Day 35: One Last Hoorah in Madrid Before Heading East

I am no stranger to early morning flights out of Tel Aviv, but this time I made sure I was prepared.  Even though I had to check out of my hotel at 2 am, I made sure that I kept a hotel room for that time.  I have done the "sleep in the airport overnight" thing and after 5 weeks of travel, that just didn't sound appealing at all.  So I went to bed around 10 pm and made sure I was up and ready to head to the airport at 2 am.  Security leaving Israel is no joke, so it is a smart idea to get there 3 hours in advance to get through security and relax a little on the other side by the gates.

After going through security, I realized I was hungry.  This wasn't surprising because by then I had been awake for nearly 3 hours without eating anything.  It may not have been a usual meal time, but I was definitely feeling the need for food.  I decided to grab a coffee and one of these cream cheese and smoked salmon (AKA lox) sandwiches.

Alright, flights on time!  I was headed to Madrid for one last night of European fun before heading back to Asia.

I am sure you are wondering why on earth I flew all the way in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go.  Here is why: For the price I was looking to pay I had just a few options (most other flights were about $1000 more and I just wasn't willing to pay that, even for convenience), and of these, Madrid was the most stable.  What do I mean by stable?  My other two options were airlines from Greece and Turkey, and while I didn't think it would be an issue, there was always the chance for a cancelled flight.  First, I am sure Greece would have been fine, but given their financial issues and the possibility of strikes (I know this is a somewhat exaggerated fear), I decided against this.  Then comes Turkey, which is always a concern leaving Israel.  Again, it may be an exaggerated concern, but there is always a risk of a cancelled flight when it comes to Israel and any country that they potentially could have a conflict with.  So, in the essence of knowing my flight was "stable", I went with Madrid.  Well, there is that, and then of course I just love Spain!  Plus, this made it easier for me to know what to do with my 24 hour layover.

Here is the meal I was served on the flight to Madrid.

The omelets are usually pretty good.

Like I said, going to Madrid made it easy to know what to do during my 24 hour layover.  I picked a hotel in an area that I knew would be convenient to what I wanted to do- shop and eat.

It was a small room, but the price was right, the location was superb, the internet was free, and it was only for 1 night.

First on my agenda was the Hard Rock.  I have a HR Madrid shirt, but it was from 2001 and just worn out.  It was definitely time for a new one.

I took the subway here, but then enjoyed the city sights as I walked back to the hotel along the Gran Via, which is one of the main streets in Madrid, especially for shopping.

So the plan was to eat and shop, right?  Well, here is some of the food I started with since I needed some fuel before shopping.  I stopped at 100 Montaditos, which serves small sandwiches and cheap beer.

Did someone say cheap beer?  Let me clarify.  The beer itself is quality beer, it is just sold at an extremely cheap price.  This nice sized beer cost me just 1 Euro.

Then for my snack I had this little shrimp and pineapple sandwich and some potato chips. 

It was just enough for a snack before shopping.  Just across the way I spotted a Dunkin's, so I stopped in for a coffee since I felt some caffeine was in order for shopping too.

After my shopping adventures at stores like Mango and H&M, I rested in the hotel before heading out for dinner.

Actually, I had one more very cool surprise while in Madrid.  Keri, who was my roommie on the Contiki trip, was in Madrid that night for her birthday, and she was with some of her friends that were visiting her from South Africa.  Her plan was to go to a Flamenco show at a restaurant and have dinner there, but that was later on, and I wasn't sure what they would have for me to eat, so I made sure when I was hungry to grab a little something.

I was really surprised to discover that the place we were going for the show was just behind the hotel where I stayed the month before with my family.  This meant I was familiar with the area, which was helpful, and it also meant it was really close to my current hotel.

It gave me a chance to see how well this little market had developed over the last 4 weeks.  We happened to be there the first day they were getting things set up.

I decided to grab a bite to eat here at O'Faro Finisterre, which I believe was one of the places I tried with my family.  It was directly across from the hotel we stayed at last month, so I am almost certain we ate here, but I think we sat on the other side of the place, and this is why I am not 100% sure.

I definitely ordered some sangria.

They brought me some bread, which is to be expected at a tapas bar.

I ordered some olives.  I needed to make sure to get them in one last time before heading back to Japan.

I also got some patatas bravas.

This is shrimp and mushrooms in olive oil.

That did it for me!  I was stuffed, but thankfully to have gotten in some tapas before it was time to go.

Then the time came to meet up with Keri and her friends at Cafe Chinitas.

Sorry, some pictures are blurry.  At this place they put on a Flamenco show during dinner and have 2 showings a night.  While Flamenco is traditional to the southern regions, you can pretty much see a Flamenco show anywhere in Spain (ok, maybe not Basque country or Barcelona).  Since Madrid is the capital of Spain, you can imagine that there are plenty of tourist spots to catch a show.

More sangria?  Don't mind if I do!

Happy Birthday Keri!

Then we watched a little more of the show.

More bread and olives?  Of course!

I ended up ordering a goat cheese appetizer, but when it came it was presented with ham on top, so I sent it back.  Pretty much the entire staff had poor English and my Spanish was not good enough to explain exactly what I wanted (remake the dish without meat), so I passed and didn't order anything else.  No problem at all because I had eaten a little before hand just in case something like this happened.  At least Keri and her friends (no of whom had ever been to Spain) got to try the paella.

The dancing and singing continued throughout the meal.  Overall, it was a pretty good show that they put on here.  The food is certainly overpriced and not top quality, but the experience is great for tourists.

Here I am with Keri and one of the Flamenco dancers after the show.

After the show ended we walked around the shopping area and looked at all of the excitement going on since it was a Friday night and just before midnight.  This is definitely a busy time in Spain.  

One last food item for me:

Frozen yogurt with strawberries, kiwi and chocolate.  The perfect end to my time in Spain and my evening with friends.

I was sad my time in Europe was coming to a close, but boy was I happy to know that after 5 weeks away I was finally on my way back home to see my husband.  Obviously I would have liked for him to go with me, but because of his work schedule and not knowing if he can get off until the last minute (or just about), it was difficult to plan for him to join me, and it just didn't work out this time.  Maybe next time!  Actually, we do have a trip planned together coming up.  Nothing major, but certainly fun, so hopefully nothing changes with his days off.  Cross you fingers!

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever been to a Flamenco performance?  What foreign city (or city other than your hometown/where you live) have you visited the most?  What is your favorite city for shopping?

Day 19: Barcelona in Under 24 Hours

A couple of years back I went to Barcelona with my mom and Joe, but I decided since I would be in Spain, and I needed to make my way more east in Europe, I would pass through Barcelona.  The main attraction for me was La Sagrada Familia- the unfinished cathedral by Gaudi.  We ran out of time before (and the line circled the block), so I didn't get to go inside.  I decided if I gave myself a long layover in Barcelona I could have a chance to eat some good food and see La Sagrada Familia.

I caught an early train from San Sebastian to Barcelona.

Bye, bye beautiful San Sebastian.

I took a pastry with me on the train since I hadn't had breakfast yet.

After a relatively uneventful train ride to Barcelona, and a short cab ride, I was ready to check in to my hotel, Hotel Nextto.  I picked this because it is near shopping and La Sagrada Familia, and right next to La Pedrera, another one of Gaudi's works.

My room was well decorated and comfortable, although it had a youth hostel sort of feel (mostly the floor gave off that vibe), and I almost feel like at one point in time it may have been.  For a short stay it worked perfectly, and the bed was comfortable (or I was exhausted!).

I had an interesting view.

This was probably my favorite part of the room.  Everything 1 euro!

The bathroom was pretty.  I enjoyed the green.

The other neat thing in the bathroom was the light.  It was a picture of flowers.

The desk space was interesting.

But I guess it was just the right size for me!  (Please excuse my travel/sweaty look).

Then I headed out to walk a bit, shop a little, and get some lunch.  Plus, I really wanted to take some pictures so I could prove I really spent some time in Barcelona on this trip.

This is La Pedrera, which is one of Gaudi's works.  Gaudi was an architect and designed some pretty amazing looking buildings.

His works left a lasting impression on Barcelona, which can be seen in the variety of architecture there today.  Gaudi died back in the 1920's, so you can see that he unique for this time, and that this has given Barcelona many years to add more interesting buildings to it's streets.

I decided to sit down in the patio area at La Vinoteca Torres.

It's hard to see in the picture above, so it is up close.

Not sure why, I but decided to do some wine with lunch.

I ordered some olives.

The tomato bread was the recommendation of the server, and I must say it was a very good choice.

For my main dish I wanted to order the squid, but the server informed me that it was not available, so instead I went with my second choice.  I am not sure how this ended up as my second choice because I am not really an anchovy fan, but I kept seeing it on the menu everywhere, so I knew I better give it a try.

First off, the presentation was beautiful.  This was vegetables topped with fresh anchovies.  Then I tasted it.  This was by far one of the best things I have had to eat on this trip so far.  It was amazing, so if you are ever in Barcelona, make sure to stop in and try this place.

Since the meal was so good, I even decided to try dessert.  In fact, I figured with a meal so good, the dessert had to be good too.  I was right!  The server suggested I go with the creme brulee. 

After a very tasty lunch, I took off on foot to wander, shop, and ultimately make it over to La Sagrada Familia.  Since the last time the lines were ridiculous, I reserved my entry time in advance.  I was not going to miss out again.  

I took all those pictures on my walk over, to see this...

They have continued to do work on the Cathedral, which is unfinished because Gaudi was hit by a tram and killed before it was ever completed.  The inside is pretty much done now, so in 2010, the Pope came to do a dedication and now it seems this is a basilica.  As usual, the pictures can't even come close to doing this masterpiece justice.  Obviously I am not really interested in the religious aspect, but I can appreciate the design that went into this.

I was glad to see they allowed pictures inside.

Crazy spiral staircases.

This is the floor where the light has shown through one of the stained glass windows.

You can see down below to the chapel where Gaudi is burried.

This is really crazy, but definitely looks like it belongs at the front of the church.

Outside, from the back side.

This is a model of the whole church.

Here is Gaudi's grave.

When I was finished with La Sagrada Familia, I met up with Naomi and her boyfriend, as they were also in Barcelona.  They were given some recommendations for restaurants, so they had made us a reservation at Ca La Nuri.

For the next 2 hours we enjoyed good wine, great food, and excellent company.

Again, here is some of the tomato bread.  Turns out it is popular in this area.

We also started with patatas bravas to share.

For my starter, I ordered the gazpacho.  But not just any gazpacho.  This was strawberry gazpacho.  First came this bowl with mozzarella and anchovies.

Then the server poured in the strawberry gazpacho.  It was very light and refreshing.  It even tasted like a strawberry smoothie, but lighter.

Naomi and her boyfriend split the tuna tartare topped with guacamole.  I tried some, and it was really good.

For dinner, Naomi and her boyfriend split the seafood paella, but they got the variation with vermicelli noodles.  

I ordered the hake with potatoes.  Both entrees were really tasty.

Cheers!

But wait!  We couldn't pass on dessert.  For the table we ordered 2 desserts and split them.  The first was a chocolate souffle.

Then we tried a caramel banana dessert.

Boy, less than 24 hours in Barcelona and I had 2 fantastic meals and was stuffed beyond belief.  If you are in Barcelona, I give both restaurants 2 big thumbs up.  I definitely recommend them.

Thanks very much to Naomi and her boyfriend for sharing their evening with me.  It was really a special night and a great way to enjoy Barcelona- with friends and food.  I hope they had a safe trip back.  As for me, it's on to...

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever been to Barcelona?  Do you like anchovies?