Yes, Madrid is with any doubt my favourite city. Ok, Valencia isn't too bad, but Madrid is great.
Here you can make of an ordinary working a day to remember.
Today was going to be for me just another one boring thursday like many others. I decided to do something special, after all this is Madrid, a place where you have lots of leisure posibilities.
Now we have in Madrid the "Festival de otoño" (autum theatre festival). I like theatre very much so I didn't want to miss a play by the oldest theatre company in Europe, La Comédie Française, playing
"Le Misanthrope" of Molierè. I must admit that is was hard to me since my french is quite basic and I had to read the subtitles all the time. In any case the show was fantastic.
After the theatre I was hungry. I looked for some place to eat. Then I saw a bar called
"Los Pinchitos" , in Calle Los Madrazo, near Sol, Metro Sevilla. It was crowded and that´s a good sign.
There were three middle age Spanish waiters, a bit fat and ugly, the clientele was also all Spanish. Lots of delicious tapas on the bars, very dirty floors and old fashioned decorating. This place has a promise!!, I thought.
I wasn't wrong. I ordered a "caña" and with it came a delicious small tapa or "pinchito" of "ensaladilla de cangrejo". Before I finished the caña I was given another pinchito. Well I had one more caña and two good young red wines from Ribera del Duero. I was offered several excellent quality free small tapas but enough to fulfill my hungry stomach. Wow! those mussels were really good.
Los Pinchitos is really a genuine Madrid bar, like they used to be 20 years ago.
As I had to catch a train I left soon, in Madrid that's 10:30 pm. I passed by the Hotel Urban, Puerta del Sol and Opera.
I saw lots of people having fun at the crowded bars, tourists everywhere taking photos, two french girls looking at their maps, a huge group of international executives speaking in English wearing smart dark suits with their names on small plates walking on the street, chinese people selling sandwiches, black africans selling pirate dvd's and street musicians.
I took the metro, there was a man playing jazz with a clarinet, he was really good, I gave him one euro. Beside me a group of mature Spanish ladies speaking fast and vividly about life.
In Príncipe Pío Train Station I saw a group of rappers dancing break dance.
Yet in the train I saw in front of me a very funny Spanish man in his late fourties with a big belly. He was what we call a "rocabily" man, a man who likes Rock'n Roll and wears clothes like Jhon Travolta. He was very excited sending sms messages and smothing his toupé.
Next to me there were two beautyful black girls laughing and speaking loudly with Dominican accent.
There was enough material for a sociology student to write his thesis.
Well, I can't call this a boring city, can you?
I have to go to bed now, tomorrow is a working day again.
Saludos
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