Madrid

It was a beautiful train ride from Bilbao to Madrid’s Chamartin station, a winding route through the rugged mountains of Montes Obarenes National Park with some incredible views out the windows. Although we were on a high-speed train, the tracks for the first third of our route to Madrid were quite windy so the trip across central Spain took a little over five hours. It was very comfortable though, and as seems to always be the case on our train journeys, time flew by and allowed us all to catch up on some reading, writing and trip planning.

Our abode in Madrid’s Austrias neighborhood couldn’t have been better located: walking distance to all the major sites and smack in the middle of the beautiful plazas for which Madrid is famous. On our first day in town there was a Champions League game between Liverpool and Atlético de Madrid being played. Given it’s cheaper to fly from London to Madrid than to buy tickets for the match, the plazas in central Madrid – particularly Plaza Mayor next to our apartment – were full of belligerent Liverpool supporters singing football anthems and kicking soccer balls sky high into crowds of onlookers (the unlucky onlookers weren’t keeping their eye on the ball as it was flying about…). It was thoroughly raucous but enjoyable to watch the crowds prepare for the evening’s game, I can only imagine what it’s like in the UK with thousands of hooligans prepping for the matches on their home turf.

It’s been quite the experience keeping up with all the different COVID regulations as we travel across Europe. Movement between the Schengen countries has been unrestricted, but the way each country has chosen to deal with COVID has kept us on our toes. From basically zero restrictions of any kind in Croatia to having to get the kids tested nine times between them for our few days in Vienna. In Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland it was standard to wear face masks on public transport and whilst in stores and museums, but nowhere else. And those countries were very strict about requiring a digital COVID pass for Lisa and me to sit down at any eatery, even outdoors. Flip to Spain and during the last week we haven’t had to show any proof of COVID testing or vaccination whatsoever – even in the crowded pintxo bars of San Sebastián – but the prevalence of outdoor mask wearing has been astonishing. I’d guess that roughly one of every three Spaniards I’ve seen has been wearing a mask outdoors. It not only surprises me because the likelihood of contracting COVID outdoors (unless you’re in a dense crowd) has been shown to be next to nil, but also because at the time of writing Spain is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world (with 80% of the eligible population fully vaccinated). I really hope these face masks aren’t with us to stay.

The elegant promenades and countless plazas of central Madrid were a pleasure to explore on foot, such a laid back lifestyle the Spanish have with their long lunches and afternoon drinks watching the world go by. It did take us a little getting used to the dining schedule of central Spain: lunch was typically not served until at least 1PM and most restaurants didn’t even open for dinner until 8PM, many not until 9PM. We strolled down Calle de la Cava Baja early one evening hoping for some of the pre-dinner tapas for which the street is famous and were sorely disappointed: even at 7PM the entire street except for one bar was completely shuttered. Not a sign of life anywhere! We discovered that most of the cervecerias and vinotecas on the plazas dotted about Madrid provided small snacks with drinks, so we adapted and enjoyed sangrias and beers on the squares each afternoon, thoroughly enjoying the Madrid way of life for a few days. Those sangrias really did go down far too easily…

The food in Madrid was definitely a highlight of our couple of days in Spain’s capital. The huge range of meats, seafood, cheese, fruits and vegetables on offer at the mercados dotting the city were a feast for the eyes. An added bonus were the restaurants scattered through each mercado, with everything from fine dining to cheap eats on offer. I first tasted arepas when they were served up by Lisa’s Venezuelan uncle Nelson on a trip to Montana years ago. Arepas are pretty rare to find in California so it’d been a while since we’d had any, but those we discovered at hole-in-the-wall PAN in Mercado de la Paz were delicious. The crispy corn shells stuffed with salsas and slow-cooked meat were absolutely divine! Without question one of my favorite quick bites in Europe. We also had a wonderful evening at Mercado de San Miguel, located a few hundred feet from the front door of our apartment. Unlike the other mercados around Madrid, San Miguel was more of an eating establishment than somewhere to grab groceries, it reminded both Lisa and me of the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We all had some serious choice overload when trying to figure out what we should eat for dinner, I ended up doing at least a couple of laps of the entire marketplace with Wild Man as he was trying to figure out which one of the eateries was going to be first. We ate everything from delicious empanadas, to cured olives and seafood, barbecued meats, pizzas… Such a fun spot and definitely a location that should not be missed on a visit to Madrid.

Still on the topic of food, a visit to Madrid wouldn’t be complete without dining on churros in the home of churros. Chocolatería San Ginés was just around the corner from where we were staying and is widely recognized as one of the birthplaces of churros in Madrid, where it started serving churros and hot chocolate in 1894. The churros were delicious, but to be honest I was actually more in love with the hot chocolate. Unlike your typical hot chocolate drink, the mug of hot chocolate served with the churros at Chocolatería San Ginés was more like a cup of melted dark chocolate than the drink made with milk/water and cocoa you’d find in the US. It was exceedingly rich but so good. A couple of churros were plenty for me, but I did go back for another mug of hot chocolate. Divine.

There were plenty of museums from which to choose in Madrid, but we didn’t think any of them would be as interesting as a visit to the Royal Palace of Madrid. A short walk from the Austrias neighborhood where we stayed, the palace is the official residence of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia (although they choose to sleep at a more modest palace on the outskirts of Madrid). The palace is built on the site of a ninth century Moorish Alcázar, but after it burned down in 1734, King Felipe V ordered a new palace built on the same site. Construction of the current palace spanned the years 1738 to 1755 and was first occupied by King Carlos III in 1764.

I will just note here that prior to entering the palace when we were taking a quick family photo I experienced a short period of heart stoppage: to take the photo of the four of us below I propped my camera on a slanted lamppost and set the timer, but when the mirror moved to take the timed photo it was enough energy to dislodge the camera and start it sliding off the lamppost, careening almost three feet onto the stone below. We all watched in slow motion as it landed smack on the front of the lens and then bounced on the body a couple of times on the stone before coming to rest. Fortunately it hit the front metal part of the lens – which did bend a little – but the lens elements were fine and functioning of the camera itself unaffected. I think I may have cried if it broke, it would be practically impossible to get it repaired while we’re moving around so much across Europe.

The interior of the palace was absolutely stunning. The official rooms through which the tour passed had attention to detail like I’d never seen before, even the walls were works of art. To be honest, I think we all had a bit of sensory overload in some of the rooms with the amount of decoration. It wasn’t permitted to take photos in most of the official rooms, in particular I would have liked to snap a few shots in the dining room with its amazing banquet table and ornate decorations. The crown room was also a highlight for all of us, very cool to be able to stand next to the centuries-old throne of Spain and see the official crown and scepter up close. No photos in the crown room either though, unfortunately. Well worth the time and cost of the entrance tickets, a memorable couple of hours for all of us.

Although the four of us undoubtedly favor mountain villages and quaint beach towns over cities, I will say that we all thoroughly enjoyed our short stop in Spain’s capital. A very elegant city with so much character and a wonderfully relaxed vibe.