SPAIN!

Jim and I left San Francisco on Tuesday October 18th, heading for Madrid by way of Paris. I knew we were back in Europe when I spied this savory assortment of foods at the Charles de Gaulle airport.


Our travel day was long but uneventful and we arrived in Madrid in the early evening of Wednesday. After nesting a bit in our tiny but very clean room, we set out to explore the neighborhood and get a bite to eat. Madrid is famous for its late dining times and we saw this in action right away. Though it was early by Madrid standards (8 pm) the Plaza Santa Ana was teaming with people eating and drinking (we have since learned that this activity peaks at about 2 AM).


Each restaurant around the square has its own tables and chairs set out for dining al fresco. We concluded that the action was outside so found a table and ordered. It didn’t take long to figure out that the prices for sitting outside were higher than for inside - AND, it was quite chilly (no propane heaters here!) Still, we were very happy with our food - a complimentary bowl of wonderful olives, a plate of mixed pates, plus this plate of mixed tapas.


They were so yummy! This wonderfully lit-up hotel (more money for one night than we will spend in a week) is the Hotel Reina Victoria. It creates a real focal point for the square (a square like this in Cuenca, Ecuador would be anchored by a cathedral but no cathedral here).


The next morning (Thursday) we were still a bit disoriented from jet lag so decided to take the city bus tour. This is the kind where you can hop on and off all day and even transfer to a different tour route, so we got to see quite a bit of Madrid. We had earphones so we could hear the tour in our own language. See if you can figure out what all of these other languages are.


I was struck by several things on this tour. For one, I was quite surprised that the buildings didn’t seem really old. I guess I was expecting crumbling brick or something. However, there are many really lovely buildings from the 19th and 20th century with elaborate décor or huge statuary.





I am especially fond of the attention to detail which decorates these buildings on the Gran Via, the “posh” area.





Just when I was feeling that Madrid was a bit formal, I saw this quirky theater advertisement.


And I did add several items to my on-going list of funny translations (see Ecuador blog 2010 re: beef jerky of pig and hamburger of shrimp) - this was at dinner last night when we had jambon de pato (ham of duck).


And this one is “Aunt Onion.” Not quite sure what they were trying to get at.


AND, I know Spain is a Catholic country (even though the number of cathedrals per capita is seriously below that in Ecuador) but I didn’t realize you could get your hair done by Jesus himself.


Next time - Retiro Park and Don Quixote in the flesh.

Hasta luego,

Audrey