It was a scrumptious morning; no rain but everything was fresh from yesterday’s rain. We set off for the Buen Retiro Gardens (Parque de El Retiro) which are just nearby. These date back to the 17th century when it was the exclusive reserve of Spanish royalty until it was opened to the public in the late 19th century. At almost 300 acres it makes for a good walk! The light was beautiful.
We set off to find a coffee place recommended on a blog; it was good but not hot enough and very expensive! From here we continued to the Puerta del Sol through interesting neighbourhoods making me realise that despite being in Madrid twice before, we haven’t REALLY seen it: we’ve just done the sights and galleries.
The Puerta del Sol is a busy public square that marks the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads; it is 0.0 km for all of Spain. It is also here that is the famous Oso y Madroño the official symbol of the city: the statue of a bear nuzzling a strawberry tree which is a popular meeting spot for Madrileños.
Marvellous!
Back to the hotel - after 8.45 kms walking - for breakfast (the usual muesli, yoghurt, banana routine) and a shower; we left our bags at reception and walked towards Barrio de las Letras and happened upon a speciality coffee place; MF very impressed with the competence and artistry of the barista: best coffee the entire trip.
We wanted to allow plenty of time at Atocha station for our train to Barcelona; we arrived about 45 mins beforehand and by the time we worked out we had to go to level one (planta primera), then get the luggage scanned, then wait for the platform to be displayed (only 20 mins before) and then wait as it seemed 100s of people queued to have their tickets checked at the gate, we had literally 5 mins to go down the escalator, race along the platform to our carriage and board. I’m glad we weren’t the LAST on as the only luggage space was overhead and we had to lift our enormous suitcases in (they only just fitted) and the space soon filled up. We sat sweating profusely.
We are speeding along at 296 km/hr; 620 kms in 3.5 hrs with one stop (which would be 6.5 hours by car). But why can’t they arrange the seats to be in the direction of travel??
For lunch on the train we had our bocacillas (filled rolls) that we bought when we were out walking earlier today (better organised today than our Merida-Madrid journey!).
After spending MOST of the trip researching Metro tickets for Barcelona, we decided on the T-Casual which gives you 10 journeys over any number of days; and they use a Zone system here like in Porto but I worked out the main part of the city is mostly Zone 1; so I think we are sorted - hope so! We used the ticket machines like pros and found our way around the network reasonably intuitively. So far, so good.
View from the little balcony of our apartment looking out over the Gran Via:
Used the tickets again after a shower and a rest at our simple accommodation in the pleasant residential barrio (neighbourhood) of Eixample; we are off to dinner in one of those unbelievable hole-in-the-wall restaurants that you wouldn’t know even existed unless you 1) had made a booking 2) could find it (very unlikely to just ‘happen’ upon it).
In an improbable location near the foothills of the Parc de Montjuic, we had The Most Incredible Meal and being predominantly seafood, MF was in 7th heaven; I have to say that many of the dishes were sensational. And an open kitchen to enjoy the show of the chefs preparing the amazing food, fixed menu, some fascinating wines. And the signature dish: the torta de Santiago dessert. What a night.
It was an interesting walk back to the Metro: an eclectic mix of bars, restaurants, sleaze, families out with young children, noisy, buzzy, busy (Monday night!!!!). An area worth further exploration.
Walked a total of 15.7 kms today.
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