Madrid Day 2 - Food!

As we're walking around Madrid, it's amazing to see how the tapas culture is everywhere.  It seems like people just eat and drink all day long.  There are tapas bars everywhere, and they are always packed. So when in Rome... (or Madrid...)

In the morning, Bryce and I were ready to go adventure, while Sue and Laurel packed and got us ready to leave the hotel.  The boy's mission was to find the local Citibank and get cash from the ATM (avoiding the bank fees).  We found the branch after a 30 minute walk, and since it was raining, we decided to take a chance with the metro on the way home.  Turns out the metro is well laid out, and easy to navigate, and we made it back to the hotel quickly.

From there, we walked to our new flat, where we are spending the rest of the week.  It was a 5 minute stroll (with bags) from the hotel, and after climbing 4 flights of stairs with all of our bags, I was ready for lunch.  The kids were still tired, so they stayed in the flat, and Sue and I had lunch at a gorgeous nearby eatery. I had grilled squid, and Sue had a tune and cherry salad.  Nothing amazing, but the overall  ambiance was great.

Next stop - the local supermarket.  Turns out that the best market is in the basement of the Corte Ingles department store.  I figured nothing could beat the Whole Foods in San Francisco, but this place was pretty awesome.  They had just about everything imaginable, including a section devoted to - what else - ham.

 The olive bar at Corte Ingles supermarket.

The afternoon was rainy, but we forced ourselves to walk around a bit and explore our neighborhood.  We found the Plaza Mayor, went into a few clothes and souvenir shops, and watched Bryce and Laurel run around in the rain. Bryce slipped and fell into a puddle, which seemed to be the end of his day. The kids got some really good street pizza, and we all went back to the flat.

Bryce looking sad after falling into a puddle. Laurel cheery as usual.

I was ready for an awesome dinner, so after a little Googling, I found Restaurant Amayra through a Groupon-like service called Restalo.  Restalo gave us reviews and ratings of various restaurants, and upon booking we discovered we could get 50% off of a prix fixe Paella dinner for two at Amayra.  It seemed almost too good to be true, but I booked nonetheless.

Turns out we had an awesome dinner.  When we arrived, a printed name tag was waiting on our table (after reserving just 20 minutes before).  We were treated to an appetizer with coddled egg, caramelized onions, Iberian ham, potato puree and truffle oil.

I had a ham and melon first course, and Sue had an awesome salad with parmesan-like cheese. Our paella main course was perfect. And for desert, we shared chocolate sponge cake with while chocolate sauce and pistachio ice cream.  This was one of the best desserts I've ever had. The service was great too. And with our Restalo discount, the whole tab was about $90.  What a bargain!


Here's more photos from our feast: