Day 3 Madrid

It was a rather uncomfortable bouncy flight but at least we were on a working plane. We arrived at 7 am, got our luggage with no problem and took a taxi to our apartment that we rented through Airbnb. It turned out to be a nice newly renovated one bedroom apartment complete with washer and dryer. The owner and his sister met us and showed us around the unit. They were really nice and told us if we needed anything to just ask. We unpacked, and as usual, resisted the urge to take a nap. We were very tired since we hadn't slept much neither the night before or on the plane, but we found out it really works best if you stay awake and go to sleep the normal time. Otherwise we'd never get use to the time change. This is the most useful information I can give. Actually this is probably the only useful information I'll give.

The first thing we did was spend time walking the neighborhood to get the feel for where things are and what there is to do. The apartment is in the Chueca neighborhood which is noted for being Gay, trending, lots of fine food, shops, and culture. After spending a couple of hours checking out the area we were more than pleased with Chueca. We got all required provisions at a terrific nearby market and grocery store. By provisions I mean vodka, wine, coffee, baguette and butter.

Later in the afternoon we walked down to the Sol-Gran Via area to see what was happening down there. It was definitely the tourist area and way different from Chueca. We didn't have time to visit Mercado de San Miguel, probably the best market around, but we will probably go tomorrow. While we were there we had a late lunch in Sol at a place called Alhambra. It was busy and looked as local as anyplace around. Plus it didn't have an English menu, which is some indication that it's not too touristy. The downside is that we didn't know what we ordered. We ended up with paella, something with red peppers, tuna steak, beef steak, cheese cake, apple pie, and a bottle of wine all for less than $30. It was pretty good too, but way more than we could eat.

Afterwards we went back to Chueca and spent more time walking our neighborhood and had a few drinks at a nearby outdoor cafe that we'll probably go back to. We got back to the apartment around 7 and I managed to stay awake until almost 10 o'clock.

Our street

Out Apartment