K & L's Travel Blog

Madrid, 20 January 2024

We awake to a beautiful clear sunny day but it is cold for Madrid.  It’s in the 40s and climbs to the 50s before the day is over.  Lorena keeps getting Asheville weather alerts on her phone so we pause to appreciate our weather because this surely beats what is happening at home.  

We ride the subway to La Latina. This is the oldest neighborhood in  Madrid.  The streets are all irregular and narrow with old 16^th century buildings.  Wandering up and down the streets was wonderful.  Lorena takes lots of pictures.  It is around 10 am and there are not many people yet.  Madrid is slow to wake up.  We stop for coffee.

We spot a restaurant named “Lorena.”  We pause for selfies.  The restaurant looks ordinary but the name thrills us.  When back at the apartment I google the “Lorena” and find out there are serval establishments named Lorena in Madrid including a night club.  

We had read about the Carrer de La Cava Baja in La Latina and seen videos.  It has tons of bars and restaurants and is a favorite for tourists and locals alike.  One famous vermuteria that we wanted to experience was La Concha.  We arrived at opening time 1:00 pm on the dot to avoid the crowds but the tiny space was already packed. My instinct was to turn around and run but Lorena took it on.  She shoved and pushed her way  to the bar.  The bartender was very responsive and took her order right away.  What victory  to have our vermouth and then a waiter brought us a little snack (clams with white beans).  So, you are in the tiny thriving space with tons of clamor and energy.  Many tourists did stick their heads in and just turned around.  This fight to get served is a part of the culture and excitement.  I will say it has taken us years to finally belly up with the best of them. 

For lunch we choose a tapas restaurant that we read about in Lonely Planet, Casa Lucas.  The streets by this time were thronging.  If you did not have a destination in mind it would be daunting to try and pick on  the fly.  It was warming up in the sun so lots of people were sitting at tables outside. 

We were early enough to get a table at Casa Lucas.  For our meal,  we started with mushroom and ham croquetas.   We are becoming connoisseurs  of the delightful fried balls of soft goodness.  But the real star of the meal was   our choice of “Huevos Macarena.” Two perfectly poached eggs on puff pastry with artichokes, mushroom, pine nuts  and asparagus. This was all dressed with a light parmigiana béchamel sauce.  We really enjoyed this one.  When we emerged sated from the restaurant the street was packed.  Of course, it was a Saturday so that may have added to the crowds but it was overwhelming. 

We meander our way around the streets some more and head back to the subway.  Back to our apartment for an afternoon siesta and evening at home.  There is a beautiful sunset this PM.  Perfect way to end a perfect day.