La Gran Vía, Madrid, Spain – Photo courtesy of Turespaña
First Day– After recovering from the jet lag, we went out to lunch in one of my favorite places, Casa Lucio, in the Cava Baja 35, in one of the most historic and attractive areas of Madrid. Lucio, the owner, has received celebrities and dignitaries from all over the world, including the Kings of Spain. My favorite dish is the Huevos Estrellados de Lucio, from cage-free hen eggs over a bed of fried potatoes. Warning: it is often difficult to get a table at Lucio’s so we suggest calling way in advance (perhaps even months before) and ask to be seated on the first floor, unless you want the privacy of the second floor.
After lunch we walked to the Plaza Mayor, built from the sixteenth to the seventeenth century, to have a “café” and to browse at the small stores that surround it. This historic plaza was once the site of bullfights and “autos de fe” by the Spanish Inquisition. It is a major tourism attraction and especially popular on Sundays (between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.), when vendors sell antique stamps, coins and currency. A Christmas market opens in late November at this beautiful plaza, with more than 100 stands.
Make sure to leave no later than 5:30 p.m. and go back to the hotel for the traditional siesta. You should then get up around 7:30 p.m. and start the “route of the tapas” around 8 p.m. Dinner will not be until 10 or 10:30 p.m. and the night goes on until very late (sometimes till morning).
