Sooo … we got settled and went out. Um … HELLO?! What is this wet stuff? We had to go back into our room and collect our raincoats. We had no idea it was raining, because I’d closed the shutters. Oops!

So then we went out yet again, and walked toward the opera house. It’s amazing to think they perform eighteen operas a year. Crazy! We do four. SF Opera has cut back to six.

The rain, though, was getting heavier, so we quickly went in to a local spot and had coffee and cake. Not healthy, but hey, it’s vacation! (Of course the rain then stopped.)

After that we walked some more. The person at the hotel desk had said something about the crowds. Little did we know!! It is absolutely insane here. Who knew? Certainly not us!

We finally went into Mercado de San Miguel to have a tapas and vermut. Big yum. And great memories of the first time we visited Madrid.

Then more walking. And the crowds became even more insane. (To the point of, “Is this really even safe?!”)

And then there was this (this should be a video, but I’m not certain it is loading. Maybe later …?):

Eventually we decided to get dinner before the crowds did. It appears they don’t eat until 9:00. Too late for me, for sure. We chose an Argentinian spot that said it was 19.90€ for a full meal including a drink and dessert.

We sat down, and the menu said 175€. Um. REALLY?!?! Turns out we had to go to the bar area for our deal. Which we did. We aren’t interested in a huge, more meat than you can eat, meal. (At home we don’t even eat meat!) Nor do we need a fancy table. So we moved, apologizing to the people there (but I’ll just bet they are used to this), and placed our order. Even with the smaller, less costly meal, we couldn’t finish. SO much food! TOO much, actually. I think tapas work better for me.

After finishing we had to find our way back to the hotel. My phone navigation system wasn’t working at all (my phone barely worked earlier as well). Turns out I was on something called “Movie Star” rather than the typical “Oxygen” service. Now really … I know I appear a bit like a movie star, but this was a bit much. I’m glad, though, that I figured out the problem

So now we are back in our room. I’m hoping to sleep tonight, but these late meals do make it a challenge, so we shall see how it goes.

Buenas noches!