One of the first places we visit is Mercadona in El Mercado Santa Maria de la Cabeza so we can buy things we can easily prepare for breakfast and also restock on certain supplies in my MIL’s flat.

EL MERCADO SANTA MARIA DE LA CABEZA

When you go to the marcado or market there are lots of specialty stores that sell Jamon, cold cuts, cheeses, fruits, vegetables & baked goods.

We passed by for some Rose wine to bring to our friend’s home in the countryside.

MERCADONA

Normally though we head straight to Mercadona in the higher floor using an elevator because it’s such good value for money. You don’t need a coin for the pushcarts, but you will need a coin to leave your trolley.

They have the cutest tiny pushcarts. This means that people really shop fresh for stuff and don’t store stuff long term. That’s one thing I love about Europe.

We always have Porras for breakfast in Madrid. It’s so easy to toast and dip into hot chocolate. We also by Yaya B’s favorite sardines & tuna. Look at those prices.

I normally buy Magnesium supplements in Denner Switzerland or in DM/Rossman in Germany because they are less than a Euro, but since I forgot, I also bought in Mercadona. If you need help to regularize, I highly recommend magnesium supplements. If I buy Magnesium Supplements with a prescription in Switzerland, they cost about CHF 12! Crazy.

They have super affordable generic Magic Eraser too!

I’ve never seen ginger and toe protectors like these so I just had to take a pic.

I bought some Agua Oxigenada to use in stead of bleach – i.e. to keep molds from forming in the Christmas tree water – because a tiny 50ml bottle would cost you about CHF 10 here in Switzerland. These were only 0,65 Euros for a 250ml bottle.

FEBRUARY 2023 UPDATE

On the day we arrived we had dinner at Havana Blues then we passed by MERCADONA for our breakfast supplies. Though it was late & the stores in the Mercado were closed already, MERCADONA closes at 9:30pm so we had a little time.

The only downside going so late is there are not much stocks of the freshly baked goodies which we really love. Luckily we were still able to get freshly baked croissants & pan au chocolats.

One of our must-buys here is LA CASERA which is a calorie-free yet super delicious Mediterranean drink. I’m sure it’s not the healthiest because of the artificial sweeteners, but it’s a treat we have when we are in Madrid. Normally we only have sparkling water which is the healthiest for us because it’s refreshing but contains no sugar or artificial ingredients.

This is the LA CASERA we buy. TD also discovered DON SIMON TINTO DE VERANO which he said is very good. It has alcohol, but you don’t taste it at all. These drinks taste very refreshing and are vacation treats for us.

I also wanted to take pictures of the cleaning items just in case I have to replace or buy for my MIL’s place. The prices are so much cheaper than Manila.

Just for laughs I’m posting this here. DiploBaby excitedly called me, “Mama! Mama! Look at the tongue of this fish! It’s so HUGE!!!” Even I was amazed at how big these fish were. I wonder if it’s really the tongue?

I did a little googling and this fish called rape in Spanish is actually monkfish and that is indeed the tongue. Did you know that monkfish does not have spines but it has a cartilaginous central bone?