Yesterday, Tuesday, was full on Madrid. Must admit that the first couple of hours were a lesson in humility – big and busy city, very limited language skills on my part, and just different methods of operation. Very much reminded me of my landing in Paris for the first time back in 2007.

Well once I had fully digested my deja vu, got on with working the map I had from the hotel, asking locals for directions, and in general getting myself lost and then unlost. In other words, the time honored way of learning how to get around in a new place. BTW, while the police are helpful, the best directions are obtained from garage attendants. 😉  In fairness, the aforementioned police were the national, not local, police and maybe they just don’t really know the city either.

My initial destination was Plaza Major which I eventually did find and it did not disappoint. Turns out that this year is its 400th year anniversary. Beautifully preserved in my opinion and it appeared some sprucing up had  just finished up as scaffolding was being torn down.

At this point had a late lunch under canvas in the square. Two points, the first being that it just feels right to eat outdoors in Madrid. Second, that the Spaniards are truly in sync with my meal schedule – late breakfast, later lunch, and even later dinner. And the food has not disappointed. Lunch, which was back at the restaurant attached to my hotel, was a three course affair. The highlight was the beef sirloin which was simply the most tender cut of beef I have ever encountered – no effort to cut and began to melt in my mouth. Say “began” as I was too enamored with the accompanying sauce to let the full process play out.

Back at Plaza Major, after breakfast, found the tourism office and received much needed resources – better map, upcoming events this week, as well as fascinating conversation with one of the attendants. He was from Beijing and speaks fluent Chinese, English, and Spanish – impressive! I asked him if he spoke any other languages – not yet, but wants to learn French to better assist the French tourists who are less likely to know English unlike the Northern Europeans.

Also stumbled across two coin shops in the square and not far from each other. Will definitely being returning later in the week and this will probably result in a significant off-budget event. 😉  Then it was off to get some more pictures just beyond Plaza Major, get acquainted with the Metro, and get lost a bit more before re-finding my hotel for the late lunch.