Returning to Madrid

Me in Puerta del Sol, with the famous Madrid Statue

Well, I finally made it back to my love, Madrid! I arrived there on friday with an extreme case of homesickness. But thats nothing a Tapas Tour can't fix. Tapas are like small appetizers folks eat at Spain between the hours of 4 and 8, BEFORE dinner!! These tapas consist of bread topped with meat, fish, cheese, or things like chicken wings, croquettes, and my all time favorite.... Tortilla Española! This tortilla is amazing, it is just a mixture of the Spanish diet staples, eggs, onions, potatoes, and of course, Olive Oil. This dish may be the reason I love Spain so much!

 I met a lot of cool people at the hostel i stayed at in the center of the city called Sol. (I must also add that Puerta del Sol, is the center of Spain! There is a piece of the sidewalk there that says Km 0, all distances in Spain are measured from this point!) So anyway, I met many people from Australia, Germany, Poland, Romania, etc. It always amazes me now that English has become the Universal language. When giving tours, they are all given in English because it seems that EVERYONE studies and comprehends English, even in Spain!

  The next day we made our way to the the residence, and to my surprise, it was right next to my residence last summer!!! I love the feeling of having that 'home away from home'. This new residence, however, was in an all boys dorm, filled with little 18 year old boys. Awkward.  Trip to the residence: not so fun. We took two trips to get there on the metro with all of our bags, and i also lost a pair of flip flops! =( 

  I also had the pleasure of returning to my favorite bar from last summer, and everyone remembered me! (good or bad thing?)  I got to see some of my good friends too. It was so nice to see everyone and get treated like a queen! (with a complementary tortilla española)

Here is the recipe for a tortilla (this will make about two)

3-4 large russet potatoes

1/2 spanish/yellow onion

salt

lots of extra virgin olive oil

2-3 eggs

First wash, peel and cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and place into a bowl. Dice the onion and mix with potatoes, add a generous amount of salt. Next in a pan of hot EVOO, add the mixture until the potatoes break easily when poked. (You may want to mix the mixture to prevent it sticking)

With a slotted spoon, remove the mixture from the olive oil, into the bowl. Add eggs and mix well. Meanwhile, heat another pan with EVOO (a few tbsp) Pour the mixture in and let sit for a few minutes, until bottom becomes brown. Heres the fun part.... using a large enough plate bigger than the pan, cover the pan, hold tightly, flip and pray for the best! Once safely on the plate, slide into the pan and cook other side until brown. Serve immediately or at room temperature, and most important, savor and enjoy!!!