Day 2: December 26 ... Plaza de Toros de las Ventas and a Spanish tortilla

Before leaving Toronto, I did some research on flamenco venues ... I wanted something local and authentic.  I chose one that required a bit of travel away from the city center.  A 40-minute subway trek put me at the Ventas metro station, just outside an important building in Madrid, the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.  It was inaugurated in 1931 and is now officially classified as a Spanish building of cultural interest.

Passing through the "Puerta Grande" (Big Door), especially during the Fiesta of San Isidro (Madrid's patron saint, May 15), is every bullfighter's ambition. This building includes a chapel and a small sick bay with two operating rooms.  It also serves as a concert venue, and Coldplay performed here in their Amex Unstaged concert on October 28, 2011.

For more anecdotal information, consult Wikipedia at the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Ventas

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With time to kill before the flamenco event, I happened upon a bar (diner) on a very busy avenue and indulged myself ... a Spanish tortilla ... so delicious it lingers with me still.

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