After the Flamenco show Friday night with couchsurfers, we planned to meet them in the barrio La Latina. When we arrived, we both realized we had no idea where the street or bar was. I assumed it would be obvious and Angelica would know where it was. We (thankfully) caught the last metro home!
We awoke to the sound of violent wind the next morning. Neither of us wanted to leave the house but finally we decided to brave the day (of 35F or 2C) and see some sights. Turns out, the wind was not as strong as it was in the piso and it was a rather sunny day despite the frigid cold. I was bundled up in 3 too many sweaters and surprisingly too warm (a rare occasion, I’m always cold).
My good friend Jessica, (in Roquetas de Mar) came to Madrid as well so on Saturday we meet up!
Cafe Alino- Menu de dia= primero y segundo plato y bebida= 5.50, a good deal
I was happy to have a delicious salad (1st plate) and lemonade- I got to choose my toppings!
Curry de pollo con semolina (chicken curry with cous cous), 2nd plate
For a moment, I thought I was in a small Spanish town!
A small plaza and church
A friend of Jessica’s met us right after we ate lunch. He was hungry so we stopped in to his favorite pizza place in Marasena. Absolutely delicious! Of course, I sampled some pizza ( No, these were not mine!)
Pizza pizza! So delicious!
Interestingly designed, or rather styled dog guarding the door.
A funny looking dog
Banco de Madrid
We took a walk through Parque Retiro. It was freezing outside but thankfully the sun was shinning1
Jessica, yo y Angelica
We stopped to watch this musician and his frog “play” the piano. Impressive.
A frog playing the piano. Very impressive!
This caught my attention.
We went to the well known El Tigre tapas bar in Chueca. I ordered a tinto de verano and they handed me a plate of greasy tapas! We were curious, would we get more tapas if we ordered individually? Or if we ordered all 3 drinks together? Our first round, we ordered separately and this is the size of our plates. The next round, we ordered 2 drinks and 1 drink. My plate for the second round ordering 1 drink was not as full as this!
Free tapas in Madrid! Bread with meat and potatoes with spicy sauce!
After getting our fill of tapas and standing for too long (standing tapas bar only) we walked a few doors down and found a hip, funky gay bar to chill for a while. Comfy chairs and delicious drinks made the time pass easily. We arrived at 20:30 and left at 1:30. When you’re in good company, having good conversation, drinking delicious drinks and they keep bringing your snacks to munch on…
Bebidas y para picar!
On Sunday we attempted to wake early but 10:30am was the earliest we managed to leave the house. We headed to the famous El Rastro in the barrio of La Latina that happens every Sunday morning. It’s a flea market with vendors selling used books, cheap clothing, random art, Spain souvenirs, scarfs, house ware and a few artisans. I found a few leather purses I want but I have to wait till I return. I only had a few euros on me. Makes impulse buying impossible!
Rastro (flea market)
Quieres libros usados?
Cool decorations!
Where is your favorite bar/get drinks in Madrid? Have you braved the crowd at El Rastro?
Please leave a comment. Thanks.
beautiful pix
I want some of that pizza! Thanks for sharing your adventures.