This fall, 40 OSSN members and their travel companions enjoyed eight activity-packed days of seeing some of the best that Spain has to offer. And Spain has a lot to offer!

My traveling companion was my Aussie friend, Karen Steele. Imagine the juxtaposition of our respective jet lags in one room: eight time zones going east for me, and 10 time zones coming west for her.

It made sense for us to arrive a few days early to get adjusted, which also allowed for some much-appreciated extra time to see Madrid. For those three days we were able to take advantage of good rates for Hotel Ritz Madrid, which we loved.

Feeling like princesses in our room at Hotel Ritz Madrid.

Because this 1910 Belle Époque hotel is considered a royal residence, the hotel is permitted the use of the crown in its logo. And that logo is on everything, from the shower curtains to the upholstered backs of the breakfast room chairs — even embroidered onto our starched, Irish linen bed sheets.

The bone china has the Ritz Madrid pattern, and the silver flatware carries the hotel's monogram. Just as in Buckingham Palace, where a visitor is never allowed to forget that she is in the palace of a reigning monarch, so it was at the Ritz, where we saw constant reminders that we were guests in one of the most prestigious hotels on earth.

We never tired of the breakfast room at the Ritz.

I've wanted to visit Spain ever since a well-traveled friend said she thought Madrid was the most beautiful city she'd ever seen. It did not disappoint. On our first day we enjoyed a lovely, leisurely breakfast, followed by a walk around Retiro Park and then afternoon tea back at the Ritz.

Retiro Park was originally reserved only for the royal family, but Charles III opened it to the public (so long as they were "clean and well-dressed"). The park is an excellent place for a stroll, with its fountains, statues and manicured gardens.

More than that, it's a happy place. It seemed that a cross-section of all of Madrid was there: serenading by street musicians, paddling bright blue row boats across the lake or just walking hand-in-hand with a significant other on a glorious Saturday afternoon.

Tea time at Hotel Ritz Madrid.

Two of the most impressive attractions we saw during our extra time in Madrid were the Prado Museum and the Royal Palace. (Other agents were able to tour at least one of these during a free afternoon on the tour.)

The Prado, the national art museum of Spain, is one of three major museums in a close radius referred to as the Golden Triangle. The museum contains one of the world's finest collections of 12th to 19th century European art, and definitely the best single collection of Spanish art.

The 18th century Royal Palace of Madrid is the official (not actual) residence of the Spanish Royal Family; it's now used only for state ceremonies. Built to impress, the palace is said to boast more than 3,400 rooms and 1,450,000 square feet, making it the largest in Europe by square footage.

The Royal Palace of Madrid.

The interior of the Royal Palace has been described as exhibiting an ostentatious display of wealth — or in slang, "a lot of bling." It was stunning in the truest sense of the word: I heard myself saying "wow" on entering nearly every room.

The palace has a little something for everyone in addition to its décor, including the Royal Armoury, the Royal Pharmacy and formal gardens. Musicians might take special note of the room containing the world's only complete Stradivarius string quintet. Art lovers would enjoy seeing the paintings by artists such as Velázquez, Goya, Caravaggio, Rubens and El Greco.

And historians might linger over the documents signed in June of this year, transferring the reins — and the reign — of Spain from King Juan Carlos to his son, Felipe VI. (An interesting tidbit we learned is that if a son should be added to the royal family's two young daughters, the Spanish constitution would be changed to allow the eldest daughter to ascend to the throne.)

The ceiling of the entry hall is an example of the amount of detail that went into the embellishments of the palace.

The OSSN tour begins

They say that Madrid has "nine months of winter and three months of hell," but for our OSSN tour dates (Oct. 27- Nov. 9), we were fortunate to experience neither of those extremes. Our weather was about 15 degrees above normal, with daytime temperatures in the 70s to low 80s and pleasant evenings that allowed for al fresco dining in comfort. And despite this being the time of year when the rain in Spain does not stay mainly in the plain, we had gorgeous, sunny days for most all of our trip.

Monday, Oct. 27

This was arrival day for most of the group, and Karen and I moved into the well-located tour hotel, Hotel Vincci Soho. It was contemporary and trendy and had some nice touches, but the overall effect was a bit moody and dark for our taste. (Our accommodations overlooked what my roomie referred to as "a negative light well.") It probably wouldn't be my first pick for a moderately-priced hotel in Madrid, but it might have more appeal for a younger client.

Hotel Vincci Soho's fun side is demonstrated by the large, glittery gecko on an exterior wall.

The official tour activities began with a bang — or at least some stomps — as we were treated to an evening of flamenco. A short walk from the hotel took us to the tablao of Villa Rosa, located on a corner of nearby Plaza de Santa Ana. A tablao is a venue at which flamenco is typically witnessed, and Villa Rosa is one of the best in Madrid. It opened in 1911, and in its heyday hosted the likes of Ava Gardner and Ernest Hemingway. Even King Alfonso XIII is said to have frequented it.

We were immediately struck by the earthy beauty of the venue, with its Arabic arches, heavy carving, painted ceramics and beautiful ceiling. But soon all attention turned to our group flamenco lesson. We had a lot of fun, but let's just say that none of us will be giving up our day jobs any time soon. Our efforts were rewarded with sangria, after which we sat down to a tapas dinner and the opportunity to see professional flamenco dancers display their energetic skills on stage.

Flamenco dancer at Villa Rosa.

Tuesday, Oct. 28

We enjoyed a morning bus tour of Madrid, which gave us some history and a good overview of the city. One of the major points of interest was the Las Ventas Bullring in Madrid, which has been called an architectural wonder and is arguably the most prestigious arena in the world.

The statue pictured below is of a famous encounter in 1985, in which the matador Yiyo thought he had killed the bull (note the sword in the bull's back) but the bull got up and gored the matador. They both ended up dying within seconds of each other.

Las Ventas Bullring in Madrid.

We learned on the bus tour that there are 300,000 trees lining the streets of Madrid, not counting those in parks or elsewhere in the city. And the fountains are everywhere. No doubt the trees and fountains have a practical, cooling effect in summer months, but they also lend an incredible beauty to the city.

I would be remiss not to mention the architectural splendor of Madrid as well. Our tour guide explained that many of the commercial buildings we now see were formerly the palaces or mansions of noble families in the 19th century.

Madrid — a city of fountains. Here, matching ones flank each side of the street.

The architecture in Madrid — and most of the Spanish cities we saw — is full of detail.

Karen and I spent our free afternoon walking and exploring the plazas and narrow alleys of Madrid. We'd been told that one must have churros and dipping chocolate while there, so we scouted out San Ginés, which had come highly recommended by both our tour guide and the Ritz. It's on a small, unassuming side street near the Plaza del Sol, but is obviously popular with those in the know. Word to the wise: split the order of churros and chocolate.

Our churros-and-chocolate break at San Ginés, in Madrid.

Nearby La Mallorquina, known for their neopolitanas, is said to be the best pastry shop in Madrid (some say, in the Latin world), but we were too sweetened-out with our churros and chocolate to do anything but take some photos. For those with better timing and who are willing to fight the crowds — more locals than tourists, we're told — La Mallorquina might be a memorable place for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Tuesday night found us back at Hotel Ritz Madrid, but this time it was for a group site inspection and dinner. Even after having spent three nights there, we were definitely wowed on this visit. Sales and Marketing Director Marcelo Moscheni conducted the tour and filled us in on some of the interesting details of the hotel, such as:

• There are only three true Ritz properties in the world: in Paris, London and Madrid. (The Ritz Carlton brand is connected in terms of marketing efforts, he said.)
• Every carpet is unique and handmade of wool, with the date of manufacture woven into the corner.
• The bathroom fixtures in every room are gold — "electroplated on, so don't try to scrape it off," he said, and then added, "as some have tried to do."
• All the exterior windows are bulletproof.
• They have at least one suite with a hidden, interconnecting corridor so that, if one is traveling with a bodyguard and there's any kind of incident in the hotel, the bodyguard can reach his charge without entering any of the public areas.
• When royalty stays at the Ritz, the hotel makes sure to put them in a room with a crown over the bed. Some of the rooms have the bed on a raised platform so that if room service is ordered, the waiter's head on entering the room will not be higher than the monarch's — and they don't use tall waiters, Marcelo told us.

He took us on a tour of the Royal Suite, which is expandable to 1,765 square feet. Part of it was occupied, but we were able to see the sitting room and one of the bedrooms. Not shown in the photo below (but evidence of the quality of the suite) is a table-top sculpture done by Gustave Eiffel, engineer of the Eiffel Tower.

Silk damask walls adorn the sitting room of the Royal Suite at Hotel Ritz Madrid.

We were told that Prince Ranier and Princess Grace spent the first night of their honeymoon in this suite, and that it is a tradition among European royalty to do the same. The suite has also hosted Prince Charles and Princess Diana, as well as a long list of other royalty, world leaders and superstars.

Puttin’ on The Ritz for our OSSN group.

This dinner was one of the two most outstanding I have ever had in my life — and the other one had finger bowls and solid gold flatware, so the standard was set high. On entering the breakfast room at Hotel Vincci Soho the next morning, I overheard someone say, "I felt like royalty," and I knew exactly what they were talking about. I think we all felt like royalty that night.

In Part 2, we'll visit Seville, Ronda and Granada.