“…but, in the meantime, I would prefer to dine on suckling pig at Botín than sit and think about the accidents which my friends could suffer." (Ernest Hemingway)

Saturday  20 June

Lisbon to Madrid

We loved Lisbon and really enjoyed the relaxed vibe of Portugal. Great check out, quick taxi ride to the airport with a driver who was very complimentary to Mary. He said, also, that I was very lucky because mostly he just takes the wives to the airport, the husbands stay in Portugal because the girls are so gorgeous, but if Dick stayed and didn't go back with Mary he would not be very intelligent.. So true. The check in, baggage drop off and security checks were completed swiftly, proving that the Portuguese are friendly, helpful and relaxed,

We had a really smooth transfer from Lisbon to Madrid, arriving at our hotel, which is right in the heart of downtown Madrid.

We went for an exploratory walk and were bombarded with noise, people, heat and the sense that Madrid is a place where life is lived large. Eventually we found the Tourist Info centre and received a few maps of various precincts in Madrid. And it is HOT!

We enjoyed drinks on the hotel's 9^th floor terrace with Andy and Kristin, catching up on each other’s travels before heading downtown to the oldest restaurant in Madrid, Sobrinho de Botin, founded in 1725, with a Guinness Book of Records Certificate, where we enjoyed a fantastic meal –  suckling pig with boiled potato, beans (with jambon) and artichokes (with jambon), Spanish wine and digestifs.

The maitre d' was very funny, sharing his photos of various celebrities, Charlize Theron, Robert de Niro, Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and himself when he was a matador. A Mexican man stopped by to tell us he thought Dick looked like George Bush's father. That's when we thought it time to go. The restaurant has at least four levels, rooms all over. We were taken on a tour, from the top level, the kitchen and down to the cellar, where it was about ten degrees cooler than upstairs. There is a room with shelves lined with suckling pigs and lambs that were cooked in a huge wood fired oven.

Afterwards on the way home we stopped at the market and enjoyed a plate of olives with and a beer at the Market, which was crowded, noisy, vibrant, exciting.

Then there was a religious ceremony/anniversary about something from 75 years ago. The procession was weaving its way through the streets at 11 pm. 

We got back to the hotel, which looks like a giant meringue on the Gran Via, into our cool, quiet room.