Day: January 1, 2024

First coffee of 2024! We got up late and went for a wander, every single cafe was closed (not really surprising being New Years Day – but hope springs eternal when coffee is involved!).

Just as we were about to give up and head back to the apartment for a nespressso pod, this little oasis in the coffee desert appeared when we rounded a corner. It wasn’t an illusion, it was packed so we had to get takeaway. Grabbed a few delicious pastries too.

Last day of the year we ticked off a foodie bucket list item. Late lunch at Sobrino de Botín, the oldest restaurant in the world still in operation, since 1725. The cellar of the restaurant has existed since 1590. Apparently the oven has been running continually for nearly 300 years.

The restaurant is famous for its roast suckling pig and roast lamb. As soon as we knew we were coming to Madrid this was on my “must do” list and I pre-booked months ago.

The best seating is in the cellar, which I requested on the booking and luckily my wish was granted.

The restaurant did not disappoint in any way, the atmosphere in the cellar is amazing, total architectural eye candy with exposed 16th century brick work everywhere. The food and table service was wonderful.

Sharon had the pork, Emma and I had the lamb. Don’t think we will need to eat for a few days now.

My last morning coffee for 2023, couldn’t have picked a nicer place, this little cafe here in Madrid was recommended by the apartment owner and it’s fantastic. Turned out to be hard to find as it’s on a corner where about 5 streets all meet and it was hidden behind some clothing market stalls that were setting up for the day. It’s unfortunate we can’t sample everything, they had amazing looking things on the menu and in the display cabinets.

Can’t believe I forgot to post about this, so this is slightly out of order. Our final night in London, we caught up again with my cousin Kristy her partner Mark and some of her friends who were also visiting from Oz and staying at her apartment.

Dinner was at the Lahore Kebab house for some curry. I’ve been there before and it’s one of the most famous curry houses in the city. It’s rather basic in decor, but the food is fantastic. It’s also on the very hot side of spicy, so make sure you order mild if you’re not used to extra spicy curry.

We then headed down to Wilton’s music hall to see “Potted Panto” which was 7 traditional pantomimes squashed into an 80 minute show. It was spectacular (oh no it wasn’t! Oh YES it WAS!!). Plenty of wee, poo and bum jokes to keep everyone’s inner 14 year old amused for the entire show.

The building itself was a special treat, billed as the oldest continually operating music hall in the world. Lots of exposed brick and timber floors.

First morning in Madrid, seeing bright blue sky after a week in London is a bit of a novelty, although it’s quite a bit colder in early morning, about 1c. Our apartment is in this awesome old building, our one is just above these massive kick arse doors. Sunrise here is also quite late at 8:30 am, not really surprising considering we are an hour ahead of London on European time but also further west.

According to Wikipedia, Tirso de Molina, was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and Roman Catholic monk. He is primarily known for writing The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest, the play from which the popular character of Don Juan originates.

We had breakfast just around the corner at a place the apartment host recommended. Coffee was quite good. Emma and I Had a great granola and yoghurt bowl, Sharon had the most amazing and delicious cinnamon rolls.

I Wandered down into the metro which is right next to our building and purchased a couple of local transit cards.

After breakfast we cruised through the Reina Sofia museum, Sharon ticked off multiple artworks she wanted to see. Emma and I left early to walk through the near by park and up to the King Alfonso 12th Monument. Walked back down to the museum and grabbed some lunch Jamón and cheese (YUM), then took one of those hop on hop off buses around the city.

Bit of a rest in the apartment before heading out for dinner, cracked open a bottle of local red wine. Strangely the apartment only has one proper wine glass so we ended up drinking from small dessert bowls. Where there is a will there is a way…

Later in the evening we took the metro a few stations north into Madrid and had dinner at Las Tortillas de Gabino that was recommend to us (thanks Alberto!) Food was fantastic. Definitely eating our way across Europe !