madrid in a weekend

i got to spend this last weekend in madrid with stefan (he was there for work).  since our time was limited we had somewhat prepared well, with a list of a few places that we wanted to visit.  it turned out to be such a nice little trip.  i came home with sore feet, belly full of delicious food, a new scarf, and a love for madrid. 

madrid has history and it shoulders it very well.  it is glamorous, vibrant and quaint all at the same time.  we soaked in the sun (it was a perfect blue sky despite the wind), watched couples kissing on street corners and children kicking a soccer ball in plazas that dot the streets, flabbergasted by madrid's love of jámon and shoes, amused that the siesta is a real thing with many shops closing for a couple of hours in the late afternoon.

here are some of my iphone pics... if you care to take a peek.

we came upon the bright, colourful neighborhoods of malasaña, chueca, and tribunal which spill onto one another.  imagine crumbling pastel buildings, vibrant graffiti art, restaurants where the hipster locals sit outdoors enjoying their cafe con leche, charming book stores, shops, and espresso bars around every plaza corner.  we spent much of our time happily strolling up and down the cobblestone streets. calle fuencarral is one of madrid's shopping streets and where we poked our heads in and out of stores.  stefan picked up a pair of jeans and sunglasses. 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

the spanish do breakfast a little different.  for them, a morning meal consists of stopping for a quick café and a light croissant. or, you can wait in a line-up to then be rewarded with a plate of perfectly crisp/delicate churros which you will then dip into a cup of steaming chocolate.  decadent.  however, my favourite breakfast item was a simple and delicious dish called tortilla de patates (omelet with potatoes and caramelized onions).  i cooked one up for kai and i tonight :-)

breakfast at cafe commercial

 

the rest of the day we enjoyed endless eating of tapas - simple, inexpensive, and always delicious - until we were sufficiently stuffed.  and our tapas always included jámon.  my favourite place to eat was the mercado de san idelfonso, in the chueca neighbourhood.  it's a food lover's heaven.  a three story building filled with tapa stations on the first and second floors and a bar up top. it's where i imagine stefan to be right now (he is still in madrid for work).

our first night at 1:30 am at don jamon

 

tapas sized paella

the good jámon

sausages in cider broth from makkila

mercado de san idelfonso

 

 

cava purchased, check!  such a gorgeous champagne.

it wasn't all tapas and churros though.  stefan wanted to experience some of the innovative cuisine that is available in madrid and his research found a spanish/south asian fusion restaurant, la candela, an intimate space with staff that cares about the food they serve.  there were no choices to be made about the food except to decide how hungry we were as the menu was fixed.  

each of the nine innovative dishes served were beautifully plated and the server would tell us what we were eating in his limited english.  stefan was provided with wine pairings that included cava (which i had a glass of too, love it!), sherry, reds, and dessert wine.  

i mostly enjoyed everything. i loved the curried chicken stew; free range chicken with yellow pepper sauce, roasted peppers and aragon olives.  and the chef's grandma's soup was lovely too; green sauce, turbot bananas, coconut foam, lime juice and coriander.  another that stands out is the carbonara ham dumpling that was pine and thyme smoked and served with bacon froth.  one of the desserts was rice pudding made with coconut milk, so good.  

the young hipster chef was modest and appreciative of stefan's compliments of his food.  it was very sweet. 

 

and i can't forget the coffee.  although i don't drink it, i did find the espresso with condensed milk to be perfectly sweet and lovely (it reminded me of our trip to vietnam).  when researching madrid, i came across an article that stated toma cafe (in the malasaña neighbourhood) offers the best coffee in town and so i made a note knowing that my coffee loving husband would appreciate it.  and true to its word, toma delivered.  it is a small hipster cafe with homemade pastries, cookies, cakes, and even a vintage bike on display.

 

we did some touristy things too.  number one on the list was visiting plaza mayor, a huge square surrounded on all sides by cafes and souvenir shops.  locals partake in a lazy morning stroll. and, on this sunday morning men set up tables covered with coins while other men perused said tables for buying and trading.

 

 

 

madrid's prado museum has so much to see that just one visit isn't enough.  knowing this beforehand, stefan and i only focused on the first floor where i was interested in seeing the roman and greek sculptures.  all were impressive but my absolute favourite was isabella II by camillo torreggiani... the impression of transparency is astounding.  you're looking at a woman with a veil over her face...carved from marble!  it's beautiful and simply yet i imagine quite the technical feat.  it deserved a long perusal! 

mixed in with the sculptures were realist painters like rainmundo de madrazo and josefa manzanedoe intentas.  again, i was awestruck by how many looked like a photograph.  the attention to detail was incredible.  

and just as we were getting ready to leave we decided we should at least view some of goya's work.  there on the first floor was goya's black paintings.  i wasn't a fan, they were dark and sinister, like a nightmare.  instead, i preferred his one painting i saw in the foyer, a family picnicking on a hill, it was quite beautiful.

 

the royal palace is lavish.  stefan said that it makes the royal palace in stockholm look like the servant's quarter :-)  we didn't go in but contented ourselves in walking around the grounds which are beautifully kept.  we visited the nearby crypt but stefan was disappointment as he was hoping for a dark dungeon-like basement but instead the crypt was a fancy one with organ music playing.  the gardens were formal with statues of kings presiding over a pond.

 

further on, we came upon the temple de debod, it was reconstructed stone by stone.  it symbolizes egypt's gratitude for spain's help in saving some temples long ago.  apparently it's the spot for beautiful sunsets but we were too early to enjoy it. 

and, we ran into the famous don quixote and sancho statues, located in plaza de espana.

 

here are some other pics on our strolls, don't you love the buildings?  along gran via, the main street where our hotel was located, i couldn't help but look up at the buildings.  the buildings are massive and many are ornate.  the architects of the time really outdid themselves.  it's a shame such buildings are no longer built, you feel like you are living in a fairy-tale.

  

hope to see you again madrid!

i always want kai with me front and centre so it was with hesitation leaving him behind.   despite missing him, i had a fun weekend with stefan exploring madrid.  but it was lovely to return home to kai's cuddles :-)