Mad About Madrid! Part 2

¡Buenas!  ..... from the Wandering Berkmans!

Month 2 of Madrid, Spain has us loving life here.... and looking into dual citizenship??  With my mom and grandmother born in Spain and a new law that makes it easier for descendants to make this claim, it's a definite possibility.  And then I'll add Don and the kids in for the ride! (Based on the midterm results, we'll have a lottery for anyone else who wants to join in!)   More on that as we move along in the process but to cement our roots we sought out the exact location of a picture taken in Parque Retiro some 50 years ago with my siblings and Grandpa Peter and recreated the shot.  It's not a picture from the 70's unless everyone is squinting in the sun!

(Left to right-- Laura, Andrew, Grandpa, Monica, Christina)

We tried to get random strangers to fill in for the rest of the family but...   a pic on my phone will have to suffice!

A highlight of our month-- a terrific visit from my sister Laura!  While too brief, we filled her stay with strolls, cafes, delish tapas and even some flamenco (more on that later)!

Running on jet-lag fumes, Laura wasted no time in trying the local brew,  lest she conk in the plaza on day 1.  

And while she looks a tad guilty here, no worries- no nuns were harmed in the procuring of the famed Galletas de Monjas  Enter the convent of these cloistered nuns, request your delicacies, receive and pay for them via a revolving door, and never actually see the nuns.  Not only a truly unique experience but the cookies we chose (in our case, the almond cookies) were, shall I say, heavenly.  

As we wait for our citizenship to come through, we Varelas checked out the real estate of our fiefdom-to-be.  Where better than our own restaurant? And while we came by too early to lunch at Cafe Varela (damn our American eating clock!) we have plans for a relaunch-- lots of croquetas and bacalao, excellent coffee and wine, and Streisand on a loop!  Thanks for a terrific visit, Laura!! 

Did someone say food?  Here's the latest installment of tasty bites and sips we've enjoyed.  

Yeah, so who cares if the croquetas are so hot 

they burn your mouth! You have to be in it to win it and we left no croqueta untouched.  These shown were a sampling of ham, chicken and cod.  

This was truly special-- grilled artichoke.  Topped with delicious olive oil, pepper and (lots of) salt, it's simplicity at its best and a culinary work of wonder.  And yes, Don thought so too!

We couldn't come to Madrid and not try the flan.  Yes, it's yummy as it looks.

This dish, admittedly, did more than nothing for me-- brined white asparagus with mayonnaise-- but Don ate and enjoyed it.  Later, he said it was definitely a "when in Rome" experience.  And for that I'm very proud of him-- I wouldn't have eaten it.  Note as well-- the bread on the table instead of on the plate.  According to our Galician friend Juan, Spaniards put their bread on the table.  We want to be good Spaniards.  And this may be on the citizenship test.  

Note to all who we visit in the future-- we want our coffee served to us just like this when we come a-calling.  

This!  A mound of what appears to be brain is in reality another dish we were wary of until we took our first bite.  Repollo rehogado, or braised cabbage, took our breath away it was so delicious.  It never ceases to amaze us how great olive oil, salt and garlic can make anything taste like heaven!  

File this one as well under the "less is more" of culinary treats-- this torta de almendra beats any gooey birthday cake in my book.  

In the "how else can I eat cod fish?" department-- this dish of piquillo rellenos de bacalao (red peppers filled with cod) may have had a bit more sauce than I prefer but they were another tasty way to try this ubiquitous fish here in Madrid.  

A first in two regards-- Jenga on a plate and fried eggplant with honey!  They were lightly fried and airy inside and to eat them with honey-- wow... just wow... I think even my eggplant-hating mom would love these (crunchy!)

And another bacalao for the win!  This time in the tasty empanada de bacalao.  Mine was sans raisins (which would have been tasty, sorry Budd) but delicious nonetheless.  At this point, I think I only need to try a, oh I don't know,  maybe a wine with notes of cherries and cod and I've hit all the bacalao possibilities.  

 

We've always been fans of grilled octopus but our Galician friend Juan says pulpo a la gallega is far superior.  We accepted the challenge and have to say while this boiled and paprika-ed version of pulpo was tasty, we're still on Team "A La Parilla. " (Normally, I would include a recipe for this dish but in researching it, I'm learning more than I would like to know about octopi.  Sorry, Octopus Teacher)

  

Madrid is giving us plenty of opportunities for us to look like tourists, taking pictures of everything!

The first street art we've seen with this 3-D element on the right side.  Very cool up close.  

How to move your furniture into a high rise with elevators built for 2?  Use this crane-like machine!

More impressive street art, this one in the Lavapies section of the city.  Call us gobsmacked when we saw this very scene in a (admittedly not great) movie filmed in Madrid ("The Perfect Family").    We wanted to see areas we recognized and we were not disappointed.  The main character lived in the apartment on the right, 2nd to the top!

A visit to the Royal Summer Palace in Aranjuez, an hour bus ride outside of Madrid, was a relaxing day trip into a sleepy little town this time of year.  Pictures inside weren't allowed so you'll have to trust us when we say the Arab Room was out of this world (or check out the link of someone who sneaked in some pics!). 

Here's the courtyard view with the gardens beyond.  Not too shabby for a summer cottage.

The Cine Doré is one of my favorite buildings in Madrid with this facade from 1925.  Classic movies in their original language are still shown here.  

Our friends Juan and Isabel introduced us to Matadero, a former slaughterhouse now arthouse and cultural space.  And it's connected to a great park with paths, playgrounds, skating areas, and a stunning bridge or two.  

We're told that during the pandemic, inline skating really took off in Madrid, in the same way it seems everyone in the US bought a bike (or was it bake banana bread? hoard toilet paper?)?  In line skating schools here and in  Parque Retiro are packed with kids and adults alike.  

Juan has been one of our steady Intercambio participants, going to all but one meeting and seeing us outside of the meetups, so if anyone could be sick of us, it's him! Fortunately the patience of this Gallego is strong and generous-- he even let us meet the fantastic Isabel.  How bad could we be??

The Museo Lazaro Galdiano  is said to hold Goya's best works.  We were most interested in some of the pieces of daily Spanish life, like these amazingly intricate fans, stunning jewelry and desks where if you looked at an angle, you could see the indentations of the many signatures and scribbles of writers long ago.  

In our wanderings we came across  Parque Berlin that features a fountain with three portions of the Berlin Wall.

The terrific Museo Thyssen  commemorated the 50th anniversary of the death of Picasso with an exhibit of his work together with pieces by Chanel (who knew they were besties??)

Will we ever tire of taking pictures of beautiful buildings?  Probably not.

This one is for all the tree lovers out there (we're talking to you, Budd!).  The Royal Botanical Garden has a permanent display of bonsai trees, each more interesting than the next, but this one caught our eye for its amazing trunk.  Plenty of places to give it a good, albeit small, hug.  Maybe with just 2 fingers.  

The Plaza Cibeles on October 12, Fiesta Nacional de España, commemorating the day when Columbus "discovered" America for Spain.  (yeah... ) Cue speeches, singers, dignitaries, fireworks, the national anthem, buildings and fountains lit up in the colors of the Spanish flag, crowds galore.  Then 10 minutes after the final firework had been shot, street sweeping machines and police cleared the streets with amazing efficiency. 

 We asked someone on the street what the 3-block long line was for when there are sooooo many places selling lottery tickets.  His answer--  this particular store gives out the best winning percentages.  Not sure how that works but this crew, waiting in this what we were told is a 4 hour line, had to be in it to win it apparently.  La Loteria is king here in Madrid-- there are official vendors on the street as well as in every kiosk and tabac store.  

Another terrific example of street art, the beautiful shawl painted here labels this building puro español.  

El Templo de Debood  (2nd century BC) was given to Spain from Egypt in the 1970's and rebuilt here stone by stone.  Read up on its fascinating history here.  Don waited an hour to get in and spent an hour more in this small temple and couldn't get enough of the wall carvings.   

And, finally, we tried.  Oh how we tried.  But we just couldn't finish the infamous El Camino de Santiago.  Better put, we just happen to come across the Camino on a random hike and we walked all of 2 km on it.  Whew!  Where's our Compostela??  Very cool, though, to walk through the little village of Riva and see the markers on walls and the sidewalk for this camino and the poor, forgotten younger sibling,  El Camino Ucles.  

The SOL (Slice of Life) for this post in Madrid could only be of our night of flamenco.  We waited for Laura to join us and together, we were mesmerized by every clap, stomp and twirl, hair combs flying this way and that.  The accompanying singers and musicians brought even more magic.  Click on this link to sing, clap and enjoy with us!  

Jules arrived today and we're so excited to spend 2 more weeks in Madrid showing J around-- we have a list!  Then we're all off to NM for Thanksgiving and then Christmas in Mexico City.   Life is good.  

We hope that all are doing well and as always, we miss you and think about you often! 

Be well and thanks for following along!

Don and Monica