Last Day in Spain
Posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 9:52 amMy last day in Madrid was a Monday, when many of the museums and other tourist destinations are closed. After six weeks of self-restraint, I shopped for some souvenirs. I knew that I wanted spices and ovenproof dishes.
I walked all over the city on that sunny last day…
Wandering, I found a small street with a store, intriguingly called Spicy Yuli (Calle Valverde 42). It turned out to be the Grand Opening of an adorable spice shop. The store is named after its owner, Yuli, who I liked immensely right away. I was one of the day’s very first customers. I’d been hoping to find some pimenton and saffron for gifts; this was the perfect place to get it.
Approaching lunchtime, I decided to try out Ferran Adria’s fast food concept, Fast Good (Calle de Juan Bravo 3). I figured that, since I hadn’t even tried to go to El Bulli, I should at least check out his idea of a hamburger. I walked a good 45 minutes to get there, only to find it graffiti-clad and closed. I was stunned to think that Adria’s concept might have gone under. (The website still lists that location on Juan Bravo. It also lists a second Madrid location and announces expansion to four other cities. You might want to call ahead.)
Hungry from all the walking, I decided to go back to Taberna de la Daniela (Calle del General Pardinas 21). Lola, who had served me the massive Cocida Madrileno a week earlier, was there again. She recommended that I order the patatas y jamon. She said with a smile, ”When you’re in my house, you get what I say.” Of course, I took her advice. It was a filling lunch of fried potatoes, topped with chewy chunks of delicious dried jamon and a soft egg, served with toasted bread.
I knew exactly the kind of terra cotta, ovenproof dishes that I wanted. Called cazuela dishes, they are handmade by artisans across Spain. I’d been served plenty of tapas in them during my travels. All day, I kept my eye out for the dishes. Nearing 6pm, I had almost given up when I saw someone going into another mercado. I followed. Just inside, I saw a large display of them. I was so excited. They were very reasonably priced, ranging from two to four euros, depending on the size. I got a set for me and a set for my mom. I also bought a paella pan. The large, flat paella pan pressed out the sides of my green backpack, making it look like a turtle shell.
Walking back toward the hostel, I stopped at Spicy Yuli to get some more pimenton. Yuli and I had hit it off, so we made plans to get together with her boyfriend after the shop closed. She asked if it was okay to meet at a “dirty” bar. I said “yes,” trusting her recommendation for a great local spot, but not quite knowing what she meant… dive bar or burlesque?!
I met Yuli and her boyfriend at Ovni. It was a nice enough, not fancy, locals bar, close to Sol. It turned out to be the perfect last meal of my trip: a little jamon, a few croquetas, and a fair amount of sangria, all in excellent Spanish company.
At the end of the night, I was honored that Yuli took me back to her apartment to see its rooftop view of Sol. I felt priviledged to enter a Spanish home. Looking out over Sol and beyond, my adventures ended on a definite high point.
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