The Western European Blitz: Day 1 - Madrid
September 21 2019
A 12:15 pm landing local time. Forty-five minutes early. I slept the whole flight. I’m refreshed and ready to roll. Ingrid. is. not.
The plane unloads easy enough, Baggage claim is a breeze. Then we stall in a haze of indecisiveness and “what have we forgotten about; lets fix it now while we have wifi-ness.” A currency exchange and a couple of app downloads later, we’re in the uber.
Hola! We meet the Airbnb host. He shows us around as I duck through the kitchen/ dining room/hallway/ living room and loft/bathroom. Loving the layout! Let’s go for a walk.
Plaza del Sol is an expansive square in the center of Madrid.
Fact Attack:
•Plaza del Sol is the place where all highways are measured from in Spain.
• There is a statue of a bear hugging a tree that holds significant value to the Madrid culture. 2 problems: They call the tree a strawberry tree, strawberries don't grow on trees. Also, no bears in Madrid.
La Mallorquina is a blood sport of pastries and Spanish elbows. There are no limits to which humans will treat each other for the taste of a fresh Eclair. It was recommended on a podcast so we are going in full throttle! I will say the sweet roll and Napoleon chocolate filled pastry were worth every stitch and bruised rib received.
As we lick chocolate off our fingies through the cobble stone streets I see what I have seen so many times before. The eyes and the vocal cords of sugar fueled Ingrado!
There is a buzz in the air. The sun is out and we found the heart of Madrid. Plaza Mayor. Calamari Sandwich is a local favorite.
It’s A regal square where tourist flock and locals plunder. Beautiful in its own right,
but it lacked the electricity we were searching for. This high doesn't last forever and it’s a slip and slide at mock 3 back to earth when the crash hits. Tick tock.
“Welcome to the Palace! Its gated. Pay us to walk the courtyard and see a couple rooms or enjoy the rain American peasants!” Nobody said that, but my mind goes to uncontrollable places when I’m fried on the likes of grease, cocoa, and jet lag. The palace is a spectacle along with the cathedral it shares a skyline with. Each have some interesting history and beautiful architecture ... Next!
It’s raining, the buzz is gone, GPS is wacked and high on something else and we’d both rather poke ourselves in the eye with a stick then have to make a decision at this moment.
Coffee!! That’s a solution.
A cute Spanish café with a window seat as we watch the rain fall and scooters scoot. (So, do you tip in Spain? It feels dirty tossing someone a coin even if it is a couple Euro. It’s like in the wild west when a hunk of coin got ya a whiskey and a bath. I digress.)
Now what? Quick shot down to Mueso de Prado for free tickets after 6? Of course. Makes total sense. We have the stamina to view thousands of pieces of priceless art we’ve never heard of in less than an hour or so. Just Book it! (When we get there, the line is wrapped around the building.) “Let’s go Monday. I gotta pee. Isn’t there a park nearby?” We found the “lungs of Madrid”, Parque del Retiro. We pulled a Big Al and found a park bench to take in the sights and sounds. Sculpture gardens, Topiary, and lost dogs topped the list.
We’re powered up. Let’s walk. We double back through the heart of Madrid passing bar after bar but none had the goldilocks charm. We finally found our bowl of porridge at Marco de San Miguel.
A retro fitted market with pretty lightening and a bustling atmosphere. Two glasses of wine and a bowl of potatoes (Bravas) were all we could muster. Goodnight Madrid.
Day 1 was a wonderful random occurrence of events and landmarks to look at in a new city and foreign country. Tomorrow Segovia, suckling pig, roman aqueducts, and more tapas.
Closing my eyes now
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