Mercado de San Miguel is like a Spanish food court gone wild. The building is walking distance from our hotel in one of the many plazas of Madrid. The walls are made of glass and one can see the bustling activity inside. The best food that Spain has to offer may be found in the many shops and stalls. And wine and beer are overflowing.
Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid, Spain.
The mercado caters to shoppers with the freshest seafood, meat, fruits, and vegetables but these may also be cooked and consumed in the premises. I think most people that go there eat and drink at the mercado. And why not? It has such a noisy festive atmosphere! The limited number of tables are jampacked and waiting time is long. We were lucky we got a table right away. We stayed there for quite some time and ended meeting tablemates who became friends.
Los mariscos (seafood/shellfish) cooked the way you want it.
Pasta on bread Nope, that's fish - like tiny eels. And that's my adventurous wife eating it. I tried a bite and it was delicious!
Would you believe this couple from Italy, Vittoria and Guiliano, are both 67 years old? He's a retired army pilot and she's the most gorgeous sexagenarian we've met.
Our young señorita wine server was very friendly and generous with the serving sizes.
This is Esteban, a university professor. We called him Steve. He hung out with us while his family was out shopping. A world traveler, we had so much fun comparing notes.
This couple is from Ireland. We talked about UK and US politics, in English for a change. Ha!
After dinner, i.e., close to midnight (la cena in Madrid starts @10pm), we went to the airport for the second time to see if our missing luggage made it on the last flight from Malaga. No luck. But we remained in high spirits, I guess from the new friends and the wine. Also, we got acquainted with the Madrid night scene and the Metro.
The Madrid Metro is a fast, easy to use, and inexpensive mode of transportation in Madrid.
The cabins are clean, well-ventilated, and the AC is cold. Necesito en verano!
A well-lit government edifice.
