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The first thing I observed upon arriving in Madrid was the
immaculate and gorgeous architecture of the city.
Stunning. The city was full of tastefully colorful and
interesting buildings and of course charming European cobblestone and
tree-lined streets. Spain’s wealth and power of the past was immediately
evident and a stark contrast to that of Portugal.
The feel of Madrid was interesting, sleek and fast paced
city yet at the same time easy going and relaxed – quite a different feel.
So my good friend Molly had studied abroad in Spain for a
semester and gave me a fabulous list of things to eat and places to visit –
let’s just say this served as the official tour guide for Madrid.
First up – the Gourmet Food Market San Miguel Market – aka a
foodie’s paradise.
It’s an all glass building covered in gorgeous ironwork – a
sight for the eyes as well the stomach.
As you enter, you are immediately torn about which direction, which
stall to visit first – all the food looked incredible! There was a seafood
stand with actual octopus, sea urchins, and giant fish with huge teeth- so
cool! And of course, tons of tapas and wine bars – so incredibly hard for me to
settle upon some! I ultimately
settled upon 2 tapas on bread. One was a nice rustic white bread topped with
perfectly caramelized onions and goat cheese. The other was also on a toasted
piece of rustic bread topped with a slice of cooked eggplant, smoked salmon,
and a petit hard-boiled egg. And a glass of Spanish red wine to go – a Montalvo
Wilmot Syrah Roble from Finca Los Cerrillos. It was a delicious lunch! And for
dessert, (well one of my two desserts I had for lunch), I got a mixture of
fresh yogurt mixed with Amaretto cherries and caramel – mmm so good. Then, on
the way out of the market, I saw my absolute FAVORITE gelato place I had found
in Paris 2 years ago – AMORINO’S! I was so excited and being that gelato is my
downfall, I had to get a scoop or two. Oh it was delicious, coffee, hazelnut,
and amaretto.
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| MY GELATO!! |
After lunch we went on a great free walking tour – 2 ½ hours
and lots of info and history about Madrid – and fantastic way to meet people
and that’s just what I did. I meet some other American girls who, like me, were
fellow foodies and traveling around Europe. We all went around together the
rest of the day and visited the gorgeous city of Madrid in the brilliant
sunshine!
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| Ellie et Kristen! Fantatic gals from the states!! |
First up after the tour, a stop at the famous San Gines
Chocolateria – open since 1894 – and open 24 hours a day. Basically the Café du
Monde of Spain and for the famous Spanish dessert of Churros and hot chocolate.
So basically the churro is a long piece of fried dough that you dip in a mug of
hot melted chocolate. Quite a tasty little afternoon snack if I say so.
From there, we visited what I probably enjoyed the most
about Madrid
- the incredibly
splendid Retiro Park.
This park
belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the 19
th century when it
became a public park and man was it magnificent – 350 sprawling acres filled
with immense green space, a peaceful lake, immaculate flowers, sculptures,
musicians, and even a stunning glass building. There are two experiences from
this park that I will not forget. The first was sitting next to the lake,
basking in the sun, people watching, and listening to a Spaniard play peaceful
music on his guitar. It was a picturesque moment that was incredibly soothing
and like right out of a film. The second was watching the sun set behind the
immaculate glass building next to another lake. I could not have asked for a
better view of the sunset. Such a fantastic afternoon.
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| Oldest oven in World |
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| Oldest Restaurant in World |
The weather the next day was not as favorable, but oh well,
c’est la vie! We decided to visit what is classified as the oldest restaurant
in the world – Restaurante BOTIN.
It was founded in 1725 and has been in business ever since. I absolutely
loved the interior of this restaurant – exposed bricks, spiral staircase,
ambient lighting – fantastic atmosphere. Plus, the owner and workers were
incredibly hospitable to us! One offered to take our picture in 3 different
locations and the owner gave us free bread, hot from the oven, postcards, and
made sure that we saw the world’s oldest oven (still in use, mind you)! It was
an absolutely fabulous tour of the restaurant!
From there, we just meandered the streets of Madrid,
discovering little nooks and crannies full of charm. We even happened upon this
little unassuming outdoor market where I found some great items on the cheap!
Gorgeous sterling silver and amber stud earrings for only 5 euros and a darling
genuine leather purse for only 15 euros after a little haggling (love it)!
For lunch, we went back to the gourmet market – so many delicious options.This time I settled on two tapas again. One was toasted
bread topped with Spanish smoked ham, huge chuck of fresh mozzarella, roquette
lettuce, tomato, and a red pepper chutney. The other was a traditional Spanish
tapas of toasted bread topped with homemade salsa and a fried egg. Both were absolutely
delicious and quite fresh. For dessert, I had another traditional Spanish
dessert of a palmier dipped in chocolate.
Considering that all the museums are free from 6-8 every
night, we decided to visit the famous Prado Museum, which contains one of the
largest collections of European fine art – Goya, Rubens, Velaquez, Titian, and
the list goes on and on just like the museum. Not only was the artwork
stunning, the building itself was gorgeous as well!
All in all, I had a lovely time visiting cultures different
than that of America and of France. I love discovering European cities!
