We stayed at the beautiful ME Madrid Reina Victoria hotel in Central Madrid in the Plaza de Santa Ana.
A night shot of our hotel.
Friday we were rather tired from traveling for most of the day, and spent some time in the afternoon napping in our lovely down quilt covered beds.
Our lovely bathroom.
Friday evening, we went to dinner at a small place on a side street called La Cantina. I had codfish cooked in butter with a jacket potato (baked and, by the way they pronounce it pot-ah-toe and tomato tom-ah-toe...interesting, huh?), but unfortunately, the fish was not great. Julie had beef skewers with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, that were really good. The meal was accompanied by a fine red wine and followed by a delicious chocolate mousse and a shot of sweet liqueur, on the house (it tasted like black licorice). It was a very pleasant dinner.
Most of Saturday, Julie and I spent exploring Central Madrid. We saw most of the city, including the following:
Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor
Catedral de la Almudena
Museo Palacio Real, Palacio Real
Jardines Lepanto, Plaza de Oriente, and Jardines del Palacio Real
Plaza Isabel II
We headed back to Plaza Mayor in the late afternoon to find some lunch. We wanted to have traditional Spanish entrées, so ate at a small restaurant in the Plaza were they served Paellas—a salty rice dish with different herbs and spices. Julie got one with chicken and rabbit. Mine was the Paella de Mariscos, so it was seafood, including shrimp (complete shell intact with legs and everything—interesting), mussels, and squid. To be honest, I didn't like it. I wanted one with artichokes and vegetables and was disappointed to learn that they were out of the fixings for it. We also had to wait, in the cold of the shade, for our food, sipping on weak Sangria. Sorry, but it wasn't a great dining experience.
However, it was fun sitting and watching the people stroll by. There was also all kinds of commotion in the plaza, as there were crowds of athletic supporters (not sure which sport, actually) shouting and blowing their noise-makers and horns with excitement.
and then we walked along Calle Alcalá, where we saw the Palacio de Comunicaciones, a beautiful piece of architecture.
When it became dark, Julie and I started back towards our hotel. We walked a little bit more around the Plaza de Santa Ana, right near our hotel, and then browsed through some of the things at the market in the Plaza Jacinto Benavente. There were some pretty neat things in the market, but they were pretty expensive, so had to pass on buying anything. We then headed back to the Hotel and got ready to check out The Penthouse, the hotel's rooftop bar and patio. It was very beautiful and drinks were expensive! It cost 28 Euros for two drinks!! Needless to say, we only had one. It was part of the experience, though, so it was worth it. After a full day of exploring the city, we were exhausted and headed to bed.
Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early and headed out to see some more of Madrid. We walked down to the Paseo del Prado, a main street of Madrid. We saw the Fuente de Neptuno, stood in line for the Museo del Prado, an internationally famous museum, but didn't end up actually going in. We walked through some of the beautiful gardens, saw the Palacio de Cristal, Palacio de Velázquez
, and the Monumento a Alfonso XII, and finally through the Parque del Retiro.
It was all very peaceful and pretty. The weather in Spain was sunny all weekend; however, in the shade it was cold and required a jacket throughout the trip. Nonetheless, it was beautiful. I think it would be even more so in the summer months or a bit earlier in the autumn with even more vibrant colors and warm weather.
It was a lovely weekend away from the hustle and bustle of busy London life.
1 comment:
I can't believe you didn't mention seeing all of the comotion of the SWAT team/police type people! I had a wonderful trip to Spain with you and hope to see you in Vegas in 4 months!
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