Spain (Spring 2023) - Madrid - Day 1
We were supposed to get here the previous day but a delayed departure on the first leg on American Airlines set off a chain reaction clusterf**k. We missed the connecting British Airways flight in Dallas. The replacement flight on Iberian Airlines got cancelled at the last minute around midnight and we got sent to a crappy motel that they wound up not paying for.
On top of all that - they lost our luggage. Finally got on a United flight that got us to Madrid the next day and even that flight was full of drama. It connected in Newark and got delayed 3 times before finally taking off very late.
By that time, four airlines had handled our luggage so we were not very hopeful about recovering them although the United baggage claim lady in Madrid was super helpful. I gave her our entire itinerary for the month so she would know where we were if the bags were ever miraculously found.
(I also found out later that you have 30 days to make claims for expenses and such for luggage so when I waited until I returned home to file the claim - it was already too late.)
We stayed on the Gran Via in Madrid which was a great convenient place as we also had to shop for some necessities since we didn’t have our luggage. It wound up being fairly cold at night during our stay which made me miss our luggage that much more.
The location of the hotel was great - it’s right on the Gran Via but people party here - folks were singing in that square until 2-3 AM - bring your earplugs if you want to sleep
Getting into the city from the airport was fairly straightforward on the train. You have to transfer lines once if you are headed to the center of the city. You also have to pay a 3 Euro fee to leave or enter the airport from the subway.
The first things we had to do were to hit the Carrefour store for toiletries and Primark for clothing necessities.
The Carrefour stores are pretty wonderful - kind of like a neighborhood store with the basic necessities but with very good produce. You can live cheaply if you wanted by just getting a good bottle of wine for 5 Euros and some high end meats, cheeses and bread to make a small in expensive meal.
The Primark store is a discount clothing store which we needed badly just for things like socks and underwear.
Luckily we stayed in the heart of the shopping district on the Gran Via which made it easy to resupply due to our lost luggage
Bodega de la Ardoso
The first place we went to in Madrid also wound up being my favorite place. No English spoken here which is common to the few of the more traditional places.
This was a great place to get beer and vermouths along with some excellent small dishes. They are known for their potato pancake (shown below) but I found that there Salmorejo (aslo shown below) was some of the best I had in Madrid. It is a rich savory super thick tomato soup topped with bacon and cheese.
They provide these packs of napkins at the tables that I found to be so thin as to useless. The Spanish must be neater eaters than me.
They had a back room behind the bar but I was unclear on how to get back there - the place can get pretty busy so maybe the waiter can let you back there - I’ll have to ask the next time I’m back there
Bar Cock
We set out in search of cocktails our first night which we needed after the nightmare travel to get there. We stopped in this place first. Bar Cock is all about the atmosphere - and I say that because the drinks themselves were rather meh. The refined woodwork and mirrors everywhere gave this place the elegant classy feel.
Lots of the tables we noticed were reserved so we just sat at the bar.
The whiskey selection is actually decent here and the prices are listed on the wall by the bar.
Specia Atelier
We wandered around Chueca which is kind of their hipster/gay neighborhood looking for another drink.
We found this place around the corner from Bar Cock. They use all house made liquors and the drink below was actually pretty spicy. The heat from the chili builds as you drink it. Most of the drinks were gin based. Was quiet when we got there but started to fill up when we left.
Del Diego Cocktail Bar
So I forgot to take photos inside this place. It is across the street from Bar Cock. They had very good service and you always got snacks with your drinks. They had a larger cocktail menu than Bar Cock and the drinks were done well.
The inside had small bar and a classy feel in the seating area. Picture a bright space with well dressed bartenders and servers. Sometimes I’m too busy drinking to remember to snap photos.
Oink
So this is Spanish fast food. It’s cheap, tasty, and this particular shop is open 24 hours. You can see the prices listed for excellent bread, cheese, and friggin’ Iberian ham. The guy will also warm up the sandwich for you if you wish.
I would search out these places because it really hits the spot when you are walking home from the bar.
I need one of these places to be by my house