First full day in Madrid was packed with tortillas, sunshine, and 24,000 steps. We started with an early Madrid morning (10am) walking around the landmarks of the Spanish Civil War. We spotted some of the tapas bars Ernest Hemingway used to frequent, one of which was named Cerveceria Alemana. This spot is located in Plaza Santa Maria and the table he used to sit at is arguably in the best spot in the bar; in the front window of the bar facing the plaza. The wood exterior of the bar is charming and the vibe inside feels like a step back in time.
We also walked through Malasana and Chueca, which both have a different vibe. Each town within Madrid is distinctive because each part of the city has something new to offer. Of course, the metro connects them all together, and we later discovered it’s super easy to navigate.
In true Spanish fashion, we took a break for lunch around 1pm. Jomira and I strolled along Gran Via until we discovered Parque del Retiro. It was so beautiful! It’s a huge park with a pond in the middle where you can rent boats and float around for a while! We rented a boat for 6 euros and relaxed for about 2 hours. If you decide to do the same, I definitely recommend bringing a picnic for your time on the boat!! It’s a very lively environment with people on the water, running/walking throughout the park, and even people walking their dogs…everything!
We then traveled to Bodega de la Ardosa for their famous tortilla and vermouth. This was Professor Z’s recommendation, and we can safely say it was a great one at that! We asked our waitress to order her favorites for us and of course it was the tortilla and vermouth. We also got an artichoke and croquetas de jamon. Everything was so good and the restaurant was constantly busy, people coming and going every few minutes. However, expect to stand while eating, it’s always busy and most of the high tops (there are only 5-6 tables in there) don’t have chairs. But don’t be afraid of a little line waiting outside, everything moves fast!
Following lunch, we shopped throughout Sol and went to the Monastery of Corpus Christi Las Carboneras, which is where the sequestered nuns sell cookies! We ordered 1 kilo of Nevaditos (iced shortbread biscuits). In hind sight, 1/2 kilo would’ve been more appropriate because these cookies are very small so 1 kilo was a LOT of cookies!! But the process of acquiring the cookies is why this is by far my easiest recommendation. Where else do you find nuns selling cookies without contact!
To finish off the day, we attended a cooking class in Pacifico where we made paella, tortillas, and torta de Santiago. After a few eggs on the floor and practice flipping the tortillas, we successfully made 3! Our paella was the most fun to make because everyone was involved. It had a bunch of ingredients that everyone contributed to prepping such as onions, garlic, peppers, chicken, calamari, and prawn. We also added a bunch of seasonings as well as the rice with the broth. Everything was fun to make and very delicious. It was exciting to eat the food we all worked hard to make!
The nightlife began with watching the Real Madrid vs Manchester City soccer match (very rough start for Madrid) and the city was not happy with that. We had to watch the game from the sidewalk of an Irish pub because everyone was packed into every bar trying to catch the game. Although a little chilly after 8pm, everyone’s spirits were up…until the game became too tough to watch. Real Madrid lost the match 4-0, so we decided to call it quits for the day and headed home. We took the metro home and clocked in our 12th mile of the day. Resting up for more adventures tomorrow!!