Hola amigos. Estoy en Madrid y estoy comiendo muchas cosas interestes y deliciosos!

Hello from Madrid.  I’ve been in the city for four days and I’m already eating my way through the city. I’ll be here for the next four months, so keep checking.  When I finally get a daily routine, want to write at least four times a week, marking the most memorable moments.  But first, a few observations in the first hours.

First, eating late is not nearly as difficult as I anticipated. Staying out, however and not getting tired in the middle of the day, is impossible and requires a siesta after lunch or a mega-espresso. Luckily, both are abundant.
Second, the coffee in the morning is simply better here.  I think it is because the milk is unpasteurized. At the Hotel Regina, the hot milk sat right next to the coffee in the same kind of heater. It came out in a thick stream, mixing with the deep brown liquid in my cup with latte-like deliciousness.

Third, it’s difficult not to stop in every single tiny eatery for a bite.  The long legs of ham hanging in the window and the inviting counter tops filled with little plates of cheese, olives and meat call to me….

And fourth, I love that when you sit at the bar and order wine the bar tenders keep handing you little tastes of things, homemade chips, fresh slices of manchego, bright green meaty olives and bite size rosemary sausage.  And that wine? It’s like Switzerland with its budget chocolate that is better than Godiva, the Vino de Casa is (usually) a rioja and always pleases the tongue, placates the wallet and perfectly matches the food.

For now that is all…. so much more to come. But I’ll leave you with this: though these “gambas a la plancha” (grilled shrimp) were nothing to write home about, the pictures turned out really well.