Night and Day in Madrid

We landed in Madrid Saturday night, dropped our luggage off at the hotel and started walking through City Centre. We were on a mission for tapas and sangria.

San Miguel Market is the place to be on Saturday night. Iberian ham, seafood, sangria, cervezas, chocolate, fresh fruit and pimientos Padron (aka shishito peppers) are just the beginning.

The San Miguel Market, located behind Plaza Mayor, was the perfect spot. Something for everyone, including Padron peppers, which Donna and I discovered in Galicia on our previous Camino via the Portuguese coastal route.

Yummy, yummy, happy tummy with sangria and padron peppers. Mission accomplished.
One full day is not enough

Sunday morning we wanted to cover as much of the city as possible, given we only had this one full day to do so. (We leave Monday, Sept. 9 for Burgos at 8 a.m. via train.)

Yes, we took the Hop On, Hop Off bus to get our bearings. And then we walked and walked and walked some more through parks, neighborhoods, plazas and squares. 10K completed by 5 p.m. and we still have the night ahead of us.

Donna Halker and Terri Langhans (this is us) in back of Neptune’s Fountain in front of the Palace Hotel.
Parque de El Retiro was originally created only for the King and Queen to enjoy. Now it is a City treasure, and Donna agrees.
Hemingway Was Here, Sort Of

We visited the bar in the Palace Hotel made famous (mentioned?) by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises. In Spain, sparkling wine is called Cava, and we had a refreshing Rose version. The bottle was a work of art unto itself.

You can’t help but feel civilized and cultured in the Palace Hotel lobby bar. The cava bubbles made it fun, too.

It’s an early train to Burgos manana. Buenas noche.

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