Wow, it feels great to be in Spain! We flew from Tangier, Morocco into Madrid and everything went smoothly. I am loving the Spanish vibe- casual, laid back and happy.
Our first night we didn't settle in to our apartment until it was pretty late in the afternoon. We were tired. But Madrid gives free access to museums on Sundays (the day we arrived), so we ventured out to take advantage of that. We made our way to the Prado and it was well worth the trip!
The art was amazing, but the area the museum is in was also great. We were surrounded by historic, beautiful buildings and parks. As soon as you get off the subway, you see the town hall and post office. If you look closely at the picture below you can see the banner hanging on the building- Welcome Refugees. They put it up about two years ago and said they'd keep it up for about a week to send a strong, supportive message. Well, Spaniards loved it so much it is still here two years later. What a wonderful thing to first see upon arriving. Inspiring and Heart warming.
What we call "bar hopping" at home has a special name in Spain (that I am much more attracted to)- Tapeando. Which might remind you of...Tapas!! Going from bar to bar, getting a beer and a snack! I'm totally on board with this. One night we did a little tapeando in our neighborhood. We found an English Language bookstore/Cafe/Bar and popped in. We did not find what we were looking for (Italy guidebook) but we did have a few beers. Our host also runs a bar so we checked that out as well. Tapas there were bread with bleu cheese and chicharrones. A great night.
We stopped in a few markets in Madrid and they are just overflowing with fun food. I won't put all of the food pictures here. Pork is so popular here it's funny. At all of the markets and grocery stores there are huge slabs of iberian and serrano ham you can buy or have sliced razor thin for between
$70 and $200 a pound. The hams in the picture go for 170 euros/kilo. A few slices for tapas fortunately won't put you back too far.
A great time in Madrid and a great introduction to Spain!! I already highly recommend anyone and everyone to visit Spain.
Our first night we didn't settle in to our apartment until it was pretty late in the afternoon. We were tired. But Madrid gives free access to museums on Sundays (the day we arrived), so we ventured out to take advantage of that. We made our way to the Prado and it was well worth the trip!
The art was amazing, but the area the museum is in was also great. We were surrounded by historic, beautiful buildings and parks. As soon as you get off the subway, you see the town hall and post office. If you look closely at the picture below you can see the banner hanging on the building- Welcome Refugees. They put it up about two years ago and said they'd keep it up for about a week to send a strong, supportive message. Well, Spaniards loved it so much it is still here two years later. What a wonderful thing to first see upon arriving. Inspiring and Heart warming.
What we call "bar hopping" at home has a special name in Spain (that I am much more attracted to)- Tapeando. Which might remind you of...Tapas!! Going from bar to bar, getting a beer and a snack! I'm totally on board with this. One night we did a little tapeando in our neighborhood. We found an English Language bookstore/Cafe/Bar and popped in. We did not find what we were looking for (Italy guidebook) but we did have a few beers. Our host also runs a bar so we checked that out as well. Tapas there were bread with bleu cheese and chicharrones. A great night.
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| J&J's bookstore- over 13,000 used books in English plus beer and homemade bagels. |
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| Bar Camilio's: pretty tiny and not too many people there. |
We stopped in a few markets in Madrid and they are just overflowing with fun food. I won't put all of the food pictures here. Pork is so popular here it's funny. At all of the markets and grocery stores there are huge slabs of iberian and serrano ham you can buy or have sliced razor thin for between
$70 and $200 a pound. The hams in the picture go for 170 euros/kilo. A few slices for tapas fortunately won't put you back too far.
A great time in Madrid and a great introduction to Spain!! I already highly recommend anyone and everyone to visit Spain.
Books, beer and bagels- what could be better! And that sangria looks SO GOOD! YUM!
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