Wednesday, October 9, 2024

So now we are on to Monday night (the end of our second day in Madrid) and we had just arrived at a flamenco cave? It was in the basement of a bar and was a pretty cool atmosphere. It was mostly tourists, I’m sure. It was small and intimate and really passionate. We all loved it! Our ticket included a drink and a bowl of olives.

After the flamenco performance which lasted an hour, we walked around that part of town and it was great. There were tons of little tapas bars in the area. So many people were out and about! We ended up walking home or almost all the way home and then Ubering. I don’t think we had a dinner that night. We just went back to the apartment and ate some snacks before calling it a night.

Tuesday

Here’s where I messed up a bit. So, I wanted to keep some flexibility along with the set in stone plans. Our plan for this morning was to go to the train station as early as we could and buy regional train tickets to the medieval town of Toledo. We got there later than we had wanted (slow people in my family) and waited in line. When it was our turn, they told us there were no tickets left until 4:45 pm which wouldn’t work with our evening plans. I could have maybe gone to different train companies to check, but we decided to forget that plan, sadly. I have been to Toledo before and it’s incredible.

We had some disappointment but decided to check out more of the city that we hadn’t seen yet. First, we went to find the luthier/guitar shop where Jack was going to have a lesson that evening at 7:00. That’s why we couldn’t do such a late train to Toledo.

We found it and also explored the Plaza Mayor:

Walked by the world’s oldest restaurant El Botin:

And enjoyed the famous San Gines churros with chocolate:

We also ate a very forgettable lunch because we were desperate. It’s the only meal I didn’t like of the whole trip so no big deal or as they say, “no pasa nada”.

Everyone was tired and we decided to go back to the apartment. I changed clothes and took myself and my book down to the tree lined median outside our apartment that has all the restaurant seating:

I ordered a clara (beer with lemon soda) and they brought me cheese, little baguette shaped crackers, and a bowl of potato chips all for free with your drink.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and really couldn’t read because I was people watching hard. This was so fun for me! So many people walked by and I loved hearing conversations, observing their footwear (ha!), and seeing their style. Ahhhh…

I went back up to the apartamento and the fam and I went to the guitar shop for the guitar lesson. We walked through Retiro Park to get there and it was again, so lovely! The guitar shop owner was so nice! Tom and Jack stayed for the lesson and Mason and I went to the nearby plaza with tons of restaurants with outdoor seating.

We got a table for four so the others could join after and we tried the very popular vermouth. It was ok, but I probably wouldn’t order it again.

And, Mason wanted patatas bravas. I swear it wasn’t me this time!

So, we had a lovely time sitting and talking and then we decided to give up the table and go back to the guitar shop because the smoking is next level in Spain! So many people smoke or vape. They are allowed to smoke at the food tables and there were smokers smoking their brains out next to us. I hardly ever smell smoke in the US now and I am so happy about it.

The lesson was a success and we purchased a guitar from them. We had not given birthday gifts to our 22 year olds but rather had given IOUs that said “a guitar in Spain” and “a leather messenger bag in Spain”. Spoiler: Mason would later get the most beautiful bag so we did make good!

For dinner, we grabbed more of the 100 Montaditos little baguette sandwiches and Tom found an empanada stand, too.

So, as much as we were disappointed about Toledo, we ended up having a really good day.

Wednesday

So, sadly, it was time to leave our beautiful Madrid apartment. We had tickets for 9:00 a.m. on the high speed train (AVE) to Barcelona. It was going to take almost three hours because there was one stop.

We had a problem with our tickets and if was a good thing I spoke Spanish. We didn’t get the email with our going to Barcelona tickets, only with our return to Madrid tickets. I was able to get the train company people to print us new ones.

Our luggage with the added guitar:

Love the train!

The train went as fast as 300 kilometers or 180 miles per hour. It’s so smooth though and you can still see things out the window. There is a bathroom and a train attendant selling drinks. There is also a cafeteria car. Love train travel so much! Why US? We need it here!

And, we arrived in Barcelona around 1:00 and took a taxi to our place in the Gothic Quarter. The taxi couldn’t get very close because the streets are tiny.

Here is the little street our apartment was located on:

And, another view:

And our apartment is owned by an artist and had the cutest details:

And, we could only drop off our luggage because the cleaning lady needed until 3:00. That’s ok! We were excited to wander and get our bearings. She did let us use the bathroom!

The Airbnb host had left us suggestions of her favorite eateries and we ended up in a cute little spot called Caravelle.

My meal:

Not very Spanish, but one of the best meals I had. I ordered cauliflower shawarma. My body was begging for a vegetable besides a potato.

I immediately knew I had picked the right location! We were in Old Town in the Gothic Quarter.

We went back to the apartment to change and unpack and then we headed to the Barceloneta, or the seaport area of town which was walkable from our place.

Here is where we split up…the kids went to the aquarium and Tom and I looked at boats before our catamaran ride. Spoiler: it started raining and it was cancelled, but we did get to do it same time the next evening. Oh well! And, that is where I will leave you at 7:00 on Wednesday night!

Hasta pronto,

Amy