Today we had almost no set plans in Madrid. We did decide to book tickets to the Museo National del Prado – the must-do that we hadn’t yet done. Other than that we wanted to eat a few special things and see the neighborhoods immediately surrounding Madrid.

First things first, I wanted a pastry from Pastelería La Mallorquina, which had been recommended by multiple people and websites. There are two of these in Madrid, we decided to go to the one further away from the center of the city. I thought this place was great. Adorable little shop with many pastries both sweet and savory. It is not as extensive, however, as the one on Puerto del Sol – worth noting. I ordered Palmera Glass and John got a Caracola. Caracola translates to snail 🙂

Nacho had told us to check out the Temple of Debod so we made our way there to start the day. This temple is unique because it dates back to the 2nd century BC(!). It was originally erected in Egypt but in the 1960’s was gifted to Spain because of their help saving the temple from floods following the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt. It was transported to Spain and reconstructed stone by stone.

It is located in a lovely little park – there are so many of these in Madrid – called Parque de la Montaña. There is a great view from there of the cathedral and the Royal Palace.

From there we wandered through Plaza de Espana. We’d seen this plaza from the 360-degree Rooftop Bar last night but didn’t get a chance to explore it. This plaza houses the monument to Miguel de Cervantes, which includes statues of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza. It’s a gorgeous plaza where locals can see many concerts, films and celebrations.

From there we headed in the direction of the Prado Museum, as we had tickets for 12:45 but really wanted to stop for a shot of the traditional liquor of Madrid, called Madroño. It is named after the strawberry tree that grows in abundance in Madrid but has a much longer history. At the Taberna el Madrono, it is served in a cup made of a wafer with a chocolate rim. Yes, please! We made our way there and, unfortunately, it was closed 🙁 SO SAD.

More wandering around the city and doing a little shopping along the way, we finally made it to the must-do – the Prado Museum. We did not have to queue because we’d bought a ticket online so we got right in. We purchased the audio guide and tried to get our bearings on how we’d handle this absolutely massive art museum that houses art from the 12th through the 20th centuries.

Works from the following famous artists are collected here: Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez. Per Wikipedia, the museum currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures. Yes, massive. We decided to to the 1-hour audio guide of the Prado which would include it’s most famous paintings. This art was fascinating. While I am not a traditional art aficionado, I do really appreciate the work. The paintings are incredible and each piece contains so much meaning. My favorite artists was Hieronymus Bosch – whose paintings are wild and weird and have so much going on. You could spend hours just looking at and learning about one painting of his.

Our 1-hour tour lasted two. By that time we were starving and both really wanted to try Cocido Madrileño which is a traditional Spanish dish. It is a thick soup with chick peas, some vegetables and a LOT of meat. We went to Taberna de la Daniela, a recommendation by Javier. It is an adorable little tavern with no English spoken. John managed to figure out that cocido was for 4 people and we’d have to wait for another 2 people to come so that we could share. We waited a bit and the waitress told us they’d do a dish for just 2. This food is a must-eat in Madrid!

Cocido, in this restaurant at least, is served in 3 courses and the napkin also serves as a bib. The first course is soup which tastes like a spicy broth and has tiny pasta in it. Second, a large plate of chick peas and vegetables served with a tomato sauce and third, a large plate of meat – so much meat. The meats included chorizo, chicken, beef, blood sausage and pork in it’s bone.

We tried the food individually but eventually I mixed all three – soup, chick peas and veggies and meat. It was delicious and hearty. Just what we wanted.

Feeling fat and happy we decided to go for a rest at our sweet apartment and head back out on the town later.

A little bit rested, we ventured back out. There were two neighborhoods I wanted to walk through – Lavapies and Malasana.

I’d read that Lavapies was the most multi-cultural area of Madrid and had great street art. Made up of 88 different nationalities, it was definitely full of locals, with small food restaurants, theaters, and more. Unfortunately, a lot of the businesses were closed (maybe due to it being a Monday) so we made our way to Malasana.

I’d asked Javier to recommend a wine and tapas bar in either Lavapies or Malasana. He recommended 3 different ones – all in Malasana. Malasana is a hip, bohemian neighborhood filled with stores (lots of vintage) and many bars and restaurants. Of the 3 recommendations, we chose Maricastana. We sat at the bar and had wine and tapas. The food was absolutely delicious but did seem modern and not too traditional. We chose turmeric hummus served with chick peas and vegetables and fresh burrata with confit tomatoes, pesto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. So, so good!

We were tired but John indulged me for a short walk to the main square of Malasana, Plaza del Dos de Mayo. It was quite dark but still children were playing and locals were eating and drinking. It was a lively place. I’m so glad we did the walk; we decided we’d live in this neighborhood if we ever moved to Madrid.

Just one more stop on our final night here. Instead of going home, we stopped at Puerto del Sol, a spot we’d found to be one of the most touristy. The square was lit up and filled with people. We happened upon a group of Spanish dancers entertaining the crowd. They were so athletic hopping around on their hands!

Exhausted we finally made our way home. This has been an incredible trip in so many ways. But I need a vacation from my vacation! John and I do so much during these trips. Perhaps next time we’ll relax but I doubt it.

If you’re still reading, thank you for sharing my journey.