Madrid (Spain, Part II)

Before we get to Day 2, we should comment on the rest of our first day in Spain, dontcha think?

It was quite fine. 

Checking into the Palacio went well. We sat in chairs in the lobby of the Palacio de los Duques Gran Melia underneath an imposing mural of the aforementioned Marguerite and checked in. We were, of course, tired from our transatlantic flight and, maybe partly influenced by the freely flowing Cava during the process, we simply said yes when asked if we wanted the upgrade to access for a "private room" lounge on the lobby floor with tapas and an open bar. Breakfast was also included but we went for that upgrade. I think it was a good thing but Lee Ann thinks we should not have done it. We did use it several times and it was relaxing and mostly very private. It also hosted our one and only Bananagrams games on the trip.

We were led to our room and it was beautiful. Pretty spacious, a beautiful 3rd floor balcony view of Madrid, and a huge portrait of just the Marguerite. We spent some time in the room unpacking and, adhering to advice we had been given about jet lag, fiddled about the room before walking down the street to a music store suggested by our hotel baggage handler on seeing my uke, then on through charming graffitied streets lined with small cafes and shops to the Royal Palace (which we would tour on day 2), awash with tourists but not in a crowded way, on down the hill past the Senado de Espanol, classical buildings, a square where a group of Asian dancers were being filmed in front of a fountain. Finally, maybe an hour after leaving the hotel, very very tired, we made our way through narrow streets and alleys back to hotel, on the way to the room checking out the hotel's rooftop:

Back in the room, we ordered room service food, a roasted avocado with rice and a club sandwich on naan with unripe red tomato and something like cheese wiz (fries were good but how can you screw up fries?) and a beer from the mini-bar (I could not find opener in the room so I pried it open with a table knife). It was the only truly disappointing meal we were served on our trip. We slept for 2 hours, per jet lag advice, arose and walked again, this time after soliciting the direction of Catherine, our concierge on duty (Grace's shift was over). Catherine's advice led us to picturesque and charming streetways thronging with pedestrians, to Marketplace San Miguel, the tourist version of a market, but cred-heavy because it was built on the bones of the first marketplace in Madrid. 

I got an Estrella Damm beer 

"Spain's Beer," Estrella Damm

(my fave Spanish beer so far) and Lee Ann had a glass of a nice white wine. We found it interesting how one would get a glass at one vendor then leave the empty anywhere in the market. We learned later that the vendors sorted all that out at the end of each night. We wended our way through crowds of tourists and (some) locals enjoying tapas at the market, then returned to Daniel's oyster bar booth where we split 8 freakin' delicious oysters.

Marketplace San Miquel, Madrid, ES

Getting tired, but just happy to be out in the world together, we  walked back to hotel in light but steady rain, stopping in at the Royal Church of Saint James and Saint John the Baptist in the Plaza de Santiago (https://bit.ly/churchofjamesandjohn).

We stopped at that "private room" and realize we were too zonked to go to Four Seasons Hotel so we cancelled our reservation (our dinner the next night was one of several gourmet restaurants run by Dani Garcia and his first had been at that hotel). Up to the comfy room, we passed out. I am so in love with my honey.

Next, Day 2. Really.