A lazier start, and yet a more exciting one. Carlos and I played around in bed, not worrying about what time it was, or the fact that my final day in Madrid was ticking away… it didn’t matter. I wish every morning here had been like this.
We headed into town, more specifically, the Tres Peces for lunch. Another traditional Spanish restaurant where Carlos had pre-ordered us Paella. It was brought to us in an enormous pan, and we helped ourselves to the sticky rice, taking it in turns to scrape it up with a ladle, dolloping clumps of rice onto our plates and smearing it with garlic mayo. The clams and prawns oozed the taste of the sea into the rice, and I quickly found I was eating the best meal I’ve had in a long time.
I tried yet another Spanish beer with my paella, sadly, the name and even the taste has fallen from my memory. Guess it got overshadowed. I couldn’t help stare longingly at the vegetable paella that was being eaten at a nearby table. Beautiful long asparagus, chunks of cauliflower amid an assortment of other species, the quantity and variety in the vegetable paella made our seafood dish seem rather lacking – as great as it was, I felt a bit envious.
We scraped the paella clean and I got the bill. Then we went for a long walk with Carlos trying to show me as many sights as possible. We strolled around El Retiro Park, the main shopping district and yet another plaza, by which point I was ready to drop dead – the Paella having cast a sleeping spell over me. Carlos wanted me to see absolutely everything before I left, but I didn’t have it in me. I was over the moon with relief when he announced he was going to head back.
I bought a packet of fish croquettes from Carrefour supermarket, along with some cooked broccoli for my supper. The croquettes were nice but the broccoli was even better. Carlos stared at my meal with a mixture of bamboozlement and distaste. I assured him I can eat broccoli without soy sauce. We lay in bed and watched two more episodes of House of the Dragon. The most exciting two yet. Had we just watched another two we could have finished the season. Carlos had work in the morning though, so out went the lights. My final day in Madrid was over.
