Last night we had a wonderful dinner. We ate at El Valle (Calle de Sebastián Herrera, 6 Madrid, Spain). It only gets a 3.6 on Trip Advisor but this was our second time visiting this restaurant and we give it 5 stars. Clearly Reiss Travel Blog is about to surpass Trip Advisor with users. The food was excellent. We had a Turbot that fed all 4 of us. The food was very good and the waiter deboned the fish (not all bones were gone, so be careful when swallowing). Last time we were here the server did the deboning at our table which provided a wonderful show. This time it was done out of sight. The service was good except for one of the busboys spilling our water (which we paid for) and then he planned to just put a small towel over the wet area that encompassed almost half our eating space. We convinced him to change the table cloth instead. In addition to the turbot we had a side order of potatoes (that came with the fish) and appetizers of calamari and croquettes. They gave us a complementary after dinner drink called Crema de Orujo which was a lot like Bailey’s. Then we shared a Tart de Santiago (almond cake) for dessert. It was a wonderful meal. Following dinner we hung out at the hotel for a while and then it was off to bed.
I slept in this morning and got us off to a late start. Erica gave us instructions on how to take the bus to her place. I love learning how to get around town with local transportation. I did a great job, turning a 16 minute walk into a 20 minute bus trip.
For breakfast Erica took us to a local place which was one of the few places that were open because today is Constitution day (December 6) a holiday in Spain. The place had seating inside and out. It is not horribly cold so we might have chosen to sit outside but outside there are frequently smokers nearby. We were told there was only one table inside that would seat the four of us. They said we could have the table ONLY if we promised to vacate by 3 pm. We were told this at 11:30 AM. I LOVE SPAIN.
We then strolled around the town seeing the opera house, Plaza España, Cervantes statue, Sol, and something I’d must have walked by numerous times but never seen before, Raton Perez (known by locals as the “Tooth Fairy”).
We did a fair amount of walking today (obviously I am feeling guilty for not exercising on the treadmill) so this deserved a little treat (oops, need to get back on the treadmill) so we went to the famous Chocolatería San Ginés There we had churros and Spanish style hot chocolate. The hot chocolate is more like a dipping sauce. It was divine.
We need to go back to the hotel to rest before our next activities. Maybe I will go to the fitness center and work out (who am I trying to kid?). Speak to you tomorrow.
Adiós
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 