Market Mayhem in Madrid

In Madrid, all roads lead to the Plaza del Sol, discovering this early in our stay made navigating much easier! We had become accustomed to the late night rhythm of Spanish life, going out for dinner at around 10pm and not getting home until the early hours. Despite the chilly nights, we had beautiful crisp sunny days in which to explore the city. Good thing because most of our explorations were outdoors. Madrid has a ton of green space including a large urban park reminiscent of central park in NYC. Our hotel was sandwiched between the palatial gardens and botanical gardens, so we took advantage of this and managed to get out jogging a couple of times (gotta keep the tapas off the waistline). The chilly nights also forced us to do a little shopping since we not prepared for the almost zero temperatures.
We toured the royal palace with its resplendent throne, ballrooms and ancient Spanish apothecary, (the royal family moved out some years ago because they felt the palace was a little over the top). Our wanderings also led us to some fun dining experiences, and oddly enough, a girl living in a small plexiglass box on one of the busiest corners in the city. After some research it seemed the girl is a violinist who was to live in the box for a week and compose a piece to play upon her release. The box contained a small kitchen, a bed, and a bathroom that was even transparent from the knees down- poor girl!

We were lucky to be around for the Sunday market “El Rastro”, which translates literally into “the stain”. The market street used to be the bottom of a hill of butcher shops and the blood that ran down the streets made a stain. It stretches out for many blocks and is now the largest flea market in Europe with everything from gas masks to underwear! After the market, families pour into the surrounding bars to drink vermouth together. I’m sure it makes Sunday dinner a lot more interesting!

Oh, and Adam finally got out for a haircut (in case you hadn’t noticed in more recent pics he was starting to sport a bit of a 70’s do).

Adios Madrid, “all aboard” the train for Valencia.