Madrid - (walking &) food!

I did another walking tour today, learned a lot more history than on the hostel's walking tour, but mostly visited the same stuff. Here's a picture of the royal palace gardens and a neat 3D door sculpting I came across.

More importantly, I sampled some Madrid food, and it was delicious! First up, a visit to the semi-authentic "100 montaditos", a fast food chain that serves mini sandwiches/burgers for 1 Euro each on Sundays. It was tiny but tasty! To finish lunch, slices of brie, which is less expensive than regular cheese at the supermarket. Also it surprised me (after at least 15 mins searching the supermarket) that fresh milk is not sold commonly, with UHT milk sold instead.

For dinner I went out to a tapas bar (Das Meigas - "the witches?") recommended by the tour guide. He said it was where locals go, and he was right - nobody spoke English but I was able to get the idea across with "tapas?" and "tinto de verano?" (the common type of sangria here) and the masterstroke "otro, por favor" (another please). Each time I was given a different dish with my sangria. It was good! I tried to subtly take photos of my food at the bar, so they were probably complaining about tourists to each other but I couldn't understand a word.

To cap things off, I went to Chocolateria San Gines, known for its churros and chocolate. I got porras instead (thicker than churros), and the chocolate is essentially liquid chocolate in a coffee cup for dipping. I made a valiant effort but couldn't finish. Yum! Urgh, too much!

P.S. After midnight Madrid is a lovely 23°, great for walking in t-shirt and shorts :DRead more