Mini break in Madrid
My son and I stayed on Calle de la Princesa, by the Arguelles metro stop. Each morning we waved goodbye to my husband, sending him off to the office whilst we set out to explore the city. As we wandered around Madrid, I realized that it was a very easy city to navigate, with a great underground train network. It was useful being next to an El Corte Ingles, as they seem to have a supermarket in the basement of all their stores which was great for picking up some fruit and water to get us through the day.
My son insisted that we start each day with the traditional local breakfast of churros and hot chocolate to give him energy for our treks across the city. We found different cafes and bakeries each morning, so cheap and tasty, far more interesting than breakfast in the hotel!
Rather than join the late morning queues for the Del Prado, we had a lovely tapas lunch at El Botanico, and then used the gallery to escape the early afternoon sun. (You can book tickets in advance to avoid the queues which can be lengthy). After taking in the works of Goya, Velazquez and many others, we ambled through the parque del Retiro eating our helado, and watching the locals soak up the sun.
On Saturday we found a wonderful tapas market, San Miguel, near Plaza Mayor: Once we’d chosen a place to perch, we took it in turns to venture out to the stalls to see which of us could return with the best finds. I’m not sure who won but we found pimentos padron, paella, croquetas, calamari, fresh juicy cherries, helado, vino…something for everybody.
I have a friend who lived in Madrid, and she suggested Casa Mingo for dinner: it’s a super local place specializing in rotisserie chicken and cider. We feasted on chorizo, salad, bread, chicken and cheese, all washed down with local cider (or coke if you were a very well behaved little boy!) You can always drop in at the Principe Pio Mall for a little pre dinner shopping, then it’s about 10minute walk up Paseo Florida to Casa Mingo.
We crammed in loads during our mini break, of course I managed a couple of hours of shopping, but hubby has of lots of other tips, from great restaurants, to how to get a ticket to the football!
Great for sightseeing, shopping, food and chilling.