Madrid, I Remember This

Hovering over a statue of King Charles III, Madrid's first billboard, the Tio Pepe sign, advertising a famous sherry for more than a century, at the Puerto del Sol.


A dark story behind this statue: bears once lived in royal hunting grounds outside the city.

Drooling over olives with red and green peppers at the Mercado de San Miquel.

Olives, bread, fruit, sweets: the perfect fare for a picnic in the tree lined Retiro Park.


Boaters enjoying a sail on the lake at Retiro Park.


A home Mrs. Bucket would admire: the Royal Palace (Palacio Real).

Imagine the candlelight suppers that are thrown here.

Doesn't everything seem more magical at night?

Enjoying toasted bread with grilled eggplant, tomatoes and olive oil at El Arbol Y La Tosta, just outside the park.

Savoring a soy cafe con leche, 2.50 euros, at Le Pain Quotidien at Plaza Mayor. Also find soy milk at Starbucks, where a cafe con leche will run 1.90 euros, plus a .40 euros charge for the soy milk.

Directly across from McDonald's and KFC, making a more humane meal choice at Maoz Vegetarian. The bowl came with refills: I choose olive pate, a spicy chickpea stew, carrots, couscous, and roasted cauliflower. With an orange juice and falafel, the cost was 5 euros. Find Maoz in the U.S. as well, including in New York City. Even non-vegetarian food blogger David Lebovitz sang the praises of Maoz.


Outside of Chocolatería San Ginés, a dog enjoying the canine good life of a mid-morning respite as his guardian lingers over the paper.

The good life it all is, indeed.