Food is a major part of any culture but the eating experience is different in Spain. In Madrid and elsewhere in much of Spain – you first have to adapt to the later eating times for lunch and dinner which are typically a couple of hours later than what you probably are used to. Good luck funding a decent restaurant at 12noon or 6pm! If it’s a popular establishment – you may be able to get a booking after 11pm if you’re lucky! But the atmosphere in the city after 10pm is amazing. The crowded streets include families (even with push prams) all out eating and enjoying the night entertainments. Granted – it was early December so people are about gearing up for the festive season – but it was great to see shops busy and so many happy faces everywhere.
Spanish cuisine Is delicious – paellas. risottos, tapas galore, the delicious salads, roasted suckling pig, roasted veges, churros – it’s total heaven. The variety of food is staggering and it is all totally delicious. The problem was that we could only digest 2 big meals per day !!
A great discovery was the Mercado de San Miguel – an enclosed market of more than 20 eating stands specialising in the highlights of Spanish cuisine. It’s a great meeting point for food lovers and is always very busy. The common denominator was the commitment to high-quality tapas and pub-style fare (so it is pricey) but you get to experience under the one roof the highest quality Iberian ham, the freshest fish and shellfish brought in daily from Galicia, the Mediterranean rice dishes and the most exquisite cheeses from Castile, Asturias and the Basque Country.
But we didn’t all our time in Spain eating…
One of the must-see attractions is the Royal Palace of Madrid. It is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000 m² of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Europe. It’s huge but the self-guided tour is very well set out and very manageable. Unfortunately, the Plaza Major was being filled with stalls for the upcoming Xmas season and so the grandeur of the area was largely diminished. We had a very pleasant stroll through El Retiro Park – the historic and expansive, 19th-century park with boating lake & rose garden, plus numerous fountains & statues.
We took a Day Tour to the neighbouring ancient (pre-Roman) cities of Toledo and Segovia. Toledo is spectacularly set on a hill on the right bank of the Tagus River and was declared a World Heritage site in 1986. The Gothic Cathedral and the Alcázar are the major attractions. The manufacture of swords and knives has a long tradition in Toledo so the tour had the obligatory stop at a sword making demonstration and souvenir shop. Unfortunately Segovia was very crowded when we arrived around lunchtime and we couldn’t find a restaurant with a spare table which spoilt the visit for us. The Roman Aqueduct is the main attraction together with the Cathedral and the Medieval Castle which was used as the basis for Walt Disney’s Cinderella’s castle.
This visit to Madrid was a delight and we’ll be looking forward to our return visit in the near future. Please contact me if you are interested in knowing more about this destination.
The Royal Palace, Madrid