finding somewhere to eat. Instead we went to the basement of a somewhat atas mall and ate there. Doesn't this remind you of Palais in Singapore?

Wine was my staple throughout the Spain trip. Aaaahhhh I miss the life there..Happy High every day… :)

…and I continued to shop…

Did I mention our hotel being extremely well located? Well we walked back. I didn't take the METRO at all throughout my stay in Madrid. We walked or cabbed everywhere!

Taking a coffee break on the way back to our hotel.

the LOOT :p

the scout planning our route :)

After a quick rest at the hotel, we are off to dinner!

The restaurant came highly recommended but as it turned out, it wasn't great frankly. Our take is that the place had expired its glory days. This was the best dish.

Took a slow walk back to the hotel after our heavy dinner. Here's the square we were at on our first day. Ain't it beautiful at night too?

Midnight Lodge. looks like a damn nice hotel. Well located too! See the lady by the balcony? Her husband was trying to take a picture of her from below. So sweet… :)

Love this shot.

K, going to sleep now. Look out for Day 4 when we head to Seville!

XoXo

Germaine