Europe Is Calling And We Must Go: Tapas & Tabernas, Beer Crawl, Adios Madrid, Hola Valencia!

But first, lunch. We walked over to the Mercado and strolled through the 30-odd stands. Chose little hand pies, a couple of small wrap sandwiches, and beer.

We also hit the fruit stand on the way out. This strawberry was as big as a ping pong ball and absolutely perfect!

As expected, the tapas and tabernas tour was a blast! We had a full group of 10 people, all interesting and ready to drink. I had to dig around a bit to find my sparkling conversation and devastating wit - it's been a while since we've met new people - but after the first vermouth, I found my feet.

This tour is from a company called Devour. They have several cities in their fold; we did the one in Seville last time we were there. They're so much fun. They're small group walking tours...you get some sightseeing, some history, some great food and drink, and some exercise (my Activity Rings must think my watch was stolen by someone who actually works out).

And, as I said, you meet new people. Our group had three Londoners, three Madrileños (two of which moved to Madrid only last week!), Seattle, California and Denver (us) rounded out the group. It got me thinking: it's been so long since we've met new people - I mean besides bartenders. At one point four of us got so deep into conversation we didn't notice that the rest of the group had continued down the street. We were separated for about 10 minutes. it was no big deal, just funny that we all were so happy to talk to someone else.

Many of the historic/iconic tapas bars have wonderful tile signage.

The Opera House

Part of the royal compound

The symbol of Madrid - you see it everywhere.

Remnants of a fun tour.

On Saturday, we had a full free day and decided to hit up the best craft beer bars the city had to offer. We started at CLBM Bar (Como La Birra Misma - means Like the Beer Itself).

They have a resident dog.

Stumper - way too cute

Next up was Fabricá Maravillas, one of the first brewery/taprooms in town. They pioneered making and selling beer on the premises for the Madrid craft beer scene. When we arrived, we had our pick for seats; about 30 minutes later, the place was packed.

Our final stop was Fogg Bar. A tiny walk-in closet of a place with a great beer selection and fantastic cheese bar.

Alas, it was time to move on; more of Spain to see. We'll be back, though, the city is just too much fun.

So, this morning we checked out of the VRBO, and hopped the train to Valencia. The ride takes about an hour and forty minutes. It took us a tad longer because there was some problem on the line, and we were stopped for about 20 minutes. No biggie, our transfer driver would wait.

This is our first time in Valencia and so far, what little we've seen, it's amazing! The architecture I just on our short walk to lunch was jaw-dropping.