For this week’s post in my series documenting my trip to Spain two months ago, I thought I’d show you one very pleasant afternoon that we spent in Madrid. One of the highlights of my trip was meeting up with blogger friends and I believe Marién’s blog Te Veo en Madrid might have been the first blog that I followed several years ago when I began blogging. Certainly it was the first blog in Spanish that I followed. We became friends via the blogosphere and decided to meet while my family and I were in Madrid in March. Wow, it’s already been two months ago, heavy sigh…..But, I am keeping the trip alive by relating my fun experiences and sharing photos.
Marién invited us to tour the Realistas de Madrid exhibit at the Thyssen museum so we met her there to begin our afternoon. It’s an exhibit of many pieces of art from a group of painters and sculptors who all lived and worked in Madrid. It’s going on until May 22 so if you’re in Madrid, do get tickets for it. You won’t be disappointed! Unfortunately they didn’t allow photographs so I only have two photos from just outside the exhibit:
After the exhibit Marién showed us around Las Letras neighborhood. First we saw the Congreso de Los Diputados where the attempted coup d’etat happened in 1981, while I was a student in Madrid. We continued our tour and saw many interesting shops and Marién told us that many of them change often. We went into a shop that had handmade silk scarves that were so beautiful!! Alas, I forgot to take photos so you’ll just have to imagine how beautiful they were. We saw the house where Cervantes lived and died and Lope de Vega’s house and garden. A funny aside here. Hubby had not heard of Lope de Vega so he asked about him. So both Marién and I said he was a famous Spanish playwright and when he asked what he wrote the only thing that came to my mind was Fuenteovejuna, a memory from over 35 years ago. I remember my roommates from my year in Madrid were reading it for a class. I took a brief look at his plays and poems via google and nothing looks familiar but Fuenteovejuna is emblazoned in my memory for some reason.
We talked via email about where we should eat comida (lunch) and Marién suggested one of her favorite restaurants Moratin Vinoteca Bistrot and made a reservation for us about two weeks in advance. You must make reservations for this restaurant as it’s very popular and not very big. The food was fantastic and the service impeccable. If you’re in Madrid, do yourself a favor and make a reservation to eat here. I can just about guarantee that you will enjoy it as we did. I wrote a review on Trip Advisor. Feel free to have a look at it via the link.
After lunch we went our separate ways but I think of that day often and I hope to meet up with Marién again when I’m next in Madrid.
travels with toby 
Hey, I’ve been to that exhibition and really enjoyed it :)
Cool! yes, we all really enjoyed it too!
Toby, I love the shot of the restaurant and its triangular arch. It looks inviting and quaint. Muchas gracias, senora. Keith
Thanks Keith! Hubby is still talking about that meal :) We hope to go back again. Some day….
Sounds exciting meeting a blogging friend and spending time together–and in Madrid!
Food looks tempting and I love the pictures. Thanks for sharing, Toby. <3
Yes, it was lovely! I learned many things from each blogger friend that I met up with. Such fun! Glad you enjoyed :)
I did enjoy, but not as much as YOU with your new friends. :-)
He he 🤓
I’ll be in Madrid in July for a mate’s 40th birthday. He wants to book a nice meal to celebrate, but as there will be 12 of us is that restaurant a bit too small? It definitely looks good to me!
Hmmm, it might be too small for 12 people. You could perhaps email them and ask about that? I found this email addy on their website: contacto@vinotecamoratin.com
here’s their website too: http://www.vinotecamoratin.com/
You could also have a look at my friend’s blog for ideas as she is the expert on restaurants in Madrid. It’s the Te Veo en Madrid link within this post. Whatever you do, enjoy!!
I do have another suggestion: Cafe Varela. We enjoyed a most delicious paella there and the service is impeccable! They do take reservations and I remember seeing a large group of people (at least 12, probably more) having a party.
Muchas gracias for the tips! I’ll have a look at Te Veo and will pass it on to the birthday boy who will ultimately decide. Shame I can’t have that plate of leeks though!
De nada. Buena suerte 😊
How wonderful to meet great people and enjoy a great meal! The leeks and artichokes look great, as does the painting. As for Fuenteovejuna, it sounds like a word we practiced in Spanish Linguistics…
All of it was delicious!! Ha ha on your Fuenteovejuna comment :)
Great way to spend a day, Tobyo. :)
Definitely! I can’t wait to go back!
Thank you toby it was a pleasure to share this afternoon with you. Hope to see you again here in Madrid
Definitely!!
Hi Tobyo! I’ve been to the realist exhibition too – my youngest (aged 7) pulled out some horrendous behaviour, reminding us that just when you think your kids are old enough to go to museums, they’ll prove you otherwise… I just fell in love with this city all over again this San Isidro – we took the kids to see a family-friendly Vivaldi and Mozart concert in front of the royal palace, then we had a romantic date night (sans kids, obviously) string quartet concert at the Templo de Debod at sunset, and we topped it off with a beer on a rooftop terrace overlooking Gran Vía. ¡Me encanta esta ciudad! <3 <3
That all sounds grand! Well, except for the child that acted up in the museum. A mi me encanta esta ciudad también. Gracias por tu visita y el comentario. Estoy muy agradecida :)
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