New Year's Day

After our amazing evening at Corral de la Moreria, we slept.  We slept to catch up on jet lag.  We slept to catch up on days and evenings with a new schedule (late lunch and dinners).  We slept to catch up on the night before.  We slept until almost noon.

Time to set out and find something good to eat.  We also needed to check out the Plaza Mayor (large plaza with Christmas Market) and Puerto del Sol (another trendy plaza).  So we walked up to the Plaza Mayor, but sadly the Christmas Market was folding up.  But just behind the plaza, is an open market called the Mercado de San Miguel.  It's a bustling market of food and drink that you have to see to believe.

Lots of stalls...and people!

Yum!

Peppers, olives and cheese, oh my!

 One of my favorite EAP stories.

Fists of happiness.  You could get seafood (pictured) or pork/ham or vegetables.

Paella

El Gato en Botas!

We ate like kings.  Must be time for a nap.  We returned to our hotel for a light siesta and to determine what we'd like to eat next.  The day had been advertised to us as: "New Year's Day?  Not many people will be out.  They'll all be at home spending time with family.  Not too many places will be open, either.  Pretty much a quiet day for strolling."  We found most places not only open, but pack to the gills.  But it was a fun day - eating, drinking, sleeping, people watching...just what we SHOULD be doing on New Year's Day!

Happy New Year everyone!

BTW - I forgot to tell you about a couple of things.  In the Royal Palace in Madrid, many of the rooms have walls covered in silk brought to Spain from China.  One such room features navy (almost purple) silk with a flocked velvet design.  When President and Mrs. Kennedy visited the palace, it's said that Jackie fell in love with the silk and called the manufacturer to produce designs for the White House.  

At midnight on New Year's Eve, Spaniards eat 12 grapes.  One for each of the past 12 months with the hope of good luck for the coming 12 months.  They ring a bell, and you're supposed to pop a grape for every toll...12 grapes in 12 seconds.  Oh, and drink Champagne.  The tradition began years ago when they had an especially large grape harvest in the wine country.