We did quite a bit of walking today, and visited some of the places we’d been ten years ago. Some things had changed quite a lot, but others not so much. We stopped at the Mercado de San Miguel, which was originally opened int 1916, and converted into a food hall in 2009. Last time we were here Mick had oysters for €2 each, today they were €3.40. But he very much enjoyed them.

These markets are close to the Plaza Mayor – and last time we were here part of the plaza was undergoing renovations which were a bit of an eye-sore, but the place looked fabulous today despite a couple of new eye-sores.

This statue was installed in 1848 of King Phillip III of Spain. I’d read that it was toppled during the Franco Period and lots of small bones were found inside – thought to be tiny birds believed to have become trapped inside.

But back to the eye-sore. There were two different enlarged loonies here, obviously with a person inside, and obviously wanting some money for just standing there. We spotted more a little further on.

We decided to walk to the Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena – near the Palace, but got sidetracked at the Plaza de la Villa. It’s one of the city’s oldest squares, and the location of the former city hall building, Casa de la Villa. It served as Madrid’s municipal government until 2007.

A few more minutes walking and we arrived at the Almudena Cathedral, and here is where we saw some more eye-sores. There were four blow up things here – but I did my best to avoid getting them in any photos.

This is Madrid’s main cathedral and it took 110 years to be finished. It was started in 1883. We did not venture indoors here.

Directly opposite was one of the gates into the Palace. But it must not have been the mains one, as just around the corner was a huge line up to enter for a tour. Mick groaned when he saw the line, but was pleased when we did not join the line.

It is an impressive structure, but just one of many in this city.

For lunch, after the oysters at the market, we stopped at a Taberna near our accommodation where Mick ordered a glass of white wine (made from Rueda, better know to us as Verdejo) and a gazpacho and I tried a local dish of fried calamari in a sandwich, which here they called a muffin.

It should have come with an aioli sauce, but I opted to avoid that. We really did not want to eat too much during the day today, as we had a reservation for dinner at the oldest, continuously operating restaurant in the world. Yes, the world, according to the Guinness World Records. It was established in 1725 – that’s 300 years ago.

After lunch I walked around the city area, gawping at some of the majestic buildings, many of which now operate as fancy shops, restaurants and bars, or as hotels.

The streets and avenues around here are sometimes referred to as the ‘Spanish Broadway’. Its nightlife is supposed to be pretty cool – but not for the two of us as we have other plans more suited to those in our age group.

I am sure the Schweppes sign would look very impressive at night, when it is lit up. The sign is famous and was mounted on the Art Deco building – Edificio Carrión – in 1933.

After a late rest in the afternoon, Mick and I got dressed in our ‘good clothes’ to make our way to our dinner booking at 8pm. It was only a 700m walk from our accommodation and there were lots of bars and cafés we could (and did) stop for a pre-dinner drink and some people watching on the way.

We have not yet worked out the tapas arrangement in Madrid, at some places when you order a drink you get a small bowl of potato crisps, and others, a bowl of Spanish olives. We love the olives!!

At 7.50pm we headed to join the line – in front of Botin.

Once our name was checked – we were shown upstairs to a small, but well-packed dining room. One of several. I was able to see into one of the kitchens as we climbed the stairs, where the chefs were ready to perform their magic.

We had enjoyed the local speciality of suckling lamb in Aranda de Duero when we first started this trip. There the lamb was carved beside our table, but there was not enough room here. Instead our waiter carved the pig on a small table nearby.

Once we had ordered, our meal was quickly placed at our table. It came with potatoes and we did not need anything else. The skin was so crackly. Delicious.

Another reason this little restaurant is so famous is because Ernest Hemingway referred to it in one of his books – “The Sun Also Rises”, which I can’t say I’ve read.

Another wonderful day in Madrid, but Mick is not so sure about the next activity I have planned for him tomorrow night.