We didn't have anything booked until late in the evening for our second day in Madrid. So that gave us the opportunity to do a little more exploring on our own. We thought it would be a good idea to preview the meeting place for our tour with Andres later that evening.
We've become pretty comfortable walking around Madrid...albeit with our trusty map. But we have found it a relative easy city to navigate and the small streets leading to squares/plazas remind us of Italy. The weather has been amazing! Cooler in the morning, sunny skies and moderate temperatures in the evening. Our first stop was
Plaza Mayor. Lots of shops, restaurants and cafes surrounding the beautiful open space.
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| Click on picture to see the beautiful frescoes around the windows. |
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| So many creative people "entertaining" the patrons in the square. |
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| View of one side of Plaza Mayor. |
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| Many pretty murals in different areas of the city. |
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It wouldn't be a trip to Europe if we didn't "happen" upon a wedding.
As we were walking along Calle Mayor, we saw many people dressed in their finest gowns and suits.
When we turned the corner, we saw why. |
Prior to leaving the US, we researched and booked a Tapas tour with Andres and
Walks of Spain. Reading the fine print of some of the other tapas tours, your first drink and tapas is included in the price of the tour. On the rest of the stops, you pay for what you eat/drink. But not so with Andres. His included the tour and everything we would eat and drink.
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| Plaza de la Villa was the meeting spot for our tour with Andres. |
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| The plaza is very small and is home to City Hall. |
And so we begin our tour in the
old part of Madrid:
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| Casa Paco (Paco is the nickname of the founder, Francisco) known for it's wine, vermouth and tapas. |
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| The crazy-fun owner/bartender pouring vermouth, which is kept on tap. |
Yes, I said pouring
vermouth from a tap! (I've only known vermouth as something that is added as a splash in a martini, not to drink a glass of it!) But oh was it tasty! We enjoyed it as an apperitive with some Spanish olives.
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Contrary to the expression, the rain did not stay mainly in the plain.
In fact, the sumer rains in Spain are much like the summer showers in Florida.
Rains for a little bit, cools things off, cleans the streets and then everyone goes about their way. |
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Andres showing a bottle of Absinthe.
Needless to say, a sample of said spirit was NOT included in our tour. :o) |
Our next stop was a small taverna. The host was gracious and generous with the tapas and
fino (sherry).
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| Carving the Jamon Iberico (left) and Jamon Iberico de Bellota (right) |
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| Our group: from Austraila, US and Norway |
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| Frito misto: calamari, shark and hake (fish). |
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| D'Fabula restaurante and renowned head chef, Ana. |
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Chef Ana's moderization of a tradtional Madrileno food called Migas (which means breadcrumbs).
It is made many different ways, but consists of bread, meats and vegetables.
Chef Ana's version reminded us of conch fritters. |
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| The oldest tower in Madrid, about 700 years old. |
The final stop on our tour was at a restaurant in the an area that appeared in one of the original maps of Madrid! And it seemed the wines and raciones were endless! (Raciones are dishes to share with 2-3 people vs tapas which are small plates for just 1 person.)
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| The most amazing mussels, ever! And the broth was scrumptious! (Yes, those are french fries on top.) |
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| And what goes best with mussels....cava! (Spanish sparkling wine.) |
Andres shared some of his personal wine collection - a bottle (or two) of 1999 Santa Rosa. I'm not a big red wine drinker, but this wine was so smooth.
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| The next round of raciones: steak with chimichurri sauce... |
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| ...and pork. Both meats were hot off the grill, delicious and melted in your mouth! |
Then Andres poured a surprise: wine made from raisins!
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This wine/sherry is made from Pedro Ximenez grapes/raisins.
Some in the group thought it was too sweet, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! |
Another surpise presentation from Andres: Spanish blue cheese
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| Cabrelas cheese. Very blue and quite salty, but paired perfectly with the sweet wine. |
What an amazing experience! Now I can see why and how Madrilenos stay up so late. It was very easy to go from place to place enjoying the company of others as well as the traditional foods and beverages. Our tour started at 7:45 and we didn't finish until midnight!
