Greetings from Madrid

I arrived in Madrid at 10 AM this morning.  I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel.  The fare from the airport to anywhere in central Madrid is 30 euros.  There are cheaper ways of transport... such as the subway... but after a long flight I opted for easiest way of getting to the hotel.  Besides, compared to some major cities, 30 euros is not exorbitant.

I arrived at the hotel at 11:00 AM, but check-in is not until 1:00 PM, so I had a couple hours to kill.  I left my bags at the hotel and went around the corner to a little "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant called "La Austriaca".  It is my favorite place for breakfast in Madrid.  The food is nothing fancy... just good ordinary Spanish food... but it is also a slice of non-touristy life in Madrid.  I had my usual "café con leche" (coffee with steamed milk), and "tortilla española" (an omelet with potatoes and onions).  Unfortunately by that hour they were out of "churros" (Spain's answer to the doughnut... long, fluted tubes of fried dough.)

The lady who waited on me at the counter (I think she is the owner) recognized me from previous visits.  She said, "As soon as you ordered "tortilla", I remembered you."

After my late breakfast, I still had another hour before check-in, so I wandered around the neighborhood.  Here are some pictures of the architecture...

I am now settled into my hotel room.  The place is called "Hotel Siete Islas".  It is a modern, comfortable, moderately priced hotel.  Its location, just a block from downtown Madrid's main avenue, the Gran Vía, is superb.  

Stay  tuned for more adventures from Spain...