Hello, everyone! How was your weekend? I know it's Tuesday but I didn't have access to my laptop yesterday so please forgive me :)
We spent five very hot days in Madrid walking the streets, taking siestas, and catching up with one of Joe's best friends from college, Ivan. As nice as it was to get away, I'm actually really happy to be back in London where it's raining as I write this. Ahh....so refreshing!
Madrid is beautiful but very difficult to enjoy when its 100+ degrees and your almost-over-sickness comes back to haunt you. Feeling under the weather aside, we did some great things and saw some incredible sights. I'm running short on time today so below are some highlights and observations from the trip. More to come this week!
+ There's nothing like staying with a local who can take you to places you might otherwise miss. Ivan took us to one of his favorite spots, Almendro 13, in La Latina to eat Juevos Rotos (broken eggs). OH. MY. JESUS. Fried eggs on ultra thin potato chips with bacon sprinkled on top!!! I just about died and was almost mad that I'd never had anything like it before. Where has this been all my life?
+ With the abundance of greasy food in Madrid you'd think that you'd be able to wipe your hands properly. Nope. They prefer craft tissue paper instead. I felt like I should have been making paper flowers instead of cleaning up. WTF?
+ For the best churros con chocolate, Chocolateria San Gines is where's it's at. Not only are the churros super fresh and perfect but the cafeteria space is classic. It's the kind of place where you go for one thing only, pretty similar to Cafè Du Monde in New Orleans for beignets.
+ Music festivals are fun but not if you leave with a whopping cough from being in a dust bowl all night. We probably could have called it quits after an amazing performance from Foster The People on the first day. I think it's safe to say that it was Joe's last festival.
+ Walk around on a Sunday and chances are that you'll see a catholic procession under way. We got lucky and saw one as they were leaving the church near the palace. It was beautiful.
+ Beware of weirdos in Plaza Mayor. We nearly got a peep show from a tweaked out man wanting to flash himself to a street performer. I'm just glad there were no children around.
+ Fans, fans, fans. Spanish women really do use these and after being there in the heat, I totally get it. I loved being on the bus where all you heard were the flapping sounds of the fans waving back and forth.
There's a ton more to share but I've gotta run out to do errands and prep for tomorrow's flight to LA! If you want to see more photos from our weekend click here. I'll be adding more thoughout the week. Hasta mañana!