A Modern Writer's Adventures and Misadventures: August 2012

Food in Madrid

Sometimes it seems like I travel simply to eat. Wait, that's exactly what I do. I think my ideal trips include lots of walking, museums, seeing important sites, and food. If I had to choose two vacation necessities, they would be walking and food. I think the best way to talk about it is via pictures.

This is a tea/smoothie/cocktail bar near C/Mayor in Alcalá. The tea was amazing, as was everything else. They also have wifi. If I were a student living there, I would totally study here. It is right next to Hemisferio--I just can't remember the name!

A typical tapas bar in Madrid.

I love taking pictures like this for my students. They freak out that so much ham is in the window. I love the cheeses and the wine as well. Spaniards don't know how good they have it!

Another food place in Madrid.

This is rabo de toro: bull's tail. I ate it at an Asturias restaurant, even though it's not a specialty from there. However, it was delicious!

In Asturias, they specialize in Cider. The waiters have a special way of pouring it as well. Since I couldn't get up there, the restaurant had a toy to pour it for me!

Arroz con leche, a la asturiana. Yes, that is burned sugar on top.

These are two tapas in Alcalá from el Quinto Tapón. The left is chopitos, little fish that taste like calamari. The right are ham croquettes. Amazing!

These are what the croquettas look like inside. SO good!

Homemade paella. It doesn't get any better than this.

Yarn in Madrid

Ever since I started knitting and reading knitting blogs, I have kind of made it my quest to find yarn stores wherever I travel and to buy something. I like to support local yarn stores, even if I don't have a particular store in mind.

However, finding yarn in Spain has always been very difficult for me. I use google to search, but "lana" and "tejer" usually don't show me the stores I'm looking for. They tend to show sewing stores, a craft I cannot do, though I'd like to learn to sew someday (especially to hem my own jeans!). It took a Madrileña to tell me that all of the yarn stores are just south of Sol! Even the streets have the names: Calle de la bolsa. I ended up buying yarn in the modern part of the city, but there are yarn shops in Sol, the heart of the country! That just shows you how important knitting/crochet is nowadays.

This is a yarn shop in Sol.

A plaza near Sol with a bunch of yarn shops

A close-up of another yarn shop.

Madrid

Sorry about waiting so long to write! I left my connector in Spain, so I couldn't upload any pictures. I will be doing my best to write about my trip to Spain this summer. So far, I am planning posts on: yarn in Madrid, food in Madrid, Botín, and Santander, though I am sure there are many most posts in there!

I love Madrid. For some reason, I never get there as often as I would like to. This time, I made it there a few times. I love going to Retiro, walking around Sol and Plaza Mayor, and just being there in general. The tough part about being in Madrid in the summer is that it is so hot! So it is kind of hard to be walking around all day.

The lovely lake in Retiro. This summer I finally got to row a boat. It was a lot of fun. It was also refreshing to get out on the water. For only 4 euros and a bit, it's well worth it for 45 minutes of fun.

Calle Arenal near Sol. I love the actual street, and, of course, the stores. There used to be a great ice-cream place, but alas, it is no longer there :(

I can't believe I didn't notice these signs before! It became a bit of a game to try to find them. They are so beautiful and each street has a different picture. One day I will have tile work in my home! I just can't get enough!

Sol. Always busy and always breath-taking. It's nothing fantastic in pictures, but the feeling of frenzy is constantly there.

The new train stop for Renfe! I think it's supposed to look like a fish. The station looks very sci-fi downstairs. It's very convenient.

Again, somehow I missed this statue on previous trips to Madrid. How could I miss the city's symbol?

Plaza Mayor. The detail on this building is really cool. It is yet another thing I overlooked on previous visits.

The tower in Plaza Mayor. You can see some of the detail here.