go_laura

So Saturday around noon found us at the pasteleria Motteau, which Maribel had suggested. Oh là là! We've been to bakeries in many cities in quite a few countries, and I honestly think this might have been the best we've ever had. Thank you for that recommendation!! We then spent the afternoon in the lovely El Retiro Park. A chronic foot problem I have was acting up, so we spent a good deal of time sitting at a café in the park, where we struck up a conversation with a young couple from Mexico City, and now have that location added to our list of places to go to, as he was very convincing. And how funny, now that I'm looking at my notes, I realize THIS was the night we went to hear the jazz, not the night before...so I guess I lost track of what we did Fri. night lol.

Sunday we got a late start to the day, and we just had to go back to Motteau, knowing it would be closed Monday, and not only enjoyed pastry there again but brought home a couple extra for later. Good thing we were doing a lot of walking too! I then wanted to do a little shopping and check out a neighborhood we hadn't been to yet, so we treated ourselves to a cab to the Mercado San Antón as a starting point - but we were too full from Motteau to want more food at that point! Enjoyed seeing the market, tho' preferred our neighborhood market of Mercado Antón Martín (and I'd forgotten to mention that on Friday we'd peeked into Mercado San Miguel as well, when we went to Plaza Mayor - Mercado Antón Martin was definitely our favorite by far, of all 3 markets). Then I went off to wander the shops while hubby meditated and stretched in a little park. We met up to do a little more architecture gawking, enjoying the sights of Edificio Telefónica, Edificio Metropolis, Circulo de Bellas Artes, and Banco de España. And then took a cab to La Latina neighborhood.

How insanely crowded (btw yes we knew about El Rastro earlier in the day but neither of us are flea market fans nor fans of crowds, so had decided to skip it)! It was really something to see, and this was about 5 or 6 pm. To our delight, as we were walking around we saw men, women and children dressed in the traditional garb for Festival de San Isidro, mixed in through the crowds. We managed to stop at another bakery, I forget the name, that had the traditional sweets of the festival. After all, when in Madrid...and then returned to our neighborhood for dinner, which that night was uneventful. We'd known tapas in La Latina would be the thing to do, but we just weren't hungry enough yet (maybe should've skipped the bakery lol!). That happened to us a number of times on this trip, so maybe a little better planning around the eating component, might've been worth doing.

Monday was our last day of our trip. We started out with the exciting activity of...drum roll please...getting our covid tests 🙂. We followed the advice I'd read on TA, and booked ahead online at the Democratest clinic on Gran Via. Easy peasy, and by booking ahead, half the cost of doing it walk-in. We arrived 10 minutes or so early, were in and out in 5 minutes, and had results on our phones within an hour. From there we were around the corner from Plaza de España, so after a café (of course) we took that in, followed by walking over to Mirador de la Montaña de Principe Pío and Templo de Abod (didn't get there for a sunset but enjoyed getting there even in full daylight), and then to Jardines Sabatini and Palacio Real. We didn't do the tour of the latter this visit, just enjoyed the stunning outdoor views. Dh wanted to see Teatro Real so we backtracked just a tiny bit, which allowed us to stop at Zúccaru for gelato that was delicious - can you tell the sweet tooth theme? And then on to the Plaza de la Armería (such views!), Catedral de Santa María and the Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande. By now we were tired, and grabbed a cab back "home", rested a bit, and then courtesy of a gift from my stepfather, had dinner at El Rincon de Estaban. Next day had a blessedly uneventful time at the airport and flight home...we got there ridiculously early due to all the horror stories we'd been hearing, but we were lucky.

And that's our trip to Laguardia and Madrid! We had a great trip, and were glad for our choices of locations. Thanks again to all who helped us plan. We also re-learned some things (the hard way, oh well!) this trip about how to best travel together, so that'll help us enjoy future adventures (Andalucia hopefully one of them) even more.

Maribel

Hi Laura,
So glad you enjoyed the treats at Motteau and the vibe at the Mercado de Antón Martín, which is my favorite "down to earth" market where working people really shop.
You did a great job in your sightseeing!

I was in the Mercado de San Antón for its re-inauguration, after its "re-do" and do like to shop at Octavio for Iberian ham and have croissants at Madremiga on the 1st floor (2nd US), but I really like the food counters downstairs in the Mercado Gastronómico at Antón Martín, where you can eat gourmet food for budget prices. We go to LaLópez Bar and Sincio there for great food and low prices from really accomplished chefs.

Also glad you got to see some of the monumental architecture on the Gran Vía, like the iconic Metrópolis building from 1907, which investors of El Paraguas group are making into a luxury 5-star hotel, part of Madrid's new "golden mile", along with the Four Seasons.

It must have been fun to be in Madrid during San Isidro, which I haven't done in years. Nice timing! Those San Isidro treats you had could have been (??) the "tontas y listas ("smart ones and dumb ones"), the typical "rosquillas" (donut shaped treats) that are sold all over--the "listas" are covered with a lemon sugar glaze and the "tontas" don't have a coating. The "Santa Clara" ones are covered with white merengue and the "Francesas" with sugared almonds.

You did a really nice walk from the beautifully renovated Plaza de España. I love the new, wide walkway that leads to the Palacio Real--a huge urban improvement for the city.
And what a nice treat from your stepfather--a final farewell dinner at El Rincón de Esteban.

We're headed to Laguardia soon, and I'll toast to you at Posada Miguel de Migueloa! Thanks so much for reporting back, and I hope you get to Andalucía in the near future.