Madrid is a fairly easy city to navigate, and they have great public transportation services, with numerous options to get everywhere you want to go including a really easy to use Metro system, and a lot of buses to choose from. You can buy a 10 pass metrobus card for €12.20 which works for the metro system and the buses in most of the city. If you aren't feeling like dealing with the public transportation, or it's later at night, taxis aren't that expensive either.
Our first stop after dropping our stuff at our apartment for the week was to go to lunch at my stepfather Boris' mother's house. Her name is Magali, and she is a wonderful and sweet woman, and an amazing cook. Lunch on Sunday is quite the affair. The whole family comes to eat and catch up, the table set in the kitchen for everyone with some tapas preset- Jamón Iberico, Pan (bread), Queso Manchego, and Chorizo. Various wines... Multiple courses. The food just keeps coming, and even after you think you can't eat anymore, you usually do anyway. Lunch was Cocido, a traditional Spanish dish. The first course is the broth with fideos (noodles) and garbanzo beans, the next course is the garbanzo beans that have been cooked in the broth, and last is all of the meats that have been slow cooked in the broth: Beef, pork, chicken, chorizo and Morcilla (blood sausage) with shredded cabbage. It is an amazing dish, but also very rich. There are variations of it in the different regions of Spain. A must try if visiting this country (and you're not a vegetarian).
Family is of great importance in Spanish culture, which is something that you notice very quickly here. A lot of people live in their childhood homes until marriage, and even afterward spend many days a week together eating, drinking, and talking, or going shopping or walking around, especially during the holidays. It definitely seems to hold greater importance than it does in American Culture.
After lunch ended (about 5:30 pm) we tried to stay up as late as possible, but ended up going to sleep at about 8 pm. Much to our dismay, our lovely airbnb apartment was quite loud. People slamming doors and yelling all night long and around 7 am starting to sweep up debris and bang on the floor of the apartment above us, the noise echoing through our whole apartment.
On the plus side though, the apartment seems to have been built in the 20s, and has a beautiful curving wooden staircase going around all 8 floors (no elevator). It has beautiful tiles on the ground floor, and beautiful old wooden painted doors.
Another thing about Spain- it can be noisy! Cars beeping at one another a lot and people yelling and chatting, and kids setting off cherry bombs (really loud!) are all commonplace to hear, even in a somewhat quiet neighborhood.
Monday we slept in and had lunch at La Taberna de Pedro, a small family restaurant near the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. It was an adventure of a meal, going through 3 bottles of dry red wine from various regions in the process: Finca Sandoval: Signo, a Garnacha de Manchuela, 2009, my favorite bottle of the day. ROC, Mencia, 2011, and San Roman, Toro, 2008. (Lunch was with 6 people). Potato chips and Chorizo Asturiana (served warm, amazing) were brought to us while we were deciding what to eat. We started with the cardo con langostinos (thistle with garlic, almond, pine nuts and shrimp), then Pisto Manchego con huevo frito, a dish not unlike ratatouille, with a fried egg on top, and then pulpo with patatas (Octopus with Asturian very creamy potatoes). Mains were Lentejas (you guessed it, lentils, with chorizo), Callos (tripe, not my thing but some people love them) and albóndigas (meatballs). We left happy, with full stomachs. I would definitely recommend checking out this small family run restaurant. But I would advise making a reservation in advance as it does fill up.
Pulpo at La Taberna de Pedro
Monday night we headed to see a flamenco show, and to a Sidreria (cider bar). The "natural" sidra (cider) in Spain is unlike the cider in the US or anywhere else for that matter. It hails from the Asturian and Basque regions of Spain, and it is not at all sweet, and is pretty tart, a little bit like apple cider vinegar. It has a very small percentage of alcohol, and doesn't fill you up or bloat you, like beer. It is not carbonated, but they pour it from high above the glass so that it aerates it a little bit. We got some pimientos de padrón to snack on, and some cheese and bread, and washed it down with some sidra, and we were on our way to the flamenco show.
Casa Patas is where I have seen the majority of my flamenco shows. It is located near the center of the city, and metro Sol. You enter the venue into a large front room with photos lining the walls and people dining and drinking, make your way to the back of the room to pick up your reserved tickets (you must reserve in advance usually, otherwise no guarantee of getting into the show, tickets are 36 Euros per person). They assign you a little table, and a beverage comes with your ticket, and tapas and drinks can be ordered during the show. I would definitely recommend going to a Flamenco show if you travel to Madrid or other parts of Spain.
What a stunning piece of culture and history and tradition to get a glimpse of. Flamenco consists of dancing, guitar, and handclaps mainly. The costumes are usually pretty stunning, and the music and dancing are mesmerizing. There's usually a male and a female dancer, a couple of singers, and three or four musicians (at least at the shows I've seen). This particular show had two male singers, whose voices were very different. One had a higher, sharper toned voice, and the other had a very strong, loud, deep, somewhat raspy voice. There were three musicians: two guitarists, and one violinist who wore a do-rag. The violin is a really beautiful addition to the Flamenco, and this was the first time I've seen it.
Flamenco originated in the Andalusian region of Spain, with the Romani People, or gitanos, gypsies. It is extremely expressive and beautiful, and serious as well as fun, and the performers are seriously talented. Check out casapatas.com to see some Flamenco en Vivo, live Flamenco.
Tuesday was kind of a wash, as our upstairs neighbors decided to start work at an ungodly hour again, so we slept in, and met Boris' brother and his family for lunch at a cevicheria, with Peruvian food, called La Cevicucheria. The restaurant was located near Atocha station. Another amazing meal ensued. Favorites were the yucca frita with some kind of yellow sauce that was a little bit spicy, the ceviche clasico made with seabass, or corvina, and the anticuchos, marinated grilled meat with chimichurri sauce and more yucca. Another place I would recommend to anyone wanting to change it up from the typical spanish cuisine.
Wednesday we went to the Thyssen Museum, one of the three world renowned fine art museums in Madrid (the others are the Prado, and the Reina Sofia, unfortunately both closed due to the fact that it was New Years Eve). We saw many different styles of art, from the more contemporary to the very old (13th century) religious icons. From Picasso, Miro and Dali, to Renoir, Degas and De Kooning. It is amazing how much stunning artwork is housed in these museums. I won't go on because I don't know how to talk about Art History, but I was really in awe of the scope of talent and beauty that we saw. A must visit if in Madrid.
We spent New Years Eve with the family, eating a big dinner of various pate's and meats and wine and champagne, and watched the ball drop from Sol in the center of the city on Television. Right before the clock strikes midnight, it is a Spanish tradition to eat twelve grapes consecutively, which is really a lot harder than it sounds. I definitely did not have time to chew and swallow them all, and by the time the clock struck 12, my mouth was full.
It was a pretty mellow New Years Eve though, as they come. I was in bed by 1:00 am, while most of the city was just getting started. Alas, I can't advise on what to do or where to go out at night on New Years Eve in Madrid.
New Year's Day we went to El Mercado de San Miguel, an indoor food market located near the center of the city, and metro Sol. It is inside of a large glass structure, with beautiful brick ceilings and metal framing. They have stalls with everything from oysters and fish, Paella, olives stuffed with various thing, sushi, jamón, cheeses, wine, beer, and various sweets. It was totally packed, and we had to wait awhile to get anything, but eventually ended up with a variety of olives, oysters, calamari and a bottle of wine. A super fun experience overall.
Our last day in Madrid was spent walking around the barrio de Chueca, a very quaint and beautiful area also near the center of the city. It is very old, and is filled with boutiques that I had to try very hard not to buy anything from, and lots of great restaurants and pastelerias.
I have been to Madrid before, and have done a lot more sightseeing in the past... but this trip was more about seeing the family and enjoying some spanish cuisine and walking around the city. Next stop, Basque Country.
It is so much fun to read about your travels and experiences! The photos are really great too!
ReplyDeleteHi Ruby, great photos, love the one of the Madrid airport lights (every time I fly through Madrid I'm struck by the airports architecture), the staircase, the roof of El Mercado de San Miguel, the final door, and I enjoyed reading your descriptions. One thought: interactions with people (including with Josh), conversations, etc can bring in life, color, context. Have a great trip, I look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteThis LOOKs fantastic! Keep up the good work!
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