Just before we got to Cordoba on the train this morning I saw this castle on the hill. Google maps helped me find the name. It's Castillo Almodovar del Rio. When looking it up I came across this photo by a contributor which put me in mind of the El Greco painting. Pretty cool. I always thought it was overly dramatic, but now I can see how close it can be to reality.
We got together with Lee and Megan before Megan went off to her meeting and the three of us went off to dinner.
An absolutely terrific meal at Restaurante El Pañuelo Madrid tonight. All choices noted on the menus. Excellent service to match the food. Would recommend and return. Here is the website: https://elpanuelomadrid.com/
Saturday dinner - at L'Hardy another lovely meal there. Very old school in the best way. Menus marked. We were joined by Megan and Oscar and his girlfriend Candela.
Dinner was at Tresde with Megan, Christian and Lee and the two of us. A wonderful creative meal tonight at Trèsde. Menu attached. Great times with family and friends. Fabulous service to make the evening even more enjoyable. We basically ate our way across the menu (choices shown) and were happy.
We met Lee Cherney and Megan Cytron for lunch before taking the train home from Madrid to Sevilla. The restaurant called Maura Wines & Food was near the Retiro Park and was actually quite good. Much better than it needed to be given its location. I had Salmon Tartare with avocado and pears. Phil had a presa dish and Megan had a salad. Lee had water.
Our train got in around 7pm so we had a quick meal at MING 2. Hot & sour soup for both and kung bao chicken for me and a shrimp dish for Phil. After a stop at MITO, we ended our day walking home through our lovely city.
So not sayin we are addicted but the lovely Helena who works at our favorite gelato place knows us by name and texts Phil when his favorite flavor comes in. We first discovered what we now know as MITO 1 we were in school nearby and went for gelato with Kathy Quick. Once we knew how delicious the gelato was (only natural ingredients and no preservatives - hence closed containers) there would be no going back to lesser shops. We live closest to MITO 2 which is also our favorite of the three shops we frequent. MITO 2 is where we met Helene who hails from Brazil. MITO 2 was also our second MITO. We came upon MITO 3 when we started going over to Plaza Alfalfa for various dining options. MITO 3 (our third shop discovered but second most frequented) is regularly on the way home from dinners. So tonight we rushed from dinner to MITO 2 because Helena had texted Phil that the favorite "special" limited flavor from the spring was back for this week. Amarena. And it was while enjoying our gelato that Helena explained there are four shops. Coincidentally 1,2,3, are named in the order we became acquainted with them. And the MITO 4 is across the Guadalquivir River in Remedios. So if we are ever over there, we can be assured of excellent gelato at MITO 4. Among those we have "introduced" to MITO are folks tagged in this post. I think even non gelato lovers concede the MITO product is exemplary.
So now we are home and back to a routine for the next two weeks or so until Larry arrives for a few days and we head to Tenerife!
