i am vegetarian, but i have opted to live with a family for my 4 months studying in madrid. when i filled out my housing form, i made sure to highlight the vegetarian part, as that was the most important thing for me. i have no information regarding my family other than the senora's name and address (which i just received a couple of days ago). i plan on writing her a quick letter before i go (i leave jan 9) and i thought about once again informing her of my status and telling her that if it proposes any problems or concerns, we can always talk about how to compromise when i get there. is this a good idea? i'm hoping so. i just don't want to get there and then be in a situation where she wasn't informed or something... i really am a 'militant' vegetarian (playing off someone else's post) and i am not going to start eating meat. i did make sure to write on my housing form that i will do eggs and dairy products, to make things go more smoothly. (i have a lot of friends who are vegan- no animal products- and it's very difficult for them to eat anywhere but home). as for specialties and things i'll miss, i'm not too worried. buffalo is not a big veggie town, and i'm surviving and finding lots of foods and restaurants i like.. i just want to make sure that my family life won't be stressed by this factor... guess i'll find out in 2 weeks!!
i've been enjoying reading everyone's posts. have a really nice week, everyone!!
-amy s.

i ate at the restaurant Estragon in the Latina area of Madrid. It was very very very good and i HIGHLY recommend it. i am not vegetarian but i like food and it was delicious. here is a link from madrid lanetro with their information. once again i highly recommend this place for vegetarians.
http://madrid.lanetro.com/guia/sitios/resultado.cfm?identificador=2&IdTipo=71

if this link doesn't work go to http://madrid.lanetro.com/ and go to the restaurants sections and choose vegetarian and it gives you all the options, Estragon is the best!!

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Spain Page!! Check it out! http://www.geocities.com/missmadrid98


[This message has been edited by missmadrid98 (edited 12-24-2000).]

[This message has been edited by missmadrid98 (edited 12-24-2000).]

Hi eight earrings,

I think it will be fine to write your señora a letter and again mention the vegetarian part. When I studied in Salamanca last spring my program advised vegetarians to really stress that they don't eat meat, since meat is just so common there and it is practically unheard of to not eat it. The señora of a friend of mine who was a vegetarian dealt pretty well with it although you may have to get used to small compromises -- for example she would make spaghetti and my friend often had to pick out pieces of tuna from it, or just eat a little bit of the tuna. But any señora who has had students for years, like most have, should make reasonable accommodations for you.
Enjoy!

Do you know the "Happy Cow" Web site? It's a guide to vegetarian restaurants that you should find useful. Go to: http://happycow.net/europe/spain/madrid/ and you'll find listings for 17 vegetarian restaurants and one health food store. There also are listings at SoftGuide Madrid: http://www.softdoc.es/madrid_guide/eatingout/veggie.html

Hope this helps. I always love a good Web challenge and couldn't resist contributing something to this board after exploring every corner of it these past two days. And as a vegetarian without principles (I eat fish and a little poultry) I was curious myself!

[This message has been edited by aphra (edited 01-04-2001).]