At last, Madrid

When I wrote about our trip to Madrid, several friends wrote back and said, "Madrid! That's at the top of my list of places to visit!" For some reason, though, Madrid had never really entered my travel imagination. All of Italy, of course, and Paris, the south of France, but Spain? Maybe, some day, but later.

We've been in Madrid a full day and night now, and I cannot understand why I didn't want to come here earlier. My friends are right, Madrid is delightful! We're staying at Hotel Europa, right in the middle of Puerta del Sol, the center of old Madrid. Our second-floor corner room has a great view, facing out onto the plaza. The subway stop is so close the rumble of the trains underground lulls us to sleep at night.



Last night, we had dinner at La Finca de Susana, recommended by the hotel and several guidebooks. Terri had shrimp with fried garlic, swimming in olive oil, then a slab of hake fish with asparagus; I had Catalan salami on toast with a small salad then baked bacalao (cod) with cheese and spinach, all washed down with a bottle of Spanish vino blanco. Dessert for Terri was some concoction called tambaon, while I had a custard thingy (of course). Remember Mike's rule of thumb: the best food is in countries that grow both olives and grapes.

Breakfast this morning was at the hotel's cafeteria next door; cafe con leche and churros or a brioche is only €2. Terri had a yummy sandwich mixto: toast with ham and cheese and a runny egg on top.

I cannot imagine this will be our last trip here. There's a direct flight from DFW to Madrid, with a great schedule both arriving and departing. The new Terminal 4 at Madrid is attractive and easy to navigate. When you take the subway to get from the airport to the center you have to change lines twice, but it's actually pretty simple and only costs €2 a person.

We're going out soon to explore. Stand by, you haven't heard the last from me.