We woke up to a beautiful for day for the last day of our adventure! After breakfast we headed for the El Rastro Market, a flea market that runs every Sunday and public holiday for the past 250 years. It goes for blocks and blocks; with 3500 stalls we barely scratched the surface. There is a miriad of jewelry, textiles, leather goods, ceramics, clothing, household, and lots of second hand as well. The treasures I could find if only I had a bigger bag! We got there right as they were opening and made our way through the main area before the crowds got to be too much.
We stoped for coffee, and I ordered a hot chocolate--yep it's all it's cracked up to be! Thick and rich and pure comfort. We headed on for a walk through new neighborhoods toward El Ritiro Park. I noticed the street signs when we first got here. They are at horseback height and date back to early days when most were not literate. Made of ceramic tiles, they have pictures representing the street names. I love that they are committed to keeping this history alive.
El Retiro Park is a beautiful central public park (free--as parks should be) covering 309 acres in the middle of the city. It began in the 1600s as royal gardens and became an official park open to all in 1868. There are statues and monuments, a man made lake with row boats, music, and a million trees. (The turf nerds were in their element!)
What a gorgeous day! We wandered and sat and enjoyed the energy of an early spring day in the city.
We had a good walk back to our hotel, checking out the Prado, Puerto del Alcalá, as well as other amazing buildings and sights along the way.
We stopped for lunch at Inclàn Brutal Bar, a funky spot in the literary quarter with great decor, vibe and really really good food, another recommendation from Lexi. The scallops! The croquettes!
Our last outing was a flamenco show, followed by a light dinner. The show was in a tiny brick basement theater, only three rows deep. Not a bad seat in the house, but a little cozy!
Flamenco is considered a southern Spanish tradition, but it actually originated in India and was brought to Spain by Roma Gypsies. With singing, dancing, and music, the performance was beautiful and moving, much more somber than we expected.
We picked La Casa del Abuelo for our last meal, one of the oldest tapas bars in the city. The city of Madrid awards sidewalk plaques to businesses on their 100 year anniversary, and this one is nearly 120. We were seated just atop the plaque. They are famous for the gambas del ajillo (garlic shrimp) and the gambas à la plancha. We were seated and served without ordering--we didn't really know what was happening until the wine and shrimp began to arrive, and it kept coming. Run by the same family for four generations, the waiters clearly have it in their blood!
We returned to the hotel for one last cheers before heading up to our rooms to pack up.
it was a long day of travel but we have arrived home safely to our beautiful Pacific NW.
What an amazing trip. We brought back a few souvenirs, a cold virus, and hearts overflowing with memories! Olé!
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Thanks for sharing your beautiful trip with us. Your daily messages got me through some of my rough days after hip surgery. I imagined myself there along side of you without any of the pain.
Love to you both and welcome home!!!