The trip to Madrid went pretty smoothly. It took 8 hours to fly from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. I watched a movie and worked on this blog so really only got a 20 minute nap in. Arrived at 6am local time which was like 10pm at home. 3 hour layover and then a 2.5 hour flight to Madrid.
One notable thing was that we grabbed breakfast at the lounge in AMS. There was a bottle of “syrup” next to the pancakes. I squeezed it onto my plate and immediately realize it was the syrup they put between stroopwaffles. This was a big deal and I need to get a bottle before we head home. It was very thick, caramelly, and not too sweet.
We caught an uber to our airbnb which was in the southern end of the center of town. I normally don’t engage in conversation with drivers but our driver Muhammad was a pretty cool young guy who is currently a college student in Madrid. He’s originally from Pakistan, moved here 5 years ago without knowing any Spanish because an uncle convinced his dad it was a good place to study. He said that visiting the US is on his bucketlist. I asked which city he’d like to visit thinking he’d say LA or NYC. He said Columbus Ohio which was a surprise. He had friends study there and said it was a nice place so he’d like to see it for himself.
The airbnb is in a great location with shopping and restaurants within walking distance. We got our 2nd wind after getting settled and decided to explore the area. One of my co workers recommended San Fernando market which was a 15 min walk from our place. It was less a market and more like a food hall full of locals. I was definitely intimidated because people were eating plates of food that looked really good but because I’m unfamiliar with Spanish food, I just didn’t know where to go and what to order. We were so hungry so we just settled on a mexican taco place and definitely didn’t regret it because the tacos were delicious.
After our snack we decided to wander a bit more. Found a dim sum place which was more familiar territory and then there was an open plaza with a bunch of umbrellas and tables set up with at least 1/3rd of the tables drinking sangria. We figured this was a good idea to take a break and join the rest of the locals.
The sangria came in 1L pitchers for around 20eur. The first one was like a strawberry kool aid. The second pitcher tasted less watered down with a deeper wine flavor with oranges.
After our hour of day drinking, it was time to take a siesta. I knocked out for an hour and a half and woke up around 8:30pm. My co workers who live in Spain told me good luck finding lunch before 1 pm and dinner before 8pm here because everyone eats much later than what I’m used to. This schedule actually works out pretty well for us to adjust with jet lag.
Joanna wanted to try paella even though it’s a specialty in Barcelona. I found a well rated place on google maps called Restaurante El Valle. I really struggled communicating with the waiters in Spanish because it felt like they were racing to finish their sentences in record time. There are Spain specific words I don’t know and they just talk really fast. I picked a few random things on the menu that sounded good including a paella for 2 people.
We got a small plate of olives and cheese, plate of breaded and fried mushrooms and a plate of potatoes both in a creamy wine and cheese sauce, roasted razor clams, and a giant thing of paella that was definitely not just for 2 people.
The food was absolutely delicious. Joanna said the olives weren’t as salty or pungent as the ones we’re used to at home. This was our first time having paella. My assumption was that paella rice was supposed to be as dry as fried rice was but this was more like a stew or gumbo. It had pieces of fish, huge shrimp, clams, mussels, and squid. All perfectly cooked, tender, and flavorful.
At the end, the waiter said he’ll be bringing us some creamy alcohol to finish the meal for no charge which ended up being shots of Bailey’s Irish Cream.
We were really full but during dinner we kept talking about the sangria we had today. Even though it was almost midnight somehow we ended up back at the plaza with another pitcher of sangria. It was great way to end the first night in Madrid.
Thanks for sharing your latest adventure Andrew and congrats on 5 yrs cancer free and your new house. I love reading your posts to see what you’re up too. 🙂 Kristin (BIW/HR)
Thank you so much Kristin! I love that after all these years, you still follow along on my travels <3