Our apartment was two short blocks from Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid’s best-known plazas. There are several famous landmarks in this plaza including the two here: a statue of Charles III and the Tío Pepe sign. The Tío Pepe sign is one of two neon signs in Madrid that have protected, historic status.

Food, wine and art. And more food. Plus a recipe for a chocolate treat.

Madrid. The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age but the documented history of the city only goes back to the 9th century. Originally a small citadel built to protect the northern approach to Toledo, Madrid became the capital of Spain in 1561. Today, it’s a thriving metropolis of over six million people.

But enough history, let’s get to the food.

One of the fun things about renting an apartment is then you can shop locally, like at this mouth-watering cheese, meats and wine shop.

Tapas and Wine

We went to Madrid for the tapas and the Spanish red wine. Tapas are small servings of food that can be either a snack or combined to make a meal. Since each tapas is a small serving, you can order several different things during a meal. The small size also makes tapas perfect for sharing, which makes any meal more fun.

We took three separate tapas tours, each one different, where our hosts led us to four different bars.

We visited The Museo de Jamón (Museum of Ham). It wasn’t really a museum but a ham-themed café and tapas bar. These hams were aging and the little plastic cones underneath are for catching any juice that flows out.

At the Museo de Jamón, our tapas was a thinly-sliced ham with crostini. Top the ham with olive oil, tomato sauce/salsa, add a sprinkle of salt, then enjoy with a crostini. Delicious. We washed it down with a glass of Rioja.

Tapas are available at some of the local markets. This tapas was three types of cheeses (manchego, goat cheese, and blue cheese) and a glass of wine from the Ribero del Duero.

Not all tapas are finger-food. This tapas was a rich and delicious beef stew accompanied by a potato slice and a glass of rosé.

They look like giant hush puppies but they are really bocadilla de bacalao (salted cod, heavily breaded and deep-fried). They are topped with a semi-sweet fruit sauce that tasted similar to smooth applesauce. Very tasty. Instead of wine, our guide served us vermouth. And the vermouth was on tap!

Another night, one of our tapas was a plate of jamón serrano and salami. The jamón serrano was a thinly sliced, slightly smokey, cured pork tenderloin. The salami had been spiced with black pepper. Our guide paired them with a glass of Gran Feudo Blanco Dulce de Moscatel, which is a sweet wine. It was a delicious pairing.

Tortilla Espagnole is a classic tapas dish. The classic recipe has eggs, potatoes and onions and goes well with sliced jamón.

In addition to being tasty, part of the appeal of tapas is the social aspect. Tapas are made to be enjoyed with friends. Or perhaps enjoyed with the new friends you’ve made at a tapas bar like this one.

The Prado and The Thyssen: World-Famous Art

Of course, you can’t eat all the time. We made good use of our “non-tapas” time to visit two of Madrid’s world-famous art museums: The Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza.

The Prado

The Prado, Spain’s main national art museum, is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. Its collection is based on the former Spanish Royal Collection and is considered the single best collection of Spanish art. The collection includes works by Goya, El Greco, Vélazquez, Titian, Rubens and Raphael.

We recommend a small-group tour

We took a small-group tour of the Prado. Considering that the tour was moderately priced, it was a superb value. Although I have some knowledge of the works in the Prado’s collection, our guide was an expert. Over 1 1/2 hour, he showed us about 20 carefully-selected works, explaining why each work was important and how they fit into the history of art.

The Holy Trinity (1577–1579) by El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos). Like music, art experienced in-person (live) is a better experience. Image from Wikipdedia and used under Public Domain.

Today, the internet has made it so easy to see any image that I find I forget how powerful a work of art can be when seen in person. The paintings of El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) are a case in point. I was familiar with the name and had seen a couple of his paintings in textbooks, but it was only when I saw the paintings in person at the Prado that I understood why he is a master. The paintings are large (The Holy Trinity (1577–1579), above, is 9.8 ft (300 cm) tall and 5.87 ft (179 cm) wide) and luminous. It seems as if all the light is coming from inside the paintings. There were ten of his paintings, similar to the one above, in one room. I am now a fan of El Greco.

After our tour, we had lunch in the museum’s restaurant. Unlike most museum restaurants, the Prado’s restaurant is quite good. Rosemary ordered mushroom barzotto and I ordered a sirloin. We treated ourselves to a glass of top-class Spanish wine (Ribero del Duero). We finished our meal with this dessert. The entire meal was delicious and reasonably priced. Feeling refreshed, we went back into the museum to see the rest of the collection.

Thyssen-Bornemisza

The next day we visited the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The Thyssen’s collection of works from the 15th–20th century of Western painting fills in many of the gaps of the Prado’s collection. Therefore, it’s really fun to visit both museums. (You can see a full list of the collection here). Midway through the collection, we took a break for lunch at The Thyssen’s restaurant. The lunch was good but nowhere near as noteworthy as the Prado’s.

The artwork in the Thyssen was once part of the second-largest private collection in Europe (the British Royal Collection being the first). Long story short, Baron Thyssen moved his collection to Madrid after the Lugano City Council (Switzerland) in 1988 rejected his request to enlarge his museum there. The museum officially opened in 1992.

Old Madrid

Our AirBnB was in a great location, just south of Puerta del Sol, the heart of Madrid. To the west is the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and to the east are the Prado and Thyssen, all three within easy walking distance. We spent a lot of time strolling around, enjoying the sun and warmth. And we were building our appetites for tapas!

Puerta del Sol in the daytime. It was always packed with tourists, vendors, people dressed up as cartoon characters and protesters.

The Catedral de la Almudena, located next to the Royal Palace, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid.

The highly stylized statue of the lady wearing a hoop skirt is based on the painting Las Meninas by Vélazquez (it’s in the Prado). There are many similar statues around the city, all painted differently, and all are prime selfie spots. This spot, in front of the Palacio Real, obligingly has a sofa for weary tourists.

A troupe of dancers was entertaining us tourists on Sunday afternoon.

And on a different afternoon, a dog, accompanied by his saxophonist, serenaded passers-by.

We saw several demonstrations during our visit. They were all non-violent and well-organized, almost to the point of having a carnival atmosphere. The protests were against changes to the pension plans.

The protests ended up in Puerta del Sol. Charles III looks on.

One of the most famous buildings in Madrid is the Metropolis building. The Edificio Metrópolis, as it is officially known, is a great example of Beaux-Arts style. The statue on top of the building is the winged goddess Victoria.

Cybele Palace was once the city’s main post office. Now, it is Madrid’s city hall.

The Cibiles Fountain sits in front of the Cybele Palace. In addition to being a symbol of Madrid, it’s also where the city’s professional football (soccer) team, Real Madrid C.F., celebrate their victories.

This little thief tried to steal from us. We sat down for a short rest in one of Madrid’s many parks choosing a bench in the shade so we could take off our hats. As we were chatting, we heard a rustle behind us. It was this magpie. This fearless bird had seen the shiny band on Rosemary’s hat and wanted it. It tried three times before it finally leaving us alone.

Still taking advantage of the fabulous weather, we strolled through Parque del Buen Retiro. At 350 acres, it’s one of the largest parks in Madrid and has many things to do, including renting a rowboat for an afternoon jaunt.

The park also has the Palacio de Cristal. Built in 1887, it was originally a conservatory. Today, it’s no longer a greenhouse and is used for art exhibitions.

Madrid has its own Egyptian temple, the Temple of Debod. The temple was one of many ancient Egyptian structures that were to be covered by the reservoir of the Aswan High Dam. An international effort saved many structures by moving them. Spain helped save the Abu Simbel temples and, in gratitude, Egypt donated the Temple of Debod to Spain in 1968. This temple is one of the few examples of ancient Egyptian architecture outside Egypt.

San Jerónimos el Real (St. Jerome the Royal) lies between the Prado and Buen Retiro Park. As long-time readers of this blog know, I like to take photos. I couldn’t resist the dramatic shapes made by the afternoon sun.

In the old part of Madrid, the streets are narrow and the buildings are tall. When the sun begins to set, it’s like being in a canyon in the wilderness.

The setting sun creates cool shadows. And can be blinding.

At night, the streets are well-illuminated. In this instance, we were searching for our next tapas stop.

And finally, chocolate

We’ll end with chocolate. What better way is there?

Madrid is known for its drinking chocolate and churros, so of course we had to have some. I opted to add a little milk to my cup (righthand one), which of course was a mistake. Rosemary opted for the traditional, full-chocolate version. They were both delicious but hers was better.

Some time ago, Rosemary developed her own recipe for drinking chocolate. Her recipe is a mélange of several recipes she found online and then tweaked to our taste. Compared to the Madrid chocolate, her version is thicker and not as sweet. It’s sinfully delicious and one serving will certainly quench your chocolate craving.

Drinking Chocolate à la Rosemary

makes approx. 4 ⅓-cup servings

4 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
4 oz. whole milk
4 oz. cream
(or replace whole milk & cream with 8 oz. half-and-half)
pinch of salt
few drops of vanilla
add sugar to taste

Heat milk & cream (or half-and-half) to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add chocolate. Stir constantly on low heat until chocolate is melted. Add remaining ingredients to taste, stir thoroughly and serve.

If you like your chocolate very thick, cook the cream and chocolate mixture over very low heat, stirring almost constantly, for about 10 minutes. Then add salt, vanilla, sugar, stir thoroughly and serve. Enjoy!