Meandering through Madrid
I feel like we have said all we can about Spain. Between Valencia, Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Sevilla we had a great taste of what Spain has to offer. But we can’t not say something about Madrid.
This wasn’t a “let’s save the best for last” sort of scenario. Just more of a, “what can you say about what was in essence our home for a month” scenario. We didn’t really consider Madrid as a stop on our trip. Mostly because while we did some of the sights and stuff, the purpose of Madrid was to get comfortable with it as if it was home.
With that in mind, we did many of the things we would do back home: explored local cafes and parks, grocery shopped, cooked, stayed in for entire days watching TV, and even went to the movie theater.
Of the exploring we did do, these are some of the highlights:
Temple of Debode: This is a 2nd century Egyptian temple that was transported to Madrid and placed in a park on a hill (it was apparently a gift from the Egyptian government rather than an artifact pilfered by the West). It was a unique site located in a delightful park on a hill, near a charming neighborhood with cafes and lovely views of the city.
Markets: The Mercado San Miguel market is by far the most tourist famous of the markets, and we tried to go twice before our third visit was moderately successful (it is THAT crowded). But, in our last week in Madrid we actually found two markets that were a far better experience than the Mercado San Miguel as far as crowds go. Mercado de San Fernando and the Mercado San Antón. While still crowded they were mostly more accessible and more occupied by locals than the Mercado San Miguel. We did both walking in one day and recommend either/or if you are looking for a plethora of good food.
Parks: Park by us. Parks not by us. We spent the majority of our free time in Madrid wandering from amazing park to amazing park. Here are a few that stood out
Parque Madrid Rio
Parque del Retiro
Real Jardin Botanico (the only paid one)
Plaza de Espana
You can’t go wrong with literally any or all of these parks as they each offer beautiful green space, charming neighborhoods, and a great opportunity to relax and enjoy nature. The Real Jardin Botanico is a paid botanic garden and the only one with an entrance fee (less than 5€ per person). We thought it was worth it even in November as the leaves were changing beautifully and they had the most amazing collection of Bonsai trees too.
A love letter to Patatas Bravas
This tapas dish became our favorite. Americans might equate Patatas Bravas with french fries but that would be wrong. We as Americans usually take french fries for granted since they can range from OMG to NAH but Patatas Bravas are another dish entirely. Almost every bar or restaurant will have Bravas (sometimes even for free with a beer) and they were all tasty.
Maybe it’s because they take such pride in their food, maybe because of the crispy edges and fluffy middle, maybe because there is something delectable about the mix of a tangy and/or spicy tomato-y sauce and a garlicky savory aioli. Whatever it was, this dish became our hands down fave and a staple of our meals out. No two versions were identical and even the meh ones were still great but this is a dish we will crave for years to come. At least until we return to Spain.
