The Tandem Spirits Enjoy Wonderful Tapas!
April 25th is Festa della Liberazione, Liberation Day in Italy, and May 1st is Labor Day across Europe. The Tandem Spirits took advantage of the two holidays to take a week-long vacation to Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. We are fortunate to have a small airport near us with direct 1.5 hour flights to Barcelona. James had never been to Spain, and although Virginia spent a month there in 2016 walking the Camino de Santiago and visiting Madrid, she had not been to Barcelona.
We were able to walk to our hotel. When our travel agent booked the room, she said the hotel was an adult only hotel, but wasn’t sure what that meant. We discovered Axel Hotel is a hetero friendly Gay hotel. The room was clean, decent sized, with a good bathroom and great shower. The hotel also had a pleasant rooftop bar with a swimming pool. After checking in we walked around town to orient ourselves and find the meeting point for our evening activity – a Tapas Walking Tour. Madrid was packed. It seemed that all of Europe had decided to go there too. Due to the holiday, there were loads of fellow Italians there.
The Tapas Tour
James correctly thought the Tapas tour would be the perfect introduction to the city. Our guide was great, she’s lived in Spain for 10 years and is a high school teacher. It was a small , friendly group with a couple from Woodinville WA and a family from Colorado. All of the places frequented were family owned and had been in business for a long time. We tried different foods and drinks at all of them. Our guide pointed out landmarks and gave some historical information as we walked.
Casa Labra - Bacala Fritters, Sheep Cheese and Reus vermouth on tap
Mesón del Champinón - World Famous grilled mushrroms, Flash-fried padrón peppers
La Casa del Abuelo - Sizzling garlic and Chilli Shrimp
Mesón el Lacón - Potatoes with fried eggs and cured ham, wild asparagus, marinated and fried dog fish, Gallega-style crepes. They also serve Vino Abuelo which the original owner made, "grandpa's wine."
El Mercado de San Miguel - Tapa Heaven
Just off Plaza Mayor, we wen to El Mercado de San Miguel. In 2016, after Virginia completed the Camino di Santiago, she visited Madrid and spent a bit of time eating her way through this amazing market. We returned there several times because it is truly a foodie paradise. The market is crammed full of stands selling every type of great Spanish food and wine you can imagine.
