Days 0/1 - Lisbon
Day 2 - Lisbon
Day 3 - Lisbon
Day 4 - Madrid
Day 5 - Madrid
Day 6 - Madrid
Day 7 - Madrid
Day 8 - Barcelona
Day 9 - Andorra
Day 10 - Return
Europe 2013
A quick flight from Lisbon to Madrid, busted out the jackets while waiting for Cousin Matt to find us at the airport, and by lunchtime we were wandering the streets of Madrid!
The (relatively) small town feel of Lisbon and the short taxi ride to the airport there were quickly replaced by Madrid's much more overwhelming size and scale, as we got our first taste of the much more casual Spanish attitude and the much richer atmosphere of central Madrid. Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor combined dwarfed most of historic Lisbon, and right off Plaza Mayor we still found friendly touches as a local meson owner offered a taste of their own private employee meal of pig ear and knuckle. Yum.
Mercado de San Miguel (the glass market) was a bustling, high-end market for all kinds of tasty snacks, and we found tons of shops selling the famed Jamon Iberico ham. Mmmmmmmm!
Being Spain, it was then time to siesta for a bit before some fancier tapas for dinner at Lateral, topped off with churros con chocolate at San Gines. Good stuff-- perhaps the best in Madrid in Matt's opinion. And of course, the Spanish were protesting as we crossed Gran Via-- if I didn't know better, I'd say protesting is a national sport!