Last Day in Madrid Day 13
Another rough night – sore throats, coughing, brain fog. But it does seem like it’s letting up. At any rate, it’s laundry adventure day, so we’ll be easing up on our activities. Breakfast was completed robot like. Arrived much later than usual to the hustle and bustle and noise of a full dining room. Ate light but snagged a chocolate dipped and chocolate custard filled crescent roll for a snack later in the room. Spent the morning relaxing. I caught up on my writing while munching my chocolate delight. Jenny sorted through and rearranged our suitcases and gathered all the clothing that needed laundering.
Unfortunately, the nearest one here in Madrid is a mile away. No – wait. Jenny located one only a half mile away. We’ll take the underground – no wait we’ll take the bus. Stay with me, changes are coming fast. You might ask why not simply have the hotel laundry do it. Cost! Laundering a single pair of underwear is 3.25 Euros. A pair of pants is 9.25 Euros. Our entire load would easily top 100 Euros (current rate 1 Euro = $1.01). An automated lavandria that includes detergent and drying will do the same load for around 12 Euros.
So, I continued to write and Jenny rested until the maids began scurrying about the hall cleaning rooms. That was our cue to grab our dirty laundry suitcase and head out. Amazingly simple. Caught our bus in no time. Four stops later we stopped within a half block of the Lavanderia, passing another Doner Kebab place along the way. Come lunchtime we know where to go. We loaded our stuff into the washer then backtracked to the restaurant to order two pollo (Chicken) doner kebops (I have no idea why the name of the restaurant and the name of the dish is different. I will say they are mighty tasty. Could have done without spilling my beer and enduring the very loud and very rapid Turkish argument accompanying our meal. Jen popped our clothes into the dryer while we were eating, so that by the time we returned we had not long to wait before the load was done.
After folding and repacking the clothes, we caught another bus back to our hotel where I continued writing, and wound up taking a nap at, no, on my computer. While I slept, woke and finished my scribbles. Jen opted to take another stroll through the nearby Retiro Park.
I’ll let her tell you about it.
“The Park is enormous, beloved and well-used by the inhabitants of Madrid. Kept in immaculate condition, with dozens of groundskeepers out sweeping, raking, pruning, and inspecting for damage daily. Our first venture into the interior, on Sunday, saw thousands of people flocking to the food stalls, the boat rentals, and generally overrunning every available venue. It was Thursday afternoon, so my walk, ‘though not solitary, was not as encumbered with the press of humanity. I did see many mothers walking with children toting bookbags, as they took a bucolic detour on their way home. I saw just as many fathers with children, mostly babies in strollers (Spain evidently has a strong culture of parental leave for both parents). There were fewer entire families, but there were some. High-school and college age couples walked by or relaxed on the grass in secluded glens. Dozens of joggers weaved between those who preferred to mosey.
In addition to the people, there were birds: pigeons, doves, sparrows, magpies, and monk parakeets squabbling in the trees. Ducks and geese swam in the ponds. I even saw peacocks in the “Buen Retiro” formal garden. This portion is a park within a park, a formal garden laid out in rigorous geometry, with bubbling fountains, tiled patios, semi covered, ivy-wrapped arbors, topiary trees and numerous ‘follies’ (small decorative structures intended for private meetings). All these structures are locked up tight these days, but the copses, bowers, and shaded nooks can still be enjoyed. Plentiful benches dotted the paths around the water features. They invite visitors to sit and just enjoy the Spanish sunshine. I took full advantage of them as I wandered south along the park’s eastern edge, then through the Buen Retiro, and back up along the central Thorofare. Took pictures of birds and interesting scenes and generally revived my spirits on my completely delightful and relaxing 90 minutes excursion.”
Back to John.
We waited until after 8 p.m. to search for a restaurant. Tried a different part of the city, five blocks from our hotel. Stopped into four lively looking establishments all of which looked like they had room, but no. No reservations, “no possible.” We walked on. Hungry and tired of looking we stopped at a nondescript little place that had three outdoor tables, which had customers but inside it was absolutely empty. It wasn’t fancy but what the hell, we went inside. Very friendly folks, Very Spanish - no English. We took a seat and ordered wine. Along with the wine our waitress brought us a gratis order of smoked mussels in olive oil and chips.
Dinner prep took a while. People started popping in. All of them Spanish. We were brought a dish of rich sliced sausage and bread nuggets. More snacks … again gratis. More people entered. Remember it’s now about 9:00 p.m. Our food arrives, Iberico ham, smoked brie on hard bread along with smoked salmon and onions on hard bread, and more smoked salmon over lettuce hearts with sea salt. By now the restaurant was completely packed with locals. We were the only tourists in the place. And it was delightful! We’d found the local’s popular hotspot by accident.
We ordered desert, something we normally don’t do, an apple tart and a sinful fudge lava pastry. With the Bottle of wine and two additional glasses all told we spent less than 65 Euros on our feast and came away satisfied and delighted with the experience.
Strolled back to our room and went right to bed. With our bags already packed, we were off to Porto tomorrow
I am posting a selection of the thousands of pictures we took on Facebook. Look me up there and see what we saw!
Buenas Noches.