November 2017
We arrived on a redeye and took the afternoon to eat a lazy lunch and enjoy the views from our hotel rooftop. After sunset, we walked to the Museo del Prado and Museo Reina Sofia (which features Picasso's "Guernica").
After breakfast we toured much of Madrid's historic core. We walked to the Plaza Mayor, then continued to la Catedral de la Almudena and the catacombs beneath. Next we saw the Palacio Real and then tried some pimientos de padron at el Mercado de San Miguel, then walked to Retiro Park and saw the Palacio de Cristal.
After a long day we had a lazier day three. After breakfast we saw a small museum of modern art then wandered back to the Plaza Mayor for some churros and chocolate from Chocolotería San Ginés. Finally I stopped for a bocadillo de jamón y cerveza from el Museo de Jamón. In the evening we did a "tapas crawl" along la Calle de Cava Baja.
We took a train out to Toledo for a day trip. The city dates back to the Roman empire, at times ruled by Visigoths and then Arabs. Weather was beautiful and Toledo was quiet and a nice change of pace from busy Madrid. We saw the Catedral Primada Santa María de Toledo and stopped for lunch before heading back to Madrid.
Next we rode the train north to Bilbao for one night. We walked around for a few tapas and then saw the Guggenheim Bilbao museum. For dinner we had a reservation at Etxanobe, one of Bilbao's Michelin-starred restaurants. The chef's menu consisted of twelve courses of incredibly unique flavors and a wine pairing. Many courses focused on seafood, highlighting several traditional Spanish dishes. Standout dishes were bombón de salmón (salmon "bonbon"), atún con sumac (tuna seared with sumac and european wasabi), and pichón para comer con las manos (pigeon to eat with your hands).
Finally, we rode a bus to the town of Logroño, the center of Spain's Rioja wine region. Logroño has two main streets that are densely packed with taperías selling wine and pintxos. We walked around, trying a couple dishes at each place, including tortilla española (sort of an egg and potato omelet), medallones de wagyu (wagyu beef medallions), and my favorite un bocatito de calamares (little sandwich of fried squid). Later, we snacked on churros and hot chocolate from a small churrería.
For the last day in Madrid, we had a late breakfast and wandered down to El Rastro, the giant flea market held every Sunday. For dinner, we had arroz negro, a rice and seafood dish with a dark color from squid ink. Before we left, the Christmas markets opened in the Plaza Mayor and lighted Christmas trees appeared throughout the city.
I'm now an expert at the Spanish lisp. Gra-THEE-as.
Click here for more photos
© 2017 Will Krieger