OLE'

The restrooms at La Torre del Oro in Madrid. I visit this bar several times a year. I adore the waiters (ex bullfighters)  and LOVE the pinchos!

SANGRIA

Sangria or wine punch. No two people make it the same. Some make it sweeter, others with a distinct hint of liquor. Me? I like it cold with lots of fruit and not to sweet so I can drink more with less of a headache!

Random Madrid Bars

I just had to stop at the bar pictured third, because they had one of my favorite paintings in the world displayed in tile. Goya's The Drunkard's. Turns out the drinks were overpriced and the pinchos were lame-o.

I am ALIVE AGAIN

Anyone that knows me well, (or not) knows that I am with the socialist party in the United States and Spain. This was taken in Madrid Spain at Puerta del Sol. Sadly I had to leave Madrid to travel north to Asturias, but I plan on spending time with the protesters at the end of June.

Spanish Revolution 2011

Madrid bar # 3,460

When I grow up, I want to visit every single bar in Madrid and sample the house specials. I will write about each place and rate it on a 5 point scale. I will get paid a Gazillion Euros and live in a huge house on Gran Via.

Cerveza Fria

I love Spanish cerveza! My favorite is Mahou made in Madrid. I also like the fact that a person can walk around on public streets drinking her beer....

Mas comida por favor!

I left off yesterday with the empanada and mussels in Madrid. Same day same city we moved on to some unknown location for some sort of beer or wine and my other favorite food SARDINES!

Next on the tapa tour my other favorite food... champinons or mushrooms.
Even the notoriously picky eater Mig will eat mushrooms in Madrid!

So you are thinking...." This chick is obsessed with food" And what? This is what fat people have in common!

Next stop was a tiny bar specializing in one item, mussels or mejillones. (no idea on the spelling but I am sure Mig will spot any errors and fix them :)

Our first stop on our tapa and vino tour included fresh tuna empanada and Rioja wine

After a hot shower and clean clothes we did not waste any time making up for lost time! Vino tinto here we come!

This is the best located hotel in Madrid. It is smack dab in the heart of Puerta del Sol. I love it I love it I love it!

Bullfighting!

(Forgive me if I have posted this photo before)
I understand that there are three major bullfight rings or "plazas",(in the world) Las Ventas in Madrid, La Maestranza in Sevilla and La Monumental in Mexico City. I remember an old friend telling me some twenty years ago that she loved Spain but hated the bullfights.
I was a bit apprehensive when I attended my first bullfight in Las Ventas, but my husband reassured me that we could simply leave if so needed.
The fight we attended was called a Rejoneo, where the men fight the bulls from horseback.
I was lucky enough to sit next to a man that explained the science of the fight. I remember one Torero resorted to fancy footwork with his horse, and my new friend was quick to point this out and to not let it impress me!
A team of surgeons stand by in a fully functional on site operating room, but thankfully they were not put to work that day!
If a Torero kills their bulls "cleanly" without suffrage from the bull, then they are carried out on the shoulders of the spectators. While the Torero that makes the bull suffer will leave the stadium in disgrace! The white boxed area in the background of this photo is reserved for Spain's Royal Family. I didn't get to sit there.

Puerta del Sol

¡Buenas tardes! ¡¡¡En tres dias se acabó el trabajo!!!!

I love Madrid. I have no desire to live there as my heart is in Asturias always and forever, BUT as this year will be my sixth time visiting this city I feel right at home amongst the "madrileños". Miguel and I decided to stay in Madrid at least one night this year and chose a hotel that we have never stayed in before. Puerta del Sol is Kilometer 0. All roads in Spain start here. Madrid never sleeps and especially here there is always action. http://www.hoteleuropa.net/ I have looked at a lot of guest reviews and the only complaint is the crowd noise from the streets. I can have peace and quiet when I am dead!

Dinner with the King

Like everyone else in the United States I am getting ready for Thanksgiving. This is probably my favorite holiday as its not as commercialized as the others. No gifts required for this event! So what do you think of my formal dinning room? You like? Actually this is one of many formal dinning rooms of King Juan Carlos of Spain. This is the State Banquet Hall in the Palacio Real in Madrid. Every year the King holds Christmas dinner here and its said that the table can hold 150 people. I wouldnt know this for sure as my invitation has been lost in the mail the past several years....