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Published: October 22nd 2017
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Geo: 40.0421, -3.60022
Saturday morning we walked out through the former palace gardens (planted with sprouts of all things next to the site) into Aranjuez in search of the weekly street market, which turned out to be a lively affair with very vocal stall holders promoting their wares.
The first bit is clothes, household goods (towels, bedding and the like) and a number of unofficial traders who do not rent a traditional wooden stall but set out their Calvin Klein underwear, designer handbags, CDs and perfumes on a basic tarpaulin in the middle of the walkway ready to be scooped up for a quick getaway if the authorities spot them. Some of them seemed to be doing a roaring trade.
At the end of this run is a separate section for fruit and veg of all shapes, sizes and varieties - some familiar to us and others quite alien. We came away with just some paella seasoning!
On our way back along the main street, however, we did pop into the indoor market which sold a wide range of foodstuffs - fish, bakery, meat - including all kinds of offal such as tongue, pigs trotters, sheep heads, brains as well as the more familiar kidneys
and liver. We bought some prime beef burgers and very good they were too last night on crusty bread with onions and HP sauce.
Today we followed the recommendation of Eric and Dorothy, a few pitches down from us, and drove the 14 miles to the small town of Chinchon which is popular as a day excursion from Madrid. After parking up we walked up the cobbled street to the Plaza Mayor which deservedly is famed for having one of the best central 'squares' (I know, it's round) in Spain. It is a stunning sight as you enter the space to see the plaza lined with its restaurants, cafes and bars, complete with green balconies proving ringside seats when the bullfighting spectacle is being staged. We took our seats at a bar, ordered coffees and watched the world go by at this unique location. This is the side of Spain that we had hoped to find away from the Costas and here it was big-style.
Having done some research, we had lunch at La Recua del Pelicano as recommended by a travel article and opted for the taster menu so as to savour a wider variety of Spanish cuisine. Our flavours of
Spain included a tiny glass of gazpacho, savoury pastries, prawns and veg cooked in filo, small beef 'pasties' (they called them ravioli, but it was not pasta), and dessert ( I had apple cake, David thinly sliced fresh pineapple). We were guided by the knowledgeable waitress on wines and chose local white and red for the different stages of he menu, and they too were very good.
The town is something of a foodie haven being noted for its ewe's cheese, aniseed liqueur and garlic. We came away with a bag of the latter which should see us through 'til Christmas, I should think.
Back at the campsite, signs are that thankfully a significant number of campers have already left since it has been extremely noisy over the weekend. We should not be surprised since many of the reviews mention that boisterous Madrilenos descend on the site to get away from the city.
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