We continued to Madrid to visit Lili's aunt, Violeta before heading back towards Italy to see more family. Madrid is a beautiful city, and Violeta did everything to make us feel at home:
Parque El Retiro:
Plaza Mayor:
Tapas!!!!
We took a side trip to Segovia for some suckling pig!
Once we said goodbye to Madrid, we moved north for more incredible food. First stop:
Bodega El Capricho. We headed north to the little village of Jimenez de Jamuz for the best steak in the world. I saw this place on a documentary about steaks and hoped it would live up to the hype. We had steak tartar and carpaccio to start. For the main event, we had premium chop below. It came from a 12 year old buey and was dry aged for three months!
The meat was salted and cooked perfectly. It was even better than it looks and unlike any steak I have had before it. Yum!
I spend too much time telling people about this restaurant. Seriously. If you are ever nearby...
After lunch, Lili talked to Pedro who turned out to own the farm where much of this beef is raised. He offered to take us out to meet the cows...
They were HUGE. We hoped they could not smell their cousin on our breath,
Mimosin took to Lili. Once pet, he followed her around like a puppy.
Next up, San Sebastian for its famous pintxos. Maybe we were spoiled after El Capricho, but this paled in comparison. Still, it was a beautiful selection.
We moved on across France to Domodossola, Italy. Lili found an amazing boutique hotel on the side of the mountain. We tried to hike a bit in preperation for Monte Blanc. Maybe too little, too late.
From here, we got ready for our main trip through Italy.
- Riggs
