Susan's NGTAW Blog: Lots of fun shopping in central Madrid

Nope, not CDs nor DVDs - these are canned Spanish tortas - potato omelets!

Thursday, November 07, 2019 Madrid

Well, it was our last day in Madrid - so we had to be sure we finished up our souvenir shopping for our families - especially the grandkids. Central Madrid is a treasure trove of shopping for interesting things. I wanted to find a children’s flamenco costume for Dahlia, as I had seen at a few tourist stores in some of our previous cities. The tourist office suggested a store called Mita’s. We walked around the central area and finally found the location, which was primarily a costume store. They had beautiful children’s flamenco costumes -- for $90 to 120 E! We walked a little farther and found an Asian run souvenir store and bought 2 dresses for $16 E! We also stopped in a kids bookstore – found a book and puzzle and little Lego thingies for Charlie & Caleb. All set on the souvenirs.

This colorful shop was located on the Plaza Mayor

Their gimmick is selling tins of Spanish tortas (potato omelets) that are labeled with the year of your birth

Born in 1985? It was the year the Ozone hole was discovered, and birth year of Michael Phelps. Woo!

Crazy decorations on the buildings at the Calle del Sal vs. Calle de Postas

Vintage Madrid postcards

We walked back to the San Miguel market for lunch. Along the way we found many interesting shops – a store selling Iberian hams, one that sold tinned Spanish tortas labeled with the year of one’s birth, confectionaries and churros stands. We found a great shop – Turrones Vicens – which has been making nougat candy since 1775. We had to buy some, after we tried their delicious samples.

Who knew there was such a thing as a Museum of Ham?

All the jamon choices your heart desires

This amazing confectionary has been selling artisanal nougat candy since 1775

Every flavor of nut, vanilla, chocolate, soft, chewy or hard candy

We couldn't resist after trying these delicious samples!

We walked to the Plaza de la Villa and Casa Cisneros, which is the current location of Madrid’s City Hall. The building was built in 1537 in the Plateresque style, a specific Spanish architectural embellishment of Flamboyant Gothic and Mudejar styles. Favorite motifs of this florid ornament include twisted columns, heraldic escutcheons, and sinuous scrolls. Clusters of this jewelry-like ornament contrast with broad expanses of flat wall surface.