Cortes Ingles

The giant store, Cortes Ingles, has some kind of monopoly in Spain. On the Puerta del Sol is a huge bookstore of their's. On the next block is their giant department store with a great food store in the basement. But a few blocks further near the Gran Vía is yet another store, with gourmet  food sold on the top floor, along with huge windows overlooking the city. There was a whole line of gourmet pork crackling that I was afraid to try.
The Puerta del Sol, the very center of Spain,  by the way, is now called Vodafone Sol. But no one calls it that. It's like Avenue of the Americas in NY. If Donald Trump lived here it would probably be called Trump Sol, or, more likely, Puerta del Donald.
Here's a photo of my favorite place in Madrid, the Plaza Mayor. No matter what is going on, it's always tranquil.