The old and the new

Madrid, Spain If this story turned up in your news feed, you have already heard about the elderly woman evicted from her Madrid home of over 70 years due to a huge rent hike. (If not, here’s the story: https://www.reuters.com/world/protesters-camped-out-across-spain-demand-passage-housing-measures-2026-09-30/)

Well, this caused a country-wide reaction, and today we walked right into the middle of the protest being held in Madrid. As we got off the Metro at Puerto del Sol, we were surrounded by tents and protesters peacefully but in great numbers voicing their thoughts on the impact of development on housing availability and costs. Many were young, but all ages are represented, camping out in Madrid’s version of Times Square.

One young couple was eager to talk about the issue, and also to tell us how much they loved our new mayor in New York City, Zohran Mamdani. Couldn’t agree more.

There is a plaque in the middle of the square which marks Kilometer Zero, the symbolic center of Spain. We couldn’t navigate the tents to find it, but we trust it’s there.

Surrounding the square is a busy commercial center, filled with every brand you would expect, tempting restaurants and an extremely gorgeous bakery. Ladies having tea and pastries peacefully co-exist just yards from the protesters.

The specialty shops were charming. There was a hat shop, an espadrille store, a bullfighting hangout, lots of leather goods, a ham museum and various snack bars. We stopped into Casa de Diego, a vintage purveyor of umbrellas, canes, fans, mantillas and castenets. Don is almost ready to give up his cane from recent leg issues, and he’s been using a dreadful hospital version that clacks with every step. He has now been upgraded to a beautiful wooden creation which just adds to his distinguished presentation.

Our next stop was the Plaza Mayor, a fixture since the 1600s. Phillip III made this the centerpiece of the country’s administration, and it’s seen a lot over the years. Today it’s filled with cafés and people-watchers and arcades on all sides. However, the people-watching of past centuries was best known for the gruesome executions of the Inquisition. Oh dear.

We pushed our way through the very crowded Mercado de San Miguel, a 100-year old covered marketplace that has every goodie a Spaniard could crave. It’s a trendy food court that couldn’t possibly hold any more people. We admired it all and then walked home, taking in the local scene, including one protest parade.

Don’s Food Corner

Breakfast was again our major meal of the day. I don’t know what’s my favorite on that spread. The fresh orange juice? The piles of thinly sliced Serrano ham? The array of different Spanish breads? Or the collection of Spanish cheeses, fruit and jams? All great. And I fear we’re eating it all. Well, we’re doing it so that you don’t have to.

Our specialty kitchen orders today came in two contrasting dishes: a platter of churros with chocolate dipping sauce, and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on foccacia bread.

The sweet churros were unusually light. The chocolate sauce unusually rich. Obviously the churros were freshly deep-fried. Not a hint of a greasy texture that comes with churros when they get cold. Cold churros are a staple of snacks sold on New York City subway platforms. The greasy dynamic is covered over with tons of sugar and cinnamon. And it works! (Love those subway churros.) The real deal sampled this morning in Madrid is something from another planet.

The ham and cheese grilled sandwich is, of course, the Spanish version of the same thing found all over Europe — called panino in Italy, croque monsieur in France, and toasties in the UK — in Spain called El Sandwich Mixto. Surprisingly, the ham used was not the preserved Serrano ham that seen everywhere else on seemingly everything. Instead, it was a form of “boiled” ham. It was unusually fine. The French fries that came with the sandwich were a little bit of a surprise. I was expecting some olive oil fried potatoes. Maybe tomorrow.