August 18, 2926

The flight into Madrid was uneventful – we arrived midday and made our way into the city.

When we arrived, we ended up on the Metro versus the urban rail system – that meant 3 train changes but we got there.

We were able to checkin early and got to set our stuff down. We stayed in a small apartment that was nice and easy to get to Plaza Mayor and the Sol station which had lots of jumping off points.

Elliott and I ventured out to find lunch – one of my challenges is wainting to find a good place to eat until we are hungry and that often turns on a miss. We started by considering an old favorite – the Museo del Jamon

While it has a catchy name that I quote often there are better places. In a corner of Plaza Mayor, we turned to Jose Andres to steer us with his favorite places in Madrid. I almost did not try some because they seemed too nice or that they were going to be too busy. We rolled the dice and went to Casa Julián de Tolosa.

The food was amazing and I was so glad we went. Such a treat.

After lunch, we went to the Royal Palace and the Cathedral de Santa Maria. We went through the Royal Palace museum.

No matter where we went, the heat was oppressive. Just walking around dodging the sun so we did not get burnt. We tried to stay cool but it was a challenge.

We enjoyed the history but then wandered back to the place we were staying.

Later we got out and made our 10 pm dinner reservation at Botin – the oldest restaurant in the world. The place as a labyrinth inside and full of crazy stuff. The food was a mixed bag but fun overall.

Afterwards we headed to bed – we had been up for days. Looking forward to Seville tomorrow…for now sleep.