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Fatboy
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Question about a Madrid, Spain
We have a day and half layover this weekend (Dec 15/16/17) in Madrid and was looking for any suggestions on....
Things to see
Things to do
Things to eat
Since we will not have a lot of time I would like to make our limited time there worthwhile.
Would like to see a museum but that may take too much of our time.
Any ideas?
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JZ
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Go over to Barcelona. Been to Madrid 2-3 times and Barcelona about a dozen times. Barelona >>>>>>> Madrid.
In Barcelona walk around La Ramblas.
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Fatboy
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Always helpful JZ.
So I am going to Madrid in 4 days and you are saying spend 12 hours driving to another city?
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JZ
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Change your routing. Just trying to help you out.
Btw, there is a bar by the airport in Madrid that is full of Brazilian Bombshells. About $200 euros will allow you to have fun all night (outside the
bar).
Think it is called Flowers, but not 100% sure. Ask the taxi driver.
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chuckie
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What a class act!
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Fatboy
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Isn't he?
Going with my daughter, who is 20, so any ideas anyone beside JZ?
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danaeb
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A fun thing to do with your daughter might be a hop on/hop off bus tour. I've done them before when I have limited time but want to get an overview of
a new city.
https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/madrid-bus-tours
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it.
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Hook
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I spent a week in Madrid about four summers ago.
Honestly, the thing I enjoyed the most was cruising the tapas bars along Cava Baja in the La Latina area. But there are other great tapas bar
boulevards besides Cava Baja. That was just where we were staying and they came highly recommended.
You order a drink, maybe start with sangria and you get a tapa for free or for really cheap. My wife and I had a rule, one drink per bar. And no more
than one tapa per bar. Just keep moving.
Another light starter drink is this rather sour hard cider. It's not for every palette. Many bars have this dispenser where the barkeep shoots this
about three feet, horizontally, into a glass. It's in a pressurized tap.
Spain has some good wines. I prefer the reds from the Ribera del Duero area over La Rioja. For whites, I like Verdejo and Torrontes wines.
I love the way the Spaniards eat and drink! We actually found this to be a rather cheap night out for "dinner" and drinks. Dress up, like the locals!
Stroll the avenues and the plazas! Drink and eat, in and out in 15-30 minutes, and back out in the fresh air and with the locals.
Really, Europe is a fun "continent" to bring some dress slacks, a collared shirt and a ratty sport coat and do the town. While nothing beats the
comfort of Levis and a tee-shirt with some kind of emblem on it, nothing screams American tourist more. I think we strike up better conversations when
we are dressing UP.
We do speak decent Spanish. But everyone loves to practice their English, too. It becomes a fun combination of English, Spanish and Spanglish.
The drinking age is probably 18, so she is good to go, I would think.
Now, this may seem corny to you, but we really liked attending flamenco performances in flamenco clubs. We did it in several cities. It's just a very
high-energy, highly percussive experience that really draws the audience into the performance. Usually just a guitarist, a percussionist and a female
dancer..........who didnt look Brazilian, I dont think. Yeah, I probably would have remembered that......
We loved it!
We also really enjoyed walking the Mercado San Miguel.
Madrid has a pretty good subway system. No place is too far away.
I also remember a big park and botanical gardens that were very close to the Atocha train and subway complex. That was great walking.
Those were the most fun things we did. Brazilians might have been more fun, but the divorce lawyer would have cost more than 200.00, for sure.
[Edited on 12-12-2018 by Hook]
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Cancamo
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Prado Museum,
World class.
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Fatboy
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Thanks, Hook and Cancamo.
Tapas are on the to do list....your idea of 1 drink per place is great.
Prado Museum is a wish list item, we originally had 4 days, but plans changed. Might still do the Prado.
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Fatboy
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DANAEB - Thank you also, that is a possibility now that you let me know about. 
Again we have 1 full day. We arrive Saturday afternoon and leave mid-day Monday.
Now We have much more time in Dublin and London so I am looking into that for those cities.
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Hook
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I just remembered. The Royal Palace of Madrid is definitely worth seeing. There is a lot of great artwork in there. Not as great as the Prado, of
course, but it's worth it.
Like Italy, Spain has lots of plazas (like the Plaza Mayor) that become areas of outdoor cafes around lunch time, and into the night. This sounds
great, doesnt it? Dining or drinking al fresco? Problem is, so many Europeans smoke cigs and they can legally do that in these cafes. It was a bit of
a bummer for us. That's another reason why we preferred the interiors of tapas bars.
I think it is worth it to look at the top ten lists of "things to do" on a site like Tripadvisor. Read them and see what appeals to you. We augment
this with articles by newspapers in the UK; the Brits have been everywhere on "the continent".
[Edited on 12-12-2018 by Hook]
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pacificobob
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i have done that in Madrid. excellent suggestion. well worth the small fee. i love Madrid. although not often mentioned, Madrid has a ton of
world-class cuisine.
[Edited on 12-12-2018 by pacificobob]
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DanO
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Ditto the Prado, tapas hopping and flamenco clubs. Two other must do's are the roast suckling pig at Sobrino de Botin (Hemingway's favorite
restaurant and a setting for the final scene in The Sun Also Rises), and the Sunday bullfights at Las Ventas bullring.
\"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.\" -- Frank Zappa
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Fatboy
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Ah, Flamenco Club, that might be really fun.
Going to the Plaza Mayor, and hitting up some Tapa places. Museums going to be high on the list but going to see how the time plays out.
Thank you to everyone that has provided positive responses on here.... anything else, anyone?
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DanO
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One more restaurant recommendation. Taberna San Mamos has a dish called Callos a la Madrilena. Hands down the best tripe dish I've ever had. It's
like menudo meets osso buco. Anthony Bourdain featured the place on one of his shows.
\"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.\" -- Frank Zappa
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elgatoloco
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Start the day coffee with churros y champurrado. Head to the Prado early. Lunch in the Plaza. Then Reina Sofia to view Guernica. Strolling dinner of
tapas. Flamenco to end the night. Ole!
If you happen to be strolling by the museo de jamon slide in for a free taste or two.  
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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Fatboy
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DanO and Elgatoloco.... Great Ideas on both.... Sounds like our day will be spent like Elgatoloco posted
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Marc
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If time permits. Reina Sofia Museum shows Picasso's 'Grernica".
Also; a not to far drive is El Escoreal. (spelling?) A magnificient palace in the hills near Madrid.
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Fatboy
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Quote: Originally posted by Marc  | If time permits. Reina Sofia Museum shows Picasso's 'Grernica".
Also; a not to far drive is El Escoreal. (spelling?) A magnificient palace in the hills near Madrid. |
We were already in Madrid when you posted this...
But did see some Picasso's in London, along with a bunch of other great artist's work....
We really liked Madrid, even though we were there for such a short time.
From Madrid, we went to Dublin where we spent 3 days before taking the train to Killarney, Ireland where we spent 10 days backpacking 70 miles of the
Kerry way.
Then back to Dublin for the night before heading to London for a week and then home.
London was cool since there are many free museums there and a week went by way to fast.
It was a great month in Europe!
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