Mercado in May

On May 18th, our daily Starbucks morning meet-up was a bit delayed because Alene’s a bit slow.  She couldn’t figure out her iPad alarm.  Fail.

 

 

Eventually we all got coffee, food, and set off to Madrid’s Palacio Real.

 

I could seriously live the royal life. It was impressive and decadent and over the top (and the whole time I was thinking of how Kate Middleton really hit the jackpot). 

 

We spent 30 minutes longer than I would’ve on my own, but that’s the cross you bear when traveling with this fam.  Soak it up people.

Photo bombing at it’s finest. 

Lunch could not have come sooner. 

 

At the Plaza de la Opera we found a kebab place.  I quite enjoyed my falafel. 

The “spicy” sauce was better than I expected, but instead of a pita, they used a weird bread that reminded me of a smooshed hamburger bun.  Meh.  I still finished it. 

 

My mom was the only one who didn’t get a kebab, but when hers arrived it basically looked like a deconstructed kebab.

Especially since it came with pitas on the side.

The waiter was surprisingly good about getting our orders right.  We ordered nearly every permutation of kebabs – some with meat, some without, some with the creamy sauce, some without, some with the spicy sauce, some without, some with fries, and some without.

Dad surrounded by females, as per usual (my mom was taking the photo).

 

When the rest of the kebab-ers were done too we slowly made our way to the Mercado de San Miguel.  Not like the beer. 

 

It was so cool! 

 

Booths with every food specialty lined the place – wine, cheese, postres, meats, chips, olives, etc.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

It went on and on and on and I couldn’t help but take photos of it all. 

 

The best vendors were the organic ice cream stand (above) and the build-your-own-granola/muesli booth (below).

 

Cereals, grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits galore…

 

I only seem to find dried kiwis when I’m traveling.  They need to sell them more in the States.

  

 

Wow.

They had butchers carving meat, sommeliers sampling wines, and me drooling over granola. 

 

 

It was like one big gourmet market with all the variety you could dream of in one place.

 

And the sweets!

 

The macarons looked to die for.  I considered biting the non-vegan bullet and trying one…

 

My mom got churros con chocolate for us all to share.

 

 

But Marie and Laura got their own afternoon delights.

More and more I’m beginning to think that Marie’s “lactose intolerance” is a selective issue.  My problems with dairy are definitely more cut and dry. 🙁

She got chocolate fudge and Laura got an entire cup of meringue.  Yes, you read that correctly. 

I used to LOVE sweets, but it made me a little sick just looking at it,  Hmmm…  Maybe that’s my GI annoyance slash jealousy coming out. 

Later we trekked from the mercado back clear across Madrid to the Jardines. No joke, we covered the entire city – from one end of the map to the other – on foot. 

Nerds being nerds.

 

Along the way we spotted Botin, the first restaurant.  Ever.  It was even certified as such by the Guinness Book of World Records. 

 

By the time we got to the gardens my joints were not pleased.  No joke, as soon as we arrived (and found it cost $) we decided we were pooped anyway.  Entrance fees have a way of doing that…so we split from A & E to go back and rest up before dinner.

 

Can you believe it, I’m actually almost done with the Spain recaps!?!