AT 8.30AM, Madrid's Museo de Jamon (Carrera de San Jeronimo 6) is buzzing. A waiter in a red and blue waistcoat shouts breakfast orders to kitchen staff; another places saucers and spoons in neat rows on a counter top while customers, a mixture of locals and tourists, wait to be served. Surrounded by an impressive display of hanging hindquarters of ham, an elderly lady pours olive oil on a toasted baguette and adds freshly squeezed tomato juice, sauce and salt. A worker in overalls drinks a small glass of beer, eats a croissant and takes deep puffs on a cigarette. A man in a business suit tucks into a mixto con heuvo (a ham, cheese and fried-egg toasted sandwich, with a circle cut out of the top piece of toast to reveal the yolk). It seems that anything goes at breakfast time in Madrid.
The meal can get you into the rhythm of the local way of eating. Find a suitable bar or cafe and choose whichever combination of cholesterol, caffeine and calories takes your fancy.
Thus fortified, you should be ready to face a few hours in the Museo Del Prado, one of the world's great art museums. When your blood-sugar level plummets at about 11am, join the rest of the population back in the bar for more coffee, a pastry or perhaps a wedge of tortilla Espanola (a potato and onion omelette) followed by perhaps a swift hour's sightseeing or shopping. By about 1.30pm, your thoughts will turn to the serious business of lunch. While gourmet food is widely available in Madrid, the culinary soul of the city lies in unpretentious, family-run restaurants that serve one of Spain's best deals, the menu of the day. Typical prices run from US$6 to US$12, depending on the establishment, and for that you get three courses plus bread, wine and coffee.
Remember to take your time, as Madrilenos do. Recent studies show that there's a 20 per cent reduction in stress levels if you take a leisurely lunch that extends over an hour. Then it's back to your accommodation for a couple of hours' siesta.
Suitably refreshed, why not start the evening with a little after-siesta/before-tapas tippling at Los Gabrieles (Calle Echegaray 17), once the favourite watering hole of Madrid's bullfighters, flamenco singers, artists and aristocrats. This bar has some of the most impressive tiled walls in the Spanish capital, mostly depicting colourful, early 20th-century scenes advertising sherry and wine. Some images of busty peasant women and androgynous-looking nymphs seem rather risque for their time.
A tapas crawl is an excellent way to get into Madrid's eating-and-drinking swing. Tapas are really appetisers to be enjoyed with a glass of wine, draught beer or vermouth, and followed by a full-blown dinner. For many people, however, they can make a varied and informal meal. Tapas can be anything from a simple bowl of olives and cured pork sausage to more sophisticated tidbits such as baby squid or pasties filled with tuna. Among the best places for tapas is Los Gatos (Calle de Jesus 20 in the Santa Ana/Old Town district), where an old street lamp sheds a warm glow over a bar oozing with atmosphere. Bullfighting and football memorabilia adorn the walls of a place also home to an antique motorcycle, a barber's chair and a sprawling nude on a tiled wall. Customers are offered creative gourmet tapas, including the much-loved baby eels on toast. A few doors down is La Dolores (Plaza de Jesus 4), a pretty tiled bar that serves excellent beer and a fine selection of canapes.