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Late night = late morning. We wake up the next morning to a city that was almost completely shut down. La virgen Almudena is the patron saint of Madrid, and so on this day, Madrid shuts down except for bars and restaurants, and the whole city celebrate its version of the Virgin Mary by eating out. I love holidays in Madrid. For tourists, it may seem inconvenient, but it is such a boost for local restaurants, in my opinion. I thought the Línea Cero stall in the Sol metro station because it was in the middle of tourist central, but alas, it was also closed for the holiday, too. These stalls sell jewelry, handbags, hats, clothes, and scarves – all of which are hip and cheap, so I always make a point in stopping by one while in Madrid. I still have all of the pieces I’ve bought from there because I love it so much.
We go straight for the train station. With beautiful foliage and clean benches, we park ourselves under a tree, and I go exploring. I found a great little shop called Natur. If you need something to compare this shop to, then imagine if Claire’s Accessories and Muji had a classy, eco-friendly child. Souvenirs – check! Off to the train!
After finding our seats and settling in, we had lunch on the train. We had already pulled away from the platform, and we were well on our way to Barcelona at more than 220 km/hr, or approximately 137 mi/hr. The café car was fabulous. The menu was great as pictured above. I got the ciabatta with a large quantity of Iberian ham and a red wine. Hubby ordered a combo of a smoked pork loin with roasted green chilies, potato chips, and a beer. Oh, lunch was simple and glorious. Who knew train food could be so lush?
The metro in Barcelona still offers 2, 3, 5, and 7-day unlimited passes for the convenience of tourists, so that was a bonus. We hop on and make our way to my friend Éric Fuentes’ home. Éric is formerly of the well-toured band The Unfinished Sympathy and is now pursuing a solo career making quite the name for himself around Europe as El Mal (The Evil). Check out his latest album on . . . and catch him on tour.
After a lot of drinking and catching up, Amit and I decide we need to get dinner before all of the neighborhood bars close. Our host recommended Bar Versailles as it never disappointed him. We found it easily on the main drag in the neighborhood. This establishment only provides beer, cocktails, coffee, and water as libations, so both the husband and I got a beer while deciding on which tapas we would try out of the cold case on the counter. We finally make up our minds and choose some rather heavy dishes as we were quite hungry of boiled potatoes dressed in aioli (garlic mayonnaise), mini chorizos stewed in cider, and a mixed olive plate. We make our way back to the house and enjoy an evening of mocking the television programs and getting to know Éric’s companion Maria. Off to bed!
Stereotype Rebel 