Madrid

One of the great things about travel in Europe is the ease and cost of which to cover large distances. It was a 4 1/2hr train trip from Valencia to Madrid, but it is so easy and gives me some downtime to work on my photos/videos, and write blog posts etc too. We arrived in Madrid to another rise in the temperature, with it maxing out at 37C the day we arrived, so we immediately took it upon ourselves to celebrate the greatest of Spanish past times – the Siesta.

Travelling with a foodie has the great benefit of knowing you get to try all sorts of different dishes (both good and bad) wherever you go. So after a visit to the Plaza Mayor we went searching the best Tapas district in Madrid. We found a really great spot at about 9:30pm and got stuck into a few different dishes that were recommended to us from our Spanish friends in Kilchrenan. I tried the Tortilla (which was like a giant piece of cake filled with potatoes, cheese, and ham), but wasn’t game enough to try the baby eels on bread. The one problem I have with eating here in Europe is having to adjust my body clock to last until 10 to have dinner each night like the locals do, after a few episodes of getting a bit hangry we have made the adjustment of arriving about 30mins before the locals do.

 

The next day we strolled the streets, and visited the beautiful city park where we again observed siesta and had a picnic in the shade. But the real event that day was going to the bull fight at Las Arenas. We weren’t 100% sure what to expect, but if im honest I actually quite enjoyed it. I was prepared for the gory aspects to it, but I found the whole thing to be captivating, and intriguing. Bull fighting is on the decline here in Spain as the younger population revolts against the tradition, and sees it as being cruel, so unfortunately the crowd was small which took away from the atmosphere slightly. We weren’t quite sure of the proceedings, but there was 5 fights over the course of 2hours, where teams would help their Matador overcome and eventually kill the bull. The biggest surprise for us was the use of horses that had some kind of armour around them, as the bull would slam into the horses (which were blindfolded as well) before the horseman would land the initial blows with an iron rod. Then over the next 15mins the others would then land colored spears into its back before the Matador would wear the bull down before landing the killer blow with a knife. But throughout this process, I enjoyed witnessing all the traditions, as well the finesse and grace which the matadors and their team went through to eventually subdue the bull. It was definitely something Im glad I went to once, but would also say its definitely not for everyone e.g. we had a couple of Indian guys in front of us leave after the first fight, and yell out that it was cruelty.

But one of the great things we have found in Europe are walking tours throughout the cities we are staying in to learn more about the history and the characters of the city. Palermo was definitely a highlight for this, but in Madrid we joined a free walking tour for 3 hours and it told us all sorts of tales, and pointed out aspects of the city that you would otherwise just walk past without a glance. The free tours are a great idea, and the way it was structured would make for a great little business idea in Auckland too. The highlight of the tour was the Grand Palace because of its size and grandeur, but hopefully the pictures below (that I went back and took later that night) will do it more justice.

For our last day we just had a quiet day as we had both been feeling a bit under the weather, but managed to muster the energy to hit up the markets to buy some more Jamon. Jamon is cured ham that goes through quite a process of drying out over a period of 3years (?). Other delicacies from Madrid we have tried have been the churros (dough like stick that you dip in chocolate), and calamares (squid ring sandwich…but with really nice calamari).

As we had seen the city come to life late at night, we decided we would try and sample the nightlife and decided on heading to a Jazz bar (how cultured!). The trio were called the Ignasi something trio, and were really incredible on the piano, drums, and double bass. It was something that I really enjoyed believe it or not. But rather than stay up till all hours with the locals, we headed back to pack before heading to Granada the next day.