Food and Art

Did I mention that this was going to be a culinary adventure?! We had the most amazing food today but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We had two planned activities for the day, visiting the Museo del Prado and going on a wine and tapas tour. Maritza has made it her goal to find the most well regarded food in the city. The problem is there are literally hundreds of well regarded restaurants in Madrid so we are left to choose and choosing is very difficult. We had breakfast at a small bakery on our way to the Prado. Delicious little empanadas filled with ham and cheese, perfect for eating and walking to the museum.

Everyone told us that if we go to Madrid we must visit the Prado. Neither of us are overly excited about museums but we decided that we should go. The Prado is one of three art collections in the city and features artists from Spain. It is said that the Prado's works are like a window into the historical Spanish soul. It was a pleasant visit, a very quiet and contemplative place as most museums are. We spent close to two hours there and especially enjoyed the sculptures.

From there we did a little shopping before going to a little cafe called Segun Emma. This is the cafe recommended to us by our friend Kim who travels to the city often to visit her sister. We enjoyed some tapas and a lovely drink called Vino Tinto de Verano. It is so refreshing and is made of red wine and refresco (sweetened club soda). It reminds me of Sangria without the fruit. Then back to the hotel to rest up for our tapas tour with Andrés.

Andrés sent specific instructions regarding the tour, but the most important was to promptly meet him at 7:30pm at the Plaza de la Villa. I consulted our map before we left the hotel and confidently walked in the direction of the Plaza...or what I thought was the direction of the Plaza. It wasn't long before we realized we weren't going the right way. Thank heaven for Maritza. After consulting with several locals we arrived 10 min late to a waiting group. So much for my once famous map for brains.

Andrés took us to four restaurants to enjoy tapas. We began the tour at restaurant over 100 years old where we enjoyed Vermut, a blend of red wine and spices, and Jamon, thinly sliced ham. At the next stop we were greeted with the most well know of jamon in Spain, Jamon Iberico. This ham comes from the Iberian Pig, a free range pig that only eats grass and acorns. The ham is then cured and thinly sliced resembling prosciutto. We ate this delicious salty goodness with a sweet Moscato and the flavors together were heavenly. Another plate of meat and cheese was served; Lomo, cured tenderloin of Jamon Iberico, and Manchego cheese. By this time we knew booking this tour with Andrés was a great idea.

At this point of the tour we were really enjoying our group, Elba, Chris and Hiro, and were excited to move on to the next stop. There we had a Spanish Tortilla that literally melted in our mouths. The Spanish Tortilla is a Spanish style omelet made with eggs, potatoes, onions and olive oil. We will definitely be heading back to have another before the end of our trip.

Our last stop was at a quiet cafe tucked down a side street. We had the most amazing croquettes and pork shoulder, absolutely decadent. We also had a white and red wine from the Riojas region of Spain. This wine region is to Spain what Napa is to the US. The wine was amazing. Our meal was finished with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a raisin sherry, called PX, drizzled over top. A beautiful end to another amazing day.