24 Jan.'09: Party with MadridMan in Madrid!

Join me and a number of others at 8pm Saturday evening, 24 January 2009, for a night out on the town in Madrid. We'll have eating, drinking, and.... whatever!

Who'll be there there? ME and some of my Spanish friends.

Who's Welcome? Anyone living in Madrid, visiting Madrid, Message Board & Facebook members, or just anyone who'd like to come along.

What'll we do? We'll start once again at the famed El Brillante for the first couple of hours and possibly move on from there.

This is the first evening-time "Party with MadridMan" in about a year so I hope the turn-out will encourage to make the outing a more regular thing.

We have a month to plan & discuss the details but the date is set for 24 January 2009. Hope to see you there! Start discussing!

The Facebook event can be viewed by Facebook users at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=62813960968

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks MadridMan for the post. By some cosmic coincidence, I will be in Madrid at that time.

My two cents would be to start somewhere around Sol to be able to quickly move from place to place sampling "the classics". Gambas at El Abuelo, bereneja at Casa Toni, orejas at...La Oreja, mussels at La Ria, La Tosta (a Steve Robinson favorite!), bunuelos at Casa Labra, esparagos at Vina P, etc, etc, etc. There are so many choices and I like to move!

MadridMan-They have a good bocadillo de calamares at Bar Sol y Mayor which would lead us to Torre de Oro in Plaza Mayor for their great bullfight photos. There is also a great Asturian taberna near Mayor (I'll post the address after arrival in January) that has cider and cabrales. Also, don't forget Chocolateria San Gines!

Just some random thoughts...

Hi Mongo! Wow! That IS a cosmic coincidence that you'll be in town at that time. hehehe..

And you have some good suggestions about where to go. But places like "El Abuelo", "Casa Labra", and "Torre de Oro" are all very good - but very small places. If we have more than 5 people it'd be impossible to wedge anyone else inside if there are (and there will be) other patrons. What would we do if we had 50 people show up for the party and 40 of them had to stand outside in the January cold? Of course, we're not likely to have anywhere close to 50 people, but for that reason, among others, I mentioned "El Brillante" because they have a big space in the middle.

I remember a couple times our large groups left El Brillante in search of other places and found it nearly impossible to get all of us inside because the places were already too crowded. I can already guess/calculate we'll have a minimum 10 persons. You know how small "Torre de Oro" is on the Plaza Mayor. If you put 10 people in there the bar is full. Add 8-10 patrons there upon our arrival and we have a problem. To "tapear" is something best done in groups of 2 to 5 maximum.

(and now Mongo groans.... "Oh god. What have I committed myself to?")

Saludos, MadridMan

Be sure to take pictures and, most importantly, tell us what you EAT!

Hehehe.. You can be SURE of that, sparkalina. Wish you could be there!!!

Saludos, MadridMan

So far we have about 4 message board members and 1 non-message board member intending to attend.

Anyone else? Remember, NON-message board members are allowed to attend as well.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hi board members,

I´ll join this party for sure, so I hope to meet knowed and unknowed people :-)

See you!

I'll be there for sure !

Steve

Maybe one in March, say the 14th maybe, as well!!

Does anyone have suggestions for bars with space and, preferably, not too loud so we can talk without shouting? Sitting down is always nice too, but I know this is a rarity for bars in Spain.

El Brillante (next to Atocha) is always a popular choice for me because the space is large, there's no music so you can talk easily, and the tapas and drinks are cheap.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hi! Happy new year to everyone!

I will be pleased to attend this fiesta. It will be very nice to meet you again my friends.

See you soon.

I was perusing some old posts and came across one by Steve Robinson about La Tosta on c/Victoria. La Tosta It seems he was there with 12 people and was accommodated nicely.

Any opinions Steve? I am a big fan of La Tosta!

Yes , I was there celebrating the birthday of a friend from the British Embassy .. We were downstairs and had a big table .. So much food ! Some say the best Sangria in Madrid .. And the staff were wonderful !

By the way , looking forward to seeingyou Damian ! It's been a long time ! Steve

Hi Steve! How are you?
Yes, I didn't post for a long time. I've been very sad lately, my mom died last October at the age of 66, it was cancer. So sad.

Ok, let's have some fun next 24th.

See you guys

Hi everyone! I've also posted the "event" on Facebook for those people whom are "Friends" but not message board members. Some are both.

The Facebook event can be viewed by Facebook users at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=62813960968

It's coming up fast! One week from tomorrow night will be the next installment of "Party with MadridMan in Madrid".

Whether you come for 2 hours or 30 minutes, I can guarantee you some lively discussion, meeting new people - including a good number of Spaniards - cheap-and-good food and beer/wine at our meeting point at El Brillante. I know this place isn't popular with many people but the smaller venues are usually too crowded and/or noisy for our getting-to-know-you sessions. We might move on to those other places later, though.

Other Parties - with photos included in most threads:

• December 2001
• April 2004
• July 2005
• December 2006

Saludos, MadridMan

We meet, wiht beers and wine.

See you next week

ohh man i dont have anything for January, booked solid here at work. too bad, it seems no luck in meeting you guys. never say die thus, will keep trying. Have a good time and report back on the get together ::)

EL BRILLANTE (Atocha)8 pm Saturday January 2009.."Ok"

PD:He hecho penitencia por no poder asistir a la anterior cita,40 latigazos,aún me duele la espalda.Lo siento
excuse me!

Valenciano en Madrid .. I´m sorry . I just bought a new computer and now I see your message about the death of your mother ... MY absolute deepest condolences Damian ... That´s every son or daughter´s nightmare .. the death of their mum or dad . It must have been a terrible time for your family .

I look forward , however , to seeing you soon my friend .

Steve

to everybody who is attending the MadridMan party, im so sorry i cannot be with you on saturday, and i hope you all have a great time and meet some great people, enjoy food and wine and beer good company what more could you ask, i hope the weather is kind and you can sit on the terrace soaking up the atmosphere, at around 8.30pm i shall be in Manchester and i shall raise a glass to you all thinking of your great night
HAVE A FANTASTIC EVENING EVERYBODY
I hope to make a get together someday

Too bad you can't make it, billy the man. We'll have a toast (or several) in your honor. And I don't expect El Brillante even has their terraza arranged outside because it's too cold - and they're not the "type" to place those energy-wasting gas-heater lamps around for their clients, either.

Hope you can make it to the next one, billy the man. Or, at least, give me a heads-up the next time you do come to Madrid and maybe we can arrange one around you as we've done this time for member Mongo's visit.

Saludos, MadridMan

Greetings MadridMan and fellow contributors / attendees. May I suggest that as Australia Day falls on the 26th January. You may consider it appropriate to drink a toast, " to the land downunder "

Aaahh The Land Down Under , where beer does flow and men chunder .. Yep we´ll certainly toast you guys . It´s a "must do " for me to go to Australia some day.. beautiful country and great people ! Steve

Tomorrow night's the big night! See some of you there at 8pm! Looking forward to the gathering, chatting, meeting new people, and, of course, eating CALAMARES!!! Mmmm.... Cheers, everbody!

Saludos, MadridMan

Tomorrow a good dinner. !!!FANTASTIC!!!8 pm El brillante(Atocha)

I will be there a little after 8pm. I work until 7:30pm. Can't wait to meet new people.

Shawn

Hi Shawn and jazz! Looking forward to seeing you both. We'll surely be there until 10pm (at least) so come when you can.

Saludos, MadridMan

Have a wonderful time tonight everyone! I wish I could be there. I had so much fun meeting people from the board during my trip to Madrid in July. Salud! Cheers!

La Historiadora .. It would have been great to see you and Laduque and many other board members tonight ! You´ll certainly be toasted at some stage this evening .
I didn´t get back home until nearly 5am today from meeting new friends .. wow! What an evening .. And now have an invitation ( accepted ) to go to Barcelona on Tuesday ... Yippeeeeeee .
To everybody coming tonight : I´m looking forward to seeing you all ! Steve

I'm SO envious!!!

All I can say right now is Buen provecho!

Thanks Steve! It's hard to believe that was already six months ago. Sigh! I don't think I'll be back this year, unfortunately, but you never know. I wasn't planning on it in 2008 and I made it over there! Hope you all had a great time tonight.

Hi Gang! Just got back, washed up, and ready for bed. But first, I wanted to give you all a brief "run down" of the evening.

It was great. I had such a good time, meeting new people, seeing old friends again, and of course, eating some really good food.

Were 20 persons in total, 18 of which were men. But fine. 3 women whom told me they would come didn't show up.

We started in El Brillante at 8pm. The first person to arrive was a great Spanish guy (and Spanish teacher) named Jesús. Just about everyone arrived within 20 minutes. The conversation was lively, everyone mingled around, lots of smiled shared and beers toasted to those whom couldn't be with us tonight. We had calamares & patatas bravas.

By 10:15pm or so, about half of us decided to "move on" and the other 10 or so went their own direction. So we headed to Plaza Santa Ana - where we found ALL the bars quite full (or too expensive for our tastes). So we moved on toward SOL where we settled in a place called "La Alhambra". I'd been there before for drinks once and for lunch another time and I liked it. The place is quite nice but a little small for my taste. Plus, it was quite noisy with loud music which made it difficult to talk. There, we had croquetas, more calamares, and finally, a plate of fried potatoes with serrano ham and a fried egg along with wine, beer, what have you.

I left the bar "La Alhambra" at about 12:15pm - as did Antonio and replay - and we three kings had one last drink at a small bar in Opera before we each went our respective ways. I got home at 1:45pm via metro.

So the night, at least for me, was a complete success. I was SO happy to see my old message board friends Mongo, SRedw, Damian, Steve Robinson, replay, & Antonio. And I also made some new Facebook friends too which was nice. Jesús, the first person to arrive to El Brillante, was a real character, possibly "The Life of the Party", very lively, energetic, personable and talkative. A great guy.

El Brillante was the perfect place to start as there was lots of space for our group, the food and drinks were good-n-cheap, (the calamares were perfect!) and it wasn't noisy at all. Of course, there was really no place to sit either but that didn't seem to bother anyone.

Tomorrow, I'll post some photos. We took A LOT, but let the first 1.5 hours pass without taking any because of all the conversation. Now, time for bed. It's 2:20am. Not late by Spanish standards but it's WAY past MY bedtime.

Saludos, MadridMan

Wow! Sounds like a great time was had by all! Wish I could've been to this one...Will have to wait till next Christmas in lieu of our annual summer jaunt.

MM, please post photos! Miss you guys....Steve Robinson, la historiadora, MM, esperanza...can't wait to see you all again one day!

I have to say that it was a great night ! Though I was a bit bleary eyed after nearly 5 consecutive nights of Partying .,. But We went to Atocha and I met with all these great guys . Mongo ¨: Promise us that you´ll call us when you´re visiting Madrid again.. You´re a star amigo !
My new friends , Dan ( England ) and Marlon ( Ecuador ) .. I hope to see you guys soon .. Maybe we can watch some rugby during the 6 Nations ? That would be very cool .
We stayed on at the Alhambra bar .. I got home at 3am .. And I was happy as a sandboy ...
Thanks MM for setting everything up ... Great fun ... And let´s do it again !
Steve

Oh .. And Shawn .. We really didn´t meet .. But I hope we do next time !

I am sorry i missed it - i was at home in bed being ill!!!

Hi!!!
I had a great time with the MM members and friends. A huge group of people of many different nacionalities, really friendly people.
Thank you all, guys and girls (I hope more girls will join us next time, there were lots of gorgeus men available, hahaha).
See you soon.

Yeah we need more women .... ( Not for me hahahaha! ) But to make the balance . Steve

I too hope more women will join in the next time. We were supposed to have 2 more (who RSVP's) but they didn't show up.

But there were several very-well-dressed guys there, excluding myself, that is.

steve robinson, have those photos uploaded, do you? Have a good trip tomorrow!

Saludos, MadridMan

Excuse me, I could not say goodbye, in the brillant, the aggressive wine,(me sentó como una patada en los ......)

Mr David agreeable company. A greeting to all

Here are some of my photos of the "Party with MadridMan".


Above: L-R: steve robinson, Daniel, replay, Marlon, Antonio, and Mongo (pixeled out pending permission)


Above: L-R front row: David, Neil DeLa Cruz, Valenciano_en_Madrid, Jesús, and Antonio's back there towards the right.


Above, L-R: Valenciano_en_Madrid, Dave (center)


Above: L-R: 4 Cool Guys



Saludos, MadridMan

Lest I'm mistaken, I see a couple of Philippina girls in the background. God bless them, they sure like getting their pictures taken.

Last time I was there, I noticed there is still a large community of Philippinos in Madrid.

Gazpacho , there´s a huge Filipino community here , mostly working in the service industries .. restaurants , hotels , house cleaners etc... They are well respected for being hard working , friendly and honest . I´m very close to that community and have always been impressed by their attitude . And , yes , they love photos and the Filipinos love to party .... Old and young . The Filipino food is very good . Every year , here in Madrid near El Estadio Santiago Bernabeu , the Filipino community hold a great party for their indepndence day in the yard of a high school .. Great fun and hugely attended .. Food , BBQ , Singers etc . I recently went to the baptism of the son of Filipino friends . The party afterwards was attended by at least 100 Filipinos . It´s a very very well connected community . Steve

Yes Steve,

I married my Philippina wife in Torrejon de Ardoz and am quite familiar with the Philippino community in Madrid. It makes me happy every time I return to Spain to still see it. When I visited in 1999, I attended the independence day party, June 12, I believe. And we always visit friends that we remember from 1977-1980. Some married to Spaniards, some still plodding along on their own. The only downside to the Spanish/Philippino ralationship is the tragic stories I hear from them when they become entangled in the Spanish justice system.

I maintain a close relation with the Philippino community here in Michigan, and one of the priest of my church is a good friend and a Philippino. They are a delightful people, no matter where you contact them in this world.

I just find it amusing to see a couple of Philippinas in a MadridMan (oops...almost did the small 'm' thing) gathering. Speaking from personal experience, anyone would be quite fortunate to marry one.

Wow ! Thanks for the story Gazpacho ... You definitely know better than me hahahaha ... I think the situation with immigration into Spain is always difficult .. Not just for Phillipinos ... Even for me , as a "European" , ... OK I can come and go as I please , but if I want residency here it would be a beaurocratic nightmare !
And , though i´m gay , I can say that I know some drop-dead beautiful Phillipinas . Very elegant .
best regards , Gazpacho . Steve

Some would say the pixels are an improvement, but permission is granted.

wow sorry i missed it, it looks fantastic those photos. darn it, well as the saying goes, it will be next time ::)