June 29th: Madrid, España

Hola, y saludos de Madrid, España. It is Saturday, June 29th which means I am on my fifth day in Madrid and half way through the worst heat wave to hit Europe since 2003. The weather has been oscillating between 107 and 114 degrees Fahrenheit. The intense heat makes it difficult to do too much exploring. After an hour of walking I am dehydrated and ready for a nap. Yesterday, I literally paid 1.50 Euro to take a bus three stops up hill from the bakery where I got lunch to the park because the thought of making a 10 minute walk up hill was a non-starter. It’s a dry oven like heat on par with Vegas. It also stays hot through the night. Last night (this morning?) we were walking home at 2am and I was still wiping sweat from my face. LOL SPAIN DOES NOT PLAY SHE BRINGS THE HEAT YALL. 

On Wednesday I went to visit el Parque de El Retiro (a giant park in the heart of the city), el Puerta de Alcalá (the Arc de Triomphe like structure pictured below), and Plaza De Cibeles (really pretty area with a fountain, pretty architecture). 

I fell in love with el Parque de El Retiro instantly. HISTORY LESSON. This park is over 400 years old and was created on the request of King Felipe IV for the exclusive use of the royal family and their court. Enormous iron gates surround the exterior of the park which wasn’t opened to the public until the late 19th century. El Parque de Buen Retiro (the park of pleasant retreat) is spread over 350 acres, shaded by over 15,000 trees and sits in the heart of Madrid. I walked in through the giant iron gates up a tree lined walkway to the first stop on our stroll, a beautiful lake. The lake is full of people in rented paddle boats and the perimeter is lined with locals reading, getting sun or just people watching. There are giant fish jumping out of the water and turtles sun bathing on the outskirts. Set just behind the lake is a beautiful amphitheater that surrounds a large monument and a bunch of statues. It looks like a movie set. It’s STUNNING. (Pictures below) From here we walked to the Palacio de cristal (crystal palace) which was constructed in 1887. The palace is a beautiful greenhouse looking building made almost entirely of glass that is set behind its own lake/waterfall. (Pictures below) I can’t hype up this park enough and I barely got to see any of it! I am planning on taking a bus to a different entrance on my next visit to see the rose garden. As you walk through the park you pass a variety of ice cream stands and cafe’s. I was able to restrain myself as I walked passed the first three ice cream stands, but definitely I walked away from the fourth with an oreo popsicle. (Also pictured below hehe) I returned to the park again yesterday except this time I brought snacks! I set up a little picnic next to the first lake I mentioned under some trees and people watched for about two hours. 

SPEAKING OF SNACKS. Yesterday I visited two historic bakeries! The first is named La Mallorquina and has been serving pastries in Madrid since 1894. It’s a brightly lit and very glitzy bakery. It was packed and took me about five minutes to order. I snagged a ham and cheese empanada (enjoyable but nothing to write home about) and napolitana de chocolate which is in essence a chocolate croissant. Most chocolate croissants have two baby sticks of chocolate going down the center and are three parts croissant and one part chocolate. NOT THIS ONE. Yesterday’s napolitana had a THICK layer of a fudge like chocolate spread down the entire center of the pastry. Im talking PB&J like ratios of bread to filling y’all. IT WAS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CROISSANT I HAVE EVER HAD. (Both pictured below) However, the second bakery was my favorite. El Riojano was opened in 1855 by the Queen of Spain’s personal pastry chef. In contrast to La Mallorquina, El Riojano was not crowded and only had one older man eating a pastry talking to the staff. It was dimly lit and the walls were made from a dark wood. It had a cozier and friendlier atmosphere and I was immediately greeted by smiles from the staff. I asked them to pick something out for me and they seemed surprised. The lady behind the counter recommended a Bartolillo. She said it was a traditional Spanish pastry and a house recipe. Y’all. IT WAS DELICIOUS. I didn’t ask what was in it so when I got home and took a bite I was VERY pleasantly surprised. The outside was a fried empanada like dough. THE INSIDE WAS FILLED WITH A CREME BRULE LIKE CUSTARD. 15/10 WOULD RECOMMEND. (Also pictured below. But, I forgot to take a picture because it was so good so its just a picture of the last bite HAHAHA) I think next time I will skip La Mallorquina and head straight for El Riojano. 

Yesterday night I also had my first experience with tapas. Now, it is important to understand that tapas originated as snacks that were to be served with drinks at bars. The small plate for your tapa served as a tapa or top to your drink. The traditional spots here in Madrid still follow this custom. You order a drink and they serve you a complimentary tapa. The more drinks you order the better your tapas get. For example, first beer comes with fries or chips, second beer comes with bread and salami, third beer comes with papas bravas ect... We went to a touristy place last night so we paid for our tapas but they were DELICIOUS. We got four mini sandwiches (I’m talking finger sized) from a bar called 100 Montaditos and split them between two people. The sandwiches were: shredded beef and peppers, papas bravas (roasted potatoes in a spicy cheese sauce), cheese (i think some type of goat cheese? Not feta but definitely in that family) and tiny meatballs. The papas bravas one was definitely my fave and I didn’t actually end up sharing that one lol. I didn’t get any pictures because I was starving and just tore straight in to the food HAHA but I’ll be sure to take some next time! There is a street not far from the apartment I’m living in now and it is known for having the best tapas bars. I am going to try and hit it up this weekend. 

I finally figured out the email thing! If you want to get a little email notification from me when a blog goes up CLICK HERE and fill out the form! 

Thanks for reading! I’ll see y’all the next time I have something to share. 💕