Shortly after our check-in we headed out to Parque del Retiro. This park was absolutely beautiful. It features a large lake with paddle boats, beautifully kept gardens and statues in every corner.
From here we walked to Calle Cava Baja which is an alley that features a range of tapas bars. We popped into Casa Curro Taberna for some sangria and olives and later across the street to Txakolina for a range of tapas and of course some more sangria! We ordered a 'la bomba' which was a fried ball of potato in gravy, salmon and spinach rolls and a couple other tapas to share.
Even though we were full we couldn't pass on Madrid's oldest chocolateria for some dessert. We ordered churros and hot chocolate to share for only a few euros at Chocolateria San Gines and they were amazing! After a whole lot of walking and getting ourselves lost in the streets we found Puerta del Sol which is central madrid. It was a Sunday night and it was bustling with people. The atmosphere was really cool!
Our hostel recommended us to the Madride Free Walking Tours for our second day which is run by volunteers. We were met by a lovely Russian named Anastasia at our hostel who guided us back to Puerta del Sol to meet our french tour guide Fany as well as people from other hostels. Here we met future friends and fellow Australians Amy and Justin. Fany was a quirky tour guide who was full of information and enthusiasm. She talked to us about the history of Madrid through a guided tour of amazing buildings and statues. We also stopped for lunch in Il Museo del Jamon. This bar specialises in ham (or 'Jamon') where you can get a sandwich for as little as one euro! I grabbed a ham and cheese croissant and it didn't disappoint!
Our next stop was Plaza Mayor which was one of my favourites. During my time in Europe I had a thing for the piazzas and central plazas. They are places where the locals and tourists come together and they are often filled with cool cafes, restaurants and sometimes entertainment acts.
Fany had also told us about Madrona shots so we ventured back to El Madrono restaurant after the tour in the area of La Latina with Amy and Justin. It is a sweet liquor that comes from the Madrono tree (which is symbolic of Madrid) in an edible chocolate covered cup. Absolutely knackered (and still hungry) we went to frozen yoghurt bar Ilaollao which hit the right spot. I wasn't a big souvenir shopper until we hit Spain. One of the most memorable things I bought was an apron in the shape of a spanish dress. I had never seen anything like it!
Later that day we headed out to dinner at Parilla de Maria (just off of Puerta del Sol) before our pubcrawl as part of Madride tours, with the friends we had met earlier that day. We had a super friendly waitress and the food was amazing. She had even got rid of child beggars/thieves as soon as they approached us by whacking them with a menu! We had a Jamon platter for starters followed by the best seafood paella i've ever tasted, and of course ... more Sangria.
xx
