Plaza de Oriente

Today was relaxing. We had breakfast at the hotel. For 13E it’s a good option. Plus I get fried eggs the way I like them but usually can’t find. Rod ordered sausage this morning. Who knew a hot dog would be the Spanish version of a breakfast sausage lol!

We bought another metro pass. 6.6E for 10 rides. We went up 4 stops to find the indoor Mercado de la Valleheos (Mercado is market.) It sounded wonderful where you can buy fresh fruit, meat, fish, vegetables etc or from one of the prepared food vendors. However it was Monday and obviously a down day! Such a bummer! We walked back to metro and stopped for a chicken and sauce empanada. There were many choices but many with cheese. It was pretty good. And we also stopped for a chocolate croissant- or rather Rod supported my craving lol!

On our way back through the metro, they had a museum for the underground sewer system. There was an exposed tunnel that was the remains of the Roman sewer system. Unfortunately it was closed as well. We have really tried to get an underground tour but very few exist.

Rod went back to the hotel while I stopped by the restaurant where I had had the oxtail stew Cordoba style. I was using my ‘translate’ app to have a conversation with the host. He finally asked what I was using and downloaded the app also lol! I really needed a meal and Rod wasn’t interested in food. So I took the meal to go. The restaurant is just a block from our hotel. The stew was delicious! They use ginger and cloves in the gravy. Unusual but so good!

At 5:30 pm we headed over the gathering point to meet our tour guide and the rest of the group. 10 in total. All of us from the US plus a dad and daughter from Paris.

Dani started the tour with tapa and drink at Casa Labra. We learned that the salt cod was soaked for 2 days before using in a recipe. It was excellent! Best cod we’ve ever had 😉. Vermouth on tap is also a tradition. They mix it with grappa and water. I think it tastes like Coca-Cola. We also tried the specialty local cheese manchego which is a mild goat? cheese. Salut!

El Escarpin was our second stop. Here we had the traditional Spanish omelette. It had potatoes, peppers, zucchini, carrots and peas. Then they sprinkle a dusting of chorizo on top to give it that reddish tinge of color. They paired this with their local cider. They have a particular way of pouring - which I think they needed a little more practice or maybe we need to try doing it to see how difficult it really is lol! You only get a two or three ounces and have to down it in one shot! Salut!!

We walked down past the palace which we had been at last week. The palace has somewhere between 2800 and 3200 rooms! No one has been able to confirm the number. Plus there would have been hidden passages and rooms! Beautiful at night.

We walked to a square that has a Muslim 15th century building, a 16th and 17th century building hosting that era’s architecture. Pretty cool!

Our next tapa stop was Meson del champinon. The mushrooms are stuffed with chorizo and sauce is sunflower oil, garlic and parsley. Delicious 😋 We also had passing peppers roasted and salted. Not very hot. We’d had them before in Malaga and liked them. The drink here was a type of sangria - cheap red wine mixed the Fanta lemon 🍋. So good!! They like to drink lots but not get inebriated. This establishment created this amazing tapa!

Our last stop was Casa El Abuelo. Here we had the original owner’s creation of garlicky shrimp. I’m thinking ‘what’s so special about garlicky shrimp and the we had some! It reminded us of escargot except they seldom if ever use butter.

Spain produces 60% of all olive oil. They export to Italy. If the label said packaged in Italy, it was produced in Spain.

We also had a great ham croquette and sliced tomato either olive oil and garlic. Dipping homemade bread in the oil from the tomatoes or the shrimp is a must do!!

Here we had ‘grandfather’s’ wine. A drier wine than the drop a bit of honey in to sweeten. It was sweeter than we normally enjoy, but it was a good end to a wonderful tour.

Favorites for the night: Rod - cod and mushrooms. Barb - mushrooms and garlic. The summer drink- of wine and lemon was the best.

History is always interesting but too much to remember. With Toledo being the capitol until Charles II moved it to Madrid in 16th century, Madrid was just a small village outside the main fortress with a daily market. One of the monarchs would have cathedrals torn down and replaced with grass to create a square for people to gather. The graves under the cathedrals were lost.

The sculptor and Galileo were friends and the sculptor had a problem he needed help with. The stallion rising up on his hind legs had a problem with getting it to stay up. Galileo determined that if the front of the sculpture was hollow and distributing all the weight in the back legs and tail by forming a triangle, the sculpture would stand up. The tail is a little longer than reality but required for the correct dimensions.

One thing we did notice I was that a lot of places play American music. And other than street musicians looking for donations, none of the bars had live music. Possibly because the bars are so small and a band would take up valuable customer space.

It was a beautiful evening. Weather in Spain has been around 40-45-60 F depending on the day. But the cooler weather with a jacket worked well. Definitely a good time to be here!

We had a 20 minute walk back to our hotel. Time to get packed and ready for flight home tomorrow!Read more