Tapas & Temples - Madrid Day 3

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Still waking early – so made the most of it and headed out for an early morning run (Just me, the street cleaners and the homeless under the bridge out and about at 6:00am) Indulged in some more bridge-spotting and made a circuit down to the Puente de Toledo across the Rio Manzanares. (Quite a nice Baroque style bridge from the 1700s – now just pedestrian access).

I had written Madrid off, in hindsight a little unfairly, as just another big city with nothing more of interest than a few museums (which are not normally that big on our agenda anyway). Therefore, the plan for Madrid was to spend just a few days and move on quickly. Today, we planned a reasonably easy day with a stroll down the Calle Mayor, taking in some churches, the Plaza Mayor Square, La Puerta del Sol, and the Mercado San Miguel. As it turned out, we really liked the feel and atmosphere of Madrid. The architecture was interesting, the city had a great vibe to it, and the food on offer was fantastic.

The first stop on our travels was the Mercado San Miguel. This is a 100 year old enclosed market square which turned out to be a fantastic collection of food stalls/vendors/bars all housed inside one charming and unique wrought iron building. Thankfully we arrived just before midday and grabbed a table, because it went from busy to sardines level packed in the blink of an eye. Still, shouldering your way through the crowd to drool over the food and drinks on offer was all part of the experience, and the atmosphere was upbeat and fun. The crowd seemed to consist equally of locals and tourists which bode well for the quality/value of what was on offer. We had some seafood tapas, chorizo paella, and some local sausauges – all of which were fantastic. I couldn’t help but depart from Spanish culture and wash it down with a German Weißbier – ahh taste bud heaven!!

We continued our flaneuring towards the Plaza Mayor Square which is a really impressive and charming square. This time of year it was full of stalls of a Christmas/festive nature, which, actually, I think lessened the experience. It was a lovely large open space, with shops around the covered perimeter but the stalls made it all a bit over the top. We had a brief wander, entering through one entrance and out another and continued east towards another major square known as Sol. This turned out to be rather disappointing. There was not really anything to see but for a Christmas tree, hawkers in various costumes trying to make a buck by getting you to photograph them and queues of people lined up for (from what I could gather) opera/theatre tickets.



I had, the day before, seen that entry to the Real Palace near home has free entrance from 4pm, so we headed back there to line up. Unfortunately, I had neglected to read the fine print, and after 40 minutes in the queue we were told at the entrance that free entry only applied to EU/Latin American visitors. (We decided to give it a miss – couldn’t see the value in paying $50 effectively for 1.5 hours.) Instead we enjoyed a Spanish Pain au Chocolat variant and Sangria in the nearby Opera gardens before eventually heading home. We had a brief stop in the apartment and then headed out at dusk to a nearby park, the Parque del Oeste. This park was up a steep hill behind our apartment, and enjoyed panoramic views across Madrid. We went there to see the main attraction, the Temple De Bod. This temple is an ancient Egyptian temple that was moved to Madrid (obviously) some 40-50 years ago and re-constructed. It was quite interesting actually to see some original Egyptian stone engravings, and the English explanations/signage made it all the more interesting. Certainly, it was a unique treat to see authentic Egyptian architecture and artwork that is 2,000 plus years old. All in all it was a nice relaxing day and we really enjoyed the sights/atmosphere of Madrid.



Juan



Juan accompanied us to the Mercado San Miguel and also enjoyed some lunch there. Little did I know, but he had texted Juanita and invited her to join us. This was OK though, and it was nice to have some local knowledge of the food we were eating. Juanita certainly agreed that this place was well known for good quality food. At one point though, we were sitting at the table and I could overhear a bit of commotion. It turns out that Juan had gotten into a disagreement with a stall-holder over his change (so he told me later). So, Juan and this middle-aged fellow were starting to throw increasingly louder Spanish insults at one another and it was getting a little out of hand. I stepped in to pull Juan back with a friendly wave and an “Hola” for the stall holder (That’s about the extent of my Spanish at the moment), and we melted back into the crowds before drawing too much attention. Juan calmed down pretty quickly actually, and it was time for us to head off anyway. He and Juanita headed off to explore a bit by themselves whilst we continued down Calle Mayor. I wouldn’t see Juan again today, so I can only assume he had a pretty good night.

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Photos

Almudena Cathedral
Looking back from the Palacio Real de Madrid

Plaza de Oriente - Serious
Just near the Royal Theatre - Madrid