Cafeteria Cristi in Plaza Major
We had been in Madrid for a few hours now and it was the afternoon. We went to the tourist office to get some information at Plaza Major. We also decided to get a late lunch. We chose one of the many restaurants lining the square - 'Cafeteria Cristi'. We ended up with quite a 'pile' of food. Christian and I were speaking what Spanish we could with the waiter. But I cannot help but think that we was being a smart ass and speaking too fast for us to understand him completely. His plan it appeared was to get us to spend as much money as possible. We did end up spending just over 70 euros for a meal that was just ok. I was a bit miffed by this. Avoid this place if you can.
While having a lunch, a chap was asking me if I wanted my shoes shined. And actually my leather shoes could really have done with a shine. So, I agreed to let him do it. He kept looking from side to side as he watching out for someone while he shining the shoes and seemed just a little tense. Actually, he did not do a very good job. Amusing.
The 'Parilla' near Puerto del Sol
We were looking for a place to eat before going to check out a night spot on Wednesday night. The night spot turned out to be a dud but before that we walking through the district on the way to the club. There was a few streets full of restaurants. It was a very pleasant Thursday night. There was a wealth of choices. I was hoping for Mexican food but we did not spot any. Christian wanted steak and salad; and we found such a place. The name eludes me but the word salt might have been in the name of the place. We had a small little wooden table outside the front of the restaurant. Chrisitan had a salada mista and a steak. I was not too hungry and just had a dish of chicken. A parilla is a restaurant that specializes in grilling food. I had been exposed to such eating in Argentina last year. And the other thing was we did not get ripped off like we did earlier in the day and the food was good - result.