Our week in Madrid was fabulous. I loved London, Paris was perfect, but Madrid is so cool. Maybe it was the sunny days and warm temps, maybe it was the excellent afternoon siestas, or perhaps it was just a laid back holiday with a lot of really good food. Whatever…we all enjoyed it. An absolute favorite afternoon activity was sitting on the Plaza Santa Ana quaffing cerveza and eating our way through several plates. This wood fired octopus was a favorite with a slightly smoky, sweet flavor that didn’t infringe on the fresh ocean flavor of our favorite cephlapod.

We ordered a salad once because we felt the need to balance out the fish, cheese, sausages, jamon, etc. Funny how the salads come layered with all those things we’re trying to balance against. Naturally we kept ordering salads because they were so delicious.

Obviously the Manchego cheese and Iberian Serrano Jamon was superb. We sampled many fine examples of these regional specialties…it was such a hardship, but we managed.

This simple dish of boiled potatoes dressed with garlic aioli was a favorite and matched up perfect with the cold cerveza. This will definitely be on my list to make here at home.

Empanadas were always a fun thing to order because we had no idea what they would be stuffed with. This one is stuffed with salmon…very tasty.

Each morning we shuffled out to the nearby Cafeteria y Churroteria where we would down multiple cups of cafe con leche as we savored the delicious sweet intensity of Spanish morning pastries. This one is my favorite and and it’s known as the Churro Relleno Dulche de Leche. It was the most intense pastry every…a dulche de leche bomb. I’m already thinking about how I can make something like this at home…after I spend a few weeks at the gym.