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« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »
If you're interested in Spanish 'Modern' history, you may want to head over to the Círculo de Bellas Artes for its latest exhibition: Post War: Propaganda and Publicity. On show are over 200 posters and other memorabilia which show the close connection of the Franco regime with business. The exhibition runs until the 20th May.
There's a bar/cafe down on Madrid's Cava Baja that I have walked past on a number of occasions - never actually going into it, until now. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it - a video selection as you walked in, high stools around a bar, a smart Apple monitor also behind the bar and plasma TV screens showing popular films (last week they were showing Volver).
Well, last week I went out for a few drinks with my wife, her brother-in-law and his wife and we ventured in. Angelika Cinema Lounge is very different to your typical Spanish bar - firstly, there is a no-smoking policy (don't get me started on the ridiculous no-smoking policies in Madrid!), secondly, you can hire a DVD from their superb selection of films and thirdly, the bar staff at Angelika are acting professionals, who you can ask film advice of.
Though we went in there late I can still remember that they were playing the Bill Murray film Lost in Translation! Films are projected on plasma screens around the bar and, from what I can gather, they all use the original soundtrack (no dubbing). Angelika offers a wide range of drinks and food - coffees, teas, spirits and some great pastries. As it was so late I had a gin and tonic, which from my perspective (at around 2 a.m.!) seemed to be very carefully prepared - gin poured over ice and the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon - delicious!
It also offers a free wi-fi zone and I can't think of more pleasant surroundings to do some work, or even to surf. On different days they offer screenings, short films and cinema debates.
Location
Yesterday, I went for a lovely walk to Madrid's Casa de Campo. Situated to the west of the city, it used to be the hunting grounds for the Spanish Monarchy. It covers a staggering 1,722 hectares - compare that with Retiro Park's 142 hectares and Central Park's 340 hectares - and you could say it gives the city a great pair of lungs! The park was given to the people of Madrid on the 1st May, 1931 under the Second Republic and now provides a wide variety of activities to Madrileños - mountain biking, triathlon, walking, running, etc.
I actually went to the park with my son and daughter and my father-in-law in order to ride the cable car. The Teleférico runs from just inside the park to the edge of another park, Parque del Oeste and offers wonderful views of the Royal Palace, the Cathedral and old Madrid. The ride took us around 11 minutes and covers a distance of about 2.5 kilometres.
Having received such a lot of rain over the past couple of weeks the Casa de Campo was a beautiful green colour. I was actually quite surprised to see so few people there, seeing as it was a beautiful Saturday in April. It seemed like the perfect place to unwind from the bustling city centre of Madrid and have a picnic under the pines with a cool glass of beer. According to my father-in-law the place has got much better since the clampdown on cars entering the area. The only cars I saw around the cable car were those which were transporting cyclists to a cycle race. And boy, does this look a fun place to go for a ride or do some mountain bike racing.
If you're looking to get to the park, the easiest way is to get the Metro to Lago or get the cable car from Argüelles.
I was walking around Madrid the to other day when I started thinking about some of the places that tourists go which add little, or no, value to the Madrid experience.They are often franchises, plastic in aspect and with no character. I explored this a little further with Vicen, my brother-in-law, and here is our Top 10 Places where you shouldn´t go in Madrid.:
And, on that note, I´m off to have a bocadillo de lomo and a beer. All for around 3 Euros. Beat that Mc Donald´s!
Note: I have not included URL´s - if you want to find them, do it yourself!
On the 13th, 14th and 15th April, 2007 the Madrid Players are putting on a show called I Love Paris Spring Revue. According to their blog, I Love Paris:
is a tribute to the music of the City of Lights: by the American composers who fell under her spell, and the French artistes who have served as her ambassadors to the world. From Irving Berlin to Jacques Brel, from Cole Porter to Edith Piaf, The Madrid Players’ newest musical revue will feature some of the best songs of Broadway and the Grands Boulevards, all with that certain je ne sais quoi of Parisian flair!
The Madrid Players are an amateur group, comprising some 60 people, which was fouunded thirty years ago. One third of the proceeds of the show will go to Alanda, an NGO for children with autism spectrum disorders. For more information an ticket details, visit the Madrid Players website.
Today, 9th April 2007, it is raining quite heavily in Madrid. For some reason, and coming from the UK, I didn´t anticipate that it would rain this afternoon. But boy, has it rained! And when it rains, the umbrellas come out.
A word of warning! Generally, the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plane. But when it does rain, the Spanish start to use umbrellas and ´cos they´re out of practice, they don´t use them very well.
If you´re not careful, you easily lose an eye in Madrid when it rains!
**UPDATE**
Es Madrid No Madriz added a comment to this blog to say he´s one of the few non-dangerous, Spaniards who know how to use an umbrella! On his site he also comes up with some top tips.
I overheard a conversation today between an English guy and a waiter in one of the bars. The English guy had just finished his coffee and said to the waiter: "the bill - two coffees". When he handed over a 5-Euro note and received his change he said: "thank you".
BLOODY HELL! This sort of thing makes me mad. You go to the heart of Spain - Madrid, not the Costa del Sol - and can´t be arsed to try and speak in their language.
And the crazy thing is that most young people (he must have been in his early 30´s) in the Western world can say; "dos cafés" and everybody, I mean everybody knows how to say: "gracias". Any phrasebook - and let´s admit all tourists have one - will have phrases like "me dice cuanto es" or "la cuenta, por favor" to ask for the bill.
And I saw the same thing happen a couple of hours later with a young, American girl who again couldn´t be arsed and hot quite annoyed when people couldn´t understand her.
It´s one of the most wonderful things about Madrid - that many people speak English badly or not all - and that´s what makes it such a great place.
Having spent 152 million Euros on developing the new extension to the Prado Museum, yesterday the new "wing" of the Prado was opened by the Spanish culture minister Carmen Calvo. Designed by the architect Rafael Moneo, it adds an extra 22,000 square metres to the great museum. One of the main focal points will be the cloister of Los Jerónimos church (found next door) which was dismantled, and re-assembled, piece-by-piece.
The extension is open to the public from the 28th April, 2007. The picture above is from an album of Gorka Lejarcegi and found on El Pais's website. As yet, you will find nothing on the absolutely crappy and pitiful Prado Museum website - though you may in time! Having spent this much money, it doesn't even make it their news section.
The clip below is from 20 Minutos:
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