A few notes and noshes from my short stay in Madrid, Spain. We arrived on Christmas day and spent the night with a sweet family that cooked a special, traditional Christmas meal for us. Some of the food was unfamiliar, but we tasted new things and were grateful for the warm welcome into the city. I did not take any pictures that night, but below are some snapshots of the rest of the trip.
A requirement: churros con chocolate (pictured in the middle) + cafe con leche for breakfast
We visited the Reina Sofia and the Prado art museums. This was a pretty installation at the Reina Sofia.
Exploring the parks was another favorite activity. The park near Casa de Campo had a section with some colorful birds. Random yet pretty.
El Mercado de San Antón was a big food highlight. The downstairs section of the market is for picking up gourmet groceries and snacks, and the upstairs section is full of tapas-style fancy food vendors.
We ordered a Greek salad with feta, cucumber, olives, tomato, onion and green pepper. We also ordered a chicken pita sandwich with yogurt sauce, and a sweet yogurt with honey and walnut for dessert.
Papas con huevos (French fries with eggs).
Grilled octopus (called “polpo” in Spanish) with potatoes. So good!
Salmorejo. This is a cold tomato and bread soup, topped with a little duck prosciutto. Yum. I made a version of salmorejo on my blog many years ago. Check it out here.
Pretty clouds above the buildings. We were lucky with the weather, it was mostly sunny and not super cold.
Cervezas (beers) with peanuts and corn nuts while we saw jazz music one night.
The jazz.
Breakfast at the apartment with a few croissants from the downstairs bakery.
We took a day trip to Toledo. This was taken at the Madrid Atocha train station before we left. Pretty amazing, with trees and turtles and little shops inside.
After a quick 30 minute train ride, we arrived in Toledo. What a view!
We spent most of the day at the Army Museum, but we had a chance to walk around at night and explore the cathedrals and castles.
Very picturesque.
Brains in Spain. Scenes from a butcher shop window.
The Temple of Debod, an Egyptian temple that was rebuilt in Madrid.
More park views in the Parque del Oeste.
The Royal Palace of Madrid, from a distance.
So, now you have a small glimpse into our short stay in Madrid. In addition to all of the above activities, we saw a lot of the city by simply walking around and meandering. My Fitbit told me that we did between 15,000 and 24,000 steps a day! We also did a lot more eating and drinking in addition to the above pictures.
Along with the help of Sam, who is spending a year living in Spain, I used the 36 Hours in Madrid piece from the New York Times to help me orient myself to the city. I also relied on this blog, Spanish Sabores, to find restaurants and day trip guides.
Figsinmybelly 
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