Madrid is a perfect combination of old and new. Beautiful old buildings with statues adorning the roof tops. Next door is a modern building with new architecture. It makes the city a perfect place to visit and we think very livable. We traveled around on a city bus that was free...to everyone. It's a very walkable city but for long hauls it was nice to take the clean electric buses.
The last time we were in Madrid, graffiti covered every building. This time, the city was free of most graffiti at least in the Central District where we stayed. I think they have made a concerted effort to clean up the city. It's working. Madrid was clean, friendly and safe.
It's all about the food and drink for us. We went to several places and had wine, tapas and Vermut . Vermut (the Spanish pronunciation) is a fortified wine that tastes somewhat sweet and goes down very smooth. It's very good!Every bar and restaurant serves tapas, some complimentary and some you purchase. Since the Spaniards don't eat dinner until 9 pm or later, tapas and cocktails fulfill the time between 3-7. It is a very social time and a great time to sample local food that is served in small portions. We ate Tapas and drank every afternoon-evening and that was typically our dinner since eating at 9 pm is not for us.
We also found a specialty chocolate store and had to buy a brick of dark chocolate.
That one drink looks like it has an orange slice AND an olive. That seems like a very strange combo. The tapas sound wonderful!
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