Since my return from the fabulous city of Madrid where I had a wonderful weekend with the girlies. I've been meaning to write about my top five things to do with the lasses. Strangely, they all seem to be about food or drink, rather than sight-seeing. Ah well.
1. Tuck into late night chocolate con churros at Chocolateria San Gines
Oh yum. We checked into the hotel just after midnight, then wandered straight through the bustling streets of Madrid for some decadent early hours snacking of chocolate con churros at this prime spot. €3.70 gets you a cup of warm, liquid chocolate and a mound of deep-fried churros - a type of Spanish doughnut - that is just a perfect way to start a weekend. And Chocolateria San Gines is only closed for 2 hours a day (7am until 9am).
2. Enjoy a glass of 'green wine' in Madrid's hidden, and not so hidden, bars
When in Madrid, you must try the delicious 'green wine' - or vinho verde. There were several bars we went to which were wonderful, but the one with the best selection of wine had to be El Tempranillo on Cava Baja. The worst thing about this bar was the nasty waiter man with a bad attitude. Still, the amazing selection of wine, at very cheap prices, allowed us to forget about the horrible man once we got a seat, and the bartender was actually quite cute, so we focused our wine goggles on him instead.
3. Sip champagne and eat tapas at the Mercado de San Miguel
Oh my word - the Mercado de San Miguel is the place to visit for a really unique night out in Madrid (and to fill up cheaply on good food). The market is a culinary food centre with different vendors selling their foodie wares and their lovely wines. You can buy lots of tasty nibbles and try different wines and champagne, then seat yourself at a table and stool running through the market's middle. One stall sells many different tapas toasts with fishy toppings such as creamed herring for 1 Euro each! Or try a taster plate of paella for 3 Euros from a different stall. The market is open until midnight on Sunday, and 1am on Saturday.
4. Drink an afternoon beer in Plaza Mayor
The prices are hiked up compared to the rest of the city, but you can't come to Madrid and not drink a beer in one of the cafes in Plaza Mayor. Several of the outdoor terraces of the restaurants and eateries have the added luxury of providing fine water sprays over you to cool you down while you sit (so you do get a bit more for your money!) and of course, you get to see some of the odd ways in which people are earning a living, by watching the freakish street entertainers! And there are artists selling their paintings here too.
5. Dance the night away in Madrid's bars and clubs
Madrid, as we discovered, is very definitely a buzzing and happening 'night time city'. The night life is reputedly some of the best in the world, and we found that reputation proved itself. Though our clubbing experience wasn't what we intended (we ended up in a club called 'Buddha' way outside the city centre, ultra expensive, posey and didn't get going until 3am), we found many bars that you could dance in way until the early hours. We especially enjoyed being around Huertas, which is fairly mainstream and near where we were staying, as well as the gay area Chueca. La Latina was great to get a fix of tapas and wine, before going off dancing.
Read more about Madrid in the Madrid (Lonely Planet City Guide)
, which has got an excellent map and some comprehensive walking tours (including one of the old city which we actually followed - although we did frequently stop for beer and tapas!).
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