Wandering Madrid

After a long, but necessary nap, Jess and I headed out to explore Madrid. After examining the paper map in lieu of google maps we were on our way to Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol to meet Kate under a statue of a man on a horse. The sun had already set, but there were people everywhere. Street performers and legs of ham lined the calles or streets including a techni- color goat puppet type creature and Sponge Bob Square Pants. There is a vibrancy here, an old world vibe that just makes you happy to be here. We walked around a bit taking in the whole atmosphere and noticed that there were lots of people lined up to buy lottery tickets. We later found out that on Dec. 22 there is a huge nation-wide lottery event that lasts all day.

After the Dowd sisters had been reunited, we walked to a tapas restaurant to sample some calamari, patatas bravas, and croquettas. This is the kind of eating I like to do, small plates to share and good conversation. We soon moved on from our cozy restaurant Tapa Tapa to my favorite place so far Mercado de San Miguel. It is an inside market that has all sorts of local and regional specialties. There were truffles, chocolates, breads, wine, meats, and many more wonderful things. I wish Orlando had something like that.


Finally, to end the night we went to a famous churro shop to have churros with chocolate. This was a nice treat. I can't wait to see what's in store for us tomorrow! My guess is a lot more food!