Hello again!
Well it is the second half of Day 2 and we are loving Madrid! Today, we did mostly tons of sightseeing! We loved walking around all day, breaking for churros and chocolate at lunch, wandering some more, taking a rest, then going out for wine and tapas tour, and finally discovering the nightlife in Madrid.
The stereotype is true about eating in Spain. Breakfast is minimal, lunch is late (1-4pm) and dinner is very late. A lot of eateries are not even open before 9 pm. Life is clearly not all about work here.
Eating out in Spain is an experience to savor. Part of the fun is spreading a meal out over an average of three places. The prices are generally low compared to the U.S. You can get a good wine or other alcoholic drink for 2.50 euros. We marveled at how low the bill was at each bar. The bills add up, of course, depending on how many places you go and how many people in your party, but, hey, if you’re on vacation, splurge a little.
We didn’t have a bad meal anywhere.
Chocolate con Churros
Chocolate con churros or chocolate with long, freshly fried donuts, are the quintessential Spanish breakfast, not for every day but certainly for Sundays or on lazy mornings. The real thing is getting harder to find, replaced by mass-produced dough and instant chocolate. Here’s what the real thing should be like: the churros are slightly crispy on the outside, with an airy dough inside, lightly sprinkled with sugar and served piping hot. The chocolate, served steaming in a cup, is almost scalding, creamy, so thick your spoon might just stand up in it.
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE GOT!
A shop that sells churros is called a churrería, and a few authentic ones left. Walk in, order your churros wrapped in paper, and take them home.
We picked a small like place known as Churrería-Chocolatería Los Artesanos 1902 (San Martín, 2).
Since we had a coupon, us as typical American used it. Tara got Dark Hot Chocolate with two churros, while Taylor got the traditional Hot Chocolate with Milk and two churros. The difference between the two was Tara’s was very runny while Taylor’s was thick and creamy!
Tour de Vinos y Tapas y Más (Wine and Tapas Tour and More)
Transitioning to the evening or dinner time for most of Spain. We scheduled at Wine and Tapas Tour that would last for 3 hours and would cover four distinct Tapas Bars in Madrid.
Around 7 that night, we traveled to Santa Ana Plaza where we met Enrique (our tour guide) along with 6 other people, one couple from California, a man from Philadelphia, and the other couple from the United Kingdom!
We started our wine and tapas tour at Casa Gonzales a gorgeous shop-restaurant founded in 1931. The best gourmet products include more than 210 wines from the main Spanish Denomination of Origin vineyards and the highest quality cold meats and a large variety of artisan raw milk cheeses; both Spanish and French.
The next stop was Resurante Taberna Parilla, which was a stand-up tapas and wine bar frequented by many locals. This bar was a little different from the others, where we had a variety of options of tapas even cow’s stomach 
Third stop of the night we went to La Casa del Abuelo, which was opened in 1906. The founder of La Casa del Abuelo opened the doors of his first tavern on Calle Victoria 12: right in the center of Madrid. No one would say that 100 years have passed since then, especially since nothing has changed. Time has not gone through La Casa del Abuelo thanks to the 4 generations of the same family who wanted to respect and maintain the authenticity of the business trying, however curious it may seem, not to evolve. In its early years, La Casa del Abuelo began to be famous for its donuts and sweet wine. And also for the love of the waiters at the premises, who despite not exceeding 13 years sometimes came to sleep there. The Grandfather’s House not only became the first tavern that sold chorizo, anchovies or sobrasada inside a bread, but also got something much more difficult: sell more than 1,500 snacks in a single day. But the civil war came. And with it the shortage of bread and hunger. You had to react, that’s why it was in the 40s, post-war period, when its owners decided to introduce into the menu what would later become the secret of its success: shrimp. For 1.60 pesetas they prepared them to the plate accompanied by a glass of wine. They sold themselves. Later, they also started making them with garlic. In one way or another, its taste was delicious, so much so that one day La Casa del Abuelo reached the not inconsiderable record of 306 kg of grilled prawns served in a single day.
The last and final stop of the night was Las Galayos, which was started by Miguel Grande. This sit down tapas and wine bar was considered one of oldest bars in Madrid. Thus, this restaurant gives all of its gratefulness to him.Because his perseverance, certainty and effort, Miguel knew to combine, to understand and to continue with the dynasty of the “Rojo” had done. He transmitted to all his family the values of the hard work and service to all our clients.
The Restaurant Los Galayos is located in La Plaza Mayor in the Austrias Neighbourhood. “Los Galayos” has seen time pass and if the walls speak they would explain how was Madrid more than one hundred years ago, in the ages when La Puerta del Sol and La Plaza Mayor were the centre of gatherings and kingdom´s special Ceremonies.
The restaurant´s history goes back to 1894. Los Galayos´s history started in 1894 with the old name Cervecería Rojo, where due to citizen´s Life standards it was only a bar with tapas and aperitifs. With the step of the time the local has gone constantly evolving, adapting to the new necessities and the current client´s demands. The Spanish cuisine that they offer now is more elaborated, due to the interest of the proprietors in the investigation of the new current kitchen offering a wide variety inside it.
The name of Los Galayos comes from a famous mountain of the Gredos Chain. In Los Galayos you will find two terraces, two bars to wait for a table or to eat different Tapas and dishes and five dining rooms decorated in different styles, offering to the client
Obviously, the dinning room called Avila is the Castilla middle-age environment with wood beams, pictures and handcraft ceramics quijote´s representations witch send to the client to any of the castile marvellous small villages.
The Dining room Duque, are the rustic wood and the figured roofs, those are able to distract the client to abandon for some moment its dish to contemplate the beauty of the decoration.
Finally and for the lovers of the good wine, the dining room Bodeguilla transfers the visitors to a Castilian authentic cellar in which the decoration makes them move in the time enjoying a calm atmosphere.
The Shelter and The Attic new dining rooms are designed for private celebrations, with all facilities of audio and video.
Finally, we ended our night roaming around Madrid. Mercados are plentiful in Madrid, and we visited two. The first, Mercado de San Miguel, was a gourmet market with plenty of locals mingling with tourists. We arrived at the beginning of the dinner rush and saw half a dozen oysters at a raw bar stand; scallops with coral, then octopus sprinkled with lemon, paprika and olive oil at another seafood stand; a rich spinach croqueta and cod croqueta from a croqueta vendor; and foie and gazpacho at a general tapas vendor. We also saw baby eels on toast.
Not planning, we decided to attempt a bar crawl on a MONDAY night! What Americans we are. But to amazement we met three unique individuals who were from Morocco. They took us to a disco bar as they called it and Tara got the typical Rum and coke. We had an awesome time trying to communicate and learn new things.
Oh, Spain, We are yearning for your culinary lifestyle. What a foodie paradise.
Tales of Traveling Sole Sisters 