Everybody says you must have churros at least once per visit to Madrid, so on my last day, I finally caved, ate fruit for breakfast to conserve calories, ran 12k to burn calories, and then visited the famous Chocolatería San Ginés for chocolate con churros. Chocolate con churros consists of a cup of a hot chocolate/pudding-textured (think a more pudding like Italian hot chocolate for those of you who are familiar with Brunetti in Melbourne) sauce served with sticks of fried dough on the side for dipping. The churros served more as a vessel for the chocolate, rather than as valuable beings in their own right. In particular, they lacked in flavor and didn’t have a soft doughy center as I expected. I also would have preferred straight, melted dark chocolate as the dip. Although I am a huge fan of fried dough (think funnel cake), the churros were nothing special; next time I will save the calories for Mallorquina.
As it ends up, tonight was the highlight of my visit to Madrid. I was lucky enough to score a ticket to the Real Madrid futbol game (against Rayo Vallecano). I have never followed soccer, but of course knew of the riotous and raucous games that, in some ways, define the Spanish spirit. I was not disappointed. There are a ton of police officers throughout the stadium and guards surrounding the field to protect the players from the crowd. I was allowed to take in my bottle of water, but had to leave the cap at the door so that it couldn’t be used as a projectile weapon. Real Madrid won, as was expected, although there was a bit of an upset in the first thirty seconds when Rayo Vallecano scored a goal almost immediately. Real Madrid picked up its game in the second half and won 6-2. Here are some snaps:
Me —
Christiano Ronaldo (sigh) —
Oh yeah, and everyone else —
Not only was the game great fun, but I also made some friends. The girl sitting next to me was very friendly, and a local, and she, her boyfriend, and their visiting friend took me out to a Spanish late night dinner following the game. Oh, I almost forgot! I was on Spanish television! They were interviewing fans and Celia, my new friend, dragged me in front of the camera. She gave her commentary while I stood there smiling like a fool. Classic.
I love Madrid.
Tomorrow I head to Morocco for 15 days. Internet may be a bit spotty but I will try post as regularly as possible. Thanks for tuning in.
365bitesaroundtheworld 