Madrid Day 1
Charlotte to Madrid
We had an uneventful, overnight, 7.5 hour flight direct from Charlotte to Madrid. We thought ahead and booked the exit row so we were able to stretch out and relax a little. In what seems to be the norm, Laurie didn’t sleep at all and Matt was able to get a few hours of sleep in.
Discovering Madrid
We arrived in Madrid at 6 o’clock in the morning and arrived at our hotel before 8 o’clock. We dropped our bags at the hotel and went out to explore Madrid before our food tour. It was early on a Sunday morning so it was very quiet everywhere we went. We visited the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, Puerta De Sol, and explored some of the small streets and alleys in between.
Food Tour
Knowing that we would need something to keep us going after an overnight flight, we pre-booked a food tour. On our tour, we had 5 stops:
- Chocolatería 1902: Hot chocolate, churros, porras.
- Bartolomé: Arbequina olive oil, Iberian ham (bellota & cebo), salchichón, chorizo and lomo.
- La Ideal: Calamari sandwich, olives, patatas bravas and local beer (Mahou).
- Refra: Local vermouth (Zecchini), tapa of the day (fried sardines), torreznos (Spanish bacon).
- Mirador Arco de Cuchilleros: Asturian crafted cider paired with hard manchego cheese. Rioja wine and Tio Pepe (sherry) with assorted tapas (tortilla de patatas, pimientos del padron and morcilla)
Resting and meeting Our Tour Group
After the food tour we caught up on sleep with a quick nap before meeting up with our tour group for a quick meet and greet. Once we got to know each other a bit, we headed out for a group dinner at a restaurant close to the hotel. After dinner some of our group decided to hit a bar to catch whatever Euro 2024 game was happening. Being still a little jet lagged, we decided it was best to head back to the hotel and get some sleep. We have the pleasure of traveling with people from Australia, New Zealand, Wales, USA, and Sweden.
