Getting our Tapas on in Madrid

We got to Madrid in the evening pretty much starving as we hadn’t eaten all day. There were slim-pickings for food in Pamplona….jamon (ham) and cheese sandwiches….and so far I wasn’t liking the ham in Spain….really really salty. So we got to the hotel and left in search of food. Luckily our hotel was in an amazing location – perfectly central to many of the fun areas in Madrid (and right by Opera and Sol Metro stations). We stayed at the Hostal Oriente, which I highly recommend for anyone on a budget. The hotel was spotless, smelled really nice, and honestly the rooms were nicer than most 3 stars (and maybe even some 4 stars) I’ve ever stayed in….and only $60 Euros. Make sure you ask for a room in the front though with a window (but it can get a little loud at night).

As we wandered the neighborhoods we discovered that 7:30/8pm is no time to eat in Madrid. Most of the restaurants were closed so we ended up at one of the only places open, 4D, which seemed to be packed with mostly tourists. Finally it felt good to just sit and eat something after what seemed like days….and we met some fellow Americans, Tom and Nina from New York. It was nice to chat with some peeps after what seemed like forever. ☺

Madrid is a really walkable city and for the most part pretty safe so we spent a lot of time walking around different neighborhoods and checking things out at our leisure. You discover quickly that siesta time is huge here….any time from 2 – 9pm can be siesta time so expect things to be closed. We couldn’t get the schedule right….which at times can get really annoying (especially when you’re hungry and you’re not used to eating dinner at 11pm) but what can you do?

Madrid is full of plazas, which are great to just chill and people-watch. Some of our favorites were Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Santa Ana, and Plaza de la Puerta del Sol. Plaza de Santa Ana is a particularly fun spot to grab a table in the afternoon and have a glass (or two!) of wine....we spent a couple hours at Cerveceria Santa Ana.

We also made it to the Palacio Real, Museo del Prado, and Parque del Buen Retiro. The Palacio Real is a massive palace – I think it is one of the most beautifully decorated palaces I’ve seen in person. The Prado is huge and you can spend hours there….and can be overwhelming to navigate. I’ll have to say it isn’t my favorite style of painting but I could still appreciate the many masterpieces housed there. We did go to the Palacio de Velazquez and Palacio de Cristal in the Parque del Buen Retiro, which were both pretty cool and had some interesting exhibits.

We spent most of our time in the La Latina area although we tried hanging out in Huertas (lots of bars/restaurants), Chueca (gay-friendly and lots of fun boutiques) and Salamanaca (fancy area) but it was siesta time so little was going on. La Latina is a fun area full of tapas bars. Our favorites were El Escaldon and Taberna Txakoli.

Ordering tapas for the first time at a tapas bar can be a bit difficult since most of them are packed. Tapas are displayed on the bars where people order and eat. There aren’t always English menus so you kind of have to look and point. What was trickiest for me was that most of the tapas were full of mayonnaise, anchovies, sausage, ham, and/or different types of seafood. I’m not going to lie…..I don’t eat any of that stuff! I like seafood but I need to know what I’m eating. So with that said, eating was a problem for me and on more than one occasion I got cranky! ☹ Luckily we found some stuff to get by on. I will say though that one of my favorite meals was at Fresco, which had a great salad bar. I never thought I would get this excited for a salad in Spain….and I LOVE tapas! Hopefully I’ll get better at ordering the longer I’m here….good thing we still have more time left in Spain! ☺