Bienvenido a Madrid

Well, that wasn’t so bad. Just as the sun was coming up we landed is Madrid, breezed through immigration, and pulled up in front of the hotel just in time for second breakfast. Yes, that’s a thing here, although we’re still to full from the plane to partake today.

As planned, we do pretty much just drop our bags and head right back out, walking first to the Playa Mayor. It is surprisingly quiet but, as we linger, we see tour groups start to stream in from the different gates and, on the sunny side of the square, the cafes are showing some signs of life. The architecture is interesting but otherwise, there’s really not much to it. Good place for an inquisition I suppose, but we’re a few hundred years too late for that.

We spend a bit more time in the area wandering around old streets, checking out the market and, finally, stopping for lunch (early for Spain but late for those of us still used to a Seattle schedule). For a city nowhere near the ocean, a sandwich crammed full of fried calamari seems to be available everywhere and there are lines starting to snake out the doors of places that are serving them so, when in Madrid…

The perfect finish to a healthy meal like that (probably any meal for that matter) is a plate of churros, conveniently paired up with a cup full of melted chocolate for dipping (or simply spooning into your mouth if that’s your thing – not naming any names here).

Refueled, we set off for the Cathedral and Royal Palace. The former we wander through and the latter we skip. It is definitely as bougee as it sounds, but we feel like we have already seen enough palaces.

Given that we flew all night, it has been a pretty successful day. We’re heading back to the hotel for a nap, but my phone puts me at 17,000 steps, slightly more than the 300 it says I did this time last week. There will be a half-hearted attempt to rally for dinner, but nothing serious enough to overcome the jet lag that is stating to kick in.