Travel to Madrid, Spain – Episode 565

Hear about travel to Madrid, Spain as the Amateur Traveler talks to James Blick from DevourTours.com and Yolanda Martin from TheFlamencoGuide.com about their city.

James says of Madrid, “Madrid has no Eiffel Tower. What I mean by that is that a lot of people struggle as to why they should visit Madrid because they feel like it lacks that one central thing that they can gravitate around or think about like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Hemingway called it the most Spanish city, and it really is a city that pulls in culture and cuisine from all around the country. it’s a melting pot so you get a flavor of the entire country in one place.”

James and Yolanda take us on a tour of some of the neighborhoods of their favorite city. We start in Puerta del Sol in the city’s center and the country’s center. This is the place from which all mileage in Spain is measured. We make a stop in Plaza Mayor for a calamari sandwich, but they say that Puerta del Sol is more the heart of the city for locals and Plaza Mayor is not the place to sit and get a cup of coffee or a meal.

We make obvious stops like the Royal Palace and the museums including the Prado, Reina Sophia, and the Thyssen. But we also are guided to some out-of-the-way spots like a place you can buy cookies from a cloistered order of nuns. We hear about churches with Goya paintings and why a landlocked city like Madrid has the 2nd largest fish market in the world.

James shares his love of food by guiding us to some great bars and restaurants where we can find traditional and less traditional tapas.

Yolanda shares her love of flamenco. Flamenco is really from Andalusia but she makes a case that the best performers come to Madrid. She guides us past the touristy show to places where you can find authentic flamenco or even places where the flamenco performers congregate after their shows.

We prepare you for a Spanish schedule where “the first thing in the morning” may mean 10 am and where you may still be eating dinner at midnight.

After a few days in the city, there are some great side trips to take on Spain’s great train system and we discuss The Valley of the Fallen, El Escorial, Segovia, and Toledo. We also talk about the wine region which surrounds Madrid and how to tour it.

Join us in a colorful, vibrant city, with two guides that can lead you to its hidden spots.

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Show Notes

devourtours.com
theflamencoguide.com
Prado Museum
Reina Sophia Museum
Thyssen Museum
Puerta del Sol
Plaza Mayor
La Movida Madrileña
La Mallorquina (pastry shop with Napolitana de Chocolate)
Bar La Campana (calamari sandwich)
Market of San Miguel
semi-secret cookies baked by secluded nuns in Madrid
Royal Palace of Madrid
Taberna Sanlúcar (Andalusian tapas in La Latina)
Calle Cava Baja, La Latina
Basilica of San Francisco el Grande, Madrid
Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida (Goya’s Grave)
Tapas
Retiro Park

Restaurants east of Retiro park:

KultO (reviews)
La Castela (reviews)
Taberna Laredo (reviews)

St Isidore the Laborer

Live flamenco venues:

Casa Patas
Las Carboneras
Villa Rosa
La Taranta (live flamenco on weekends)
Anton Martin Market
Travel to Segovia and Toledo Spain – Episode 337
Sierra de Guadarrama
Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the Fallen) (Franco’s burial monument)
El Escorial
Wine Tours near Madrid
The Wine Bus
Capricho Park
La Casa Del Abuelo (for garlic prawns)

Community

Hello Amateur Traveler, I’m Wellington from Brazil. I’m starting my travel blog inspired in you. Thank very much!

iTunes by Mailcommando from USA on June 11, 2017

Listening to this podcast every week for the past several years has made working, working out, or driving so much more enjoyable. Thanks Chris! Some of the destinations Chris and his guests talk about I will never get to, but learning about these far off spots is part of the enjoyment. However, many of the destinations have been on our own personal travel radar and his show has become as useful as a GPS. Here is an example: When our family traveled to Kansas City and wanted good BBQ we knew Chris’s guest had recommended good BBQ joints. Problem solved! Great work Chris!

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