Hi folks! I just received an email from Andre ( Walks of Madrid Tavern Crawl tour) informing me that there is a good chance he may have to cancel a Tavern Crawl set up for May 12 which is the weekend I arrive in Madrid and are scheduled for his tour. This is a bit of a blow to me as I am travelling solo and was really looking forward to meeting people, both other travelers and Spaniards, especially to spend time with to socialize, etc.. I was seriously looking forward to this tour (showing Andre's webpage to friends last night who wished they were going with me) and really dread the prospect now of being alone in this very social city not knowing where to actually meet people (been there, done that, not a lot of fun) and share a few drinks and tapas with. Are there any other options that can be recommended to me for a decent fun tour on the weekend evenings? I really do not look forward to doing tapas solo. I guess I'm having the good ol' last minute self-doubt here but it really is important to me to experience this great city by socializing with others and making the tavern rounds as Madrilenos do. Thanks for any advice!!
(I will now go take a warm bath, deep breaths and calm down a bit)

[ 05-02-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Aaaaaww.. That REALLY is a shame! Keep in mind that most often the tapas tours don't have any Spaniards other than Andres himself and the others are likely tourists like yourself.

Having said this, why not consider the Stephen Drake-Jones WellTours , historical tour and tapas in Old Madrid.

Or why not "Put Out The Call" to have "Party With(out) MadridMan" while you're there?! Do it here! Do it now!

So who's up for a gathering with dargus to have tapas, drinks, and conversation?! If I was there I'd join you myself.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hello,

My family and I arrive in Madrid on the 10th and leave on the 12th. I want to do my own tavern crawl on the 11th of May (I am turning 30) with my husband. I am up for adding some people. I think it would be fun especially starting at 9pm and going all night. Is anyone else up for the cause? Who wants to coordinate?

Devon

I agree with MM. Going on a crawl with some people from the board or getting some ideas from the board is great. Maybe Andres, could give you the names of the places he usually takes people. I have some of them at home. I'm at work, don't tell anyone The crawl with Andres was fun, but you could definitely do it on your own. He just took us to three places on the outside of the Plaza Mayor. We went on both crawls, with Andres and The Chairman. We had an excellent time with both. The Chairman is going to cost you a lot more money, but we felt it was worth it to become a Wellington Society member. We took our card with us everywhere, gave us some sort of weird comfort, knowing we had a phone number.

Thanks for the replies! I emailed the Chairman about three weeks ago and he replied saying I am to call him on his cellphone when I arrive. I assume his tours are not formally scheduled so there is no guarantee that I will be able to do a tour with him. Can anybody please fill me in on how he schedules his tours? He sounds like a real busy guy! I was really hoping for a weekend social to kick off my trip. Devon, May 11 is the day I arrive from western Canada after about eighteen hours in jets and airports so, unfortunately, I think that is the one night where I should behave myself in order to deal with the jetlag. Otherwise I would seriously consider it. There is always the Irish pub thing where expats hangout. Can anybody fill me in on pubs that are good for just meeting people. Unfortunately my Spanish is veryyy basic, not for fluid conversation, so I am interested in meeting like-minded travelers who can converse in English (yet I do want to practice Spanish!). Also, can anybody recommend Tapas type tours like Andres in Sevilla or Granada? Thanks!

a small note:

"Aaaaaww.. That REALLY is a shame! Keep in mind that most often the
tapas tours don't have any Spaniards other than Andres himself and the others are likely tourists like yourself"

MM I think Antonio had told you about this. When he joined some months ago he met my friends: Daniel, Alf and Pino because they where there, with me. The truth is
that my most successful crawls have taken place when my merrier friends have joined. I have only being alone two or three times since I prefer to take my best friends with me.

As for the crawl I am going to cancel is not for sure yet, but I really need a rest. Since April 00 when the crawls started and because of them I haven´t being able to go out of Madrid. Now I have a great opportunity to do so. Nevertheless Dargus has the email of the other group coming and I ll send him more possible joiners and information on where to go.

Regards,
Andres

[ 05-03-2001: Message edited by: Andrés ]

Thanks Andres. I do respect the fact that we all need a break away from it all and I would be doing the same thing if I were in your situation. It is only coincidence that I am intending to be in Madrid same weekend (I tried to schedule it for the San Isidro festivities). Would any of your other friends be interested in guiding this tour for a fee? Also, does Stephen Drake-Jones have tours on weekend nights or are they generally on weekdays? Ciao!

Hey Devon, we might like to get together on May 11th. My husband and I (both 37) and my Mom and Aunt (young 50's and love to party!)thought about a Tapas crawl but did't want to commit since we don't know what we'll find when we get there. I don't mean to be non-committal but if you or anyone (including dargus if you'll be there then) wants to pick a place and a time for May 11th, anyone who is free can just show up say with a 30 minute window. If anyone can recommend a place to start, maybe by the Plaza Mayor, that would be great! Let's try to do it!

[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: betharita ]

[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: betharita ]

Hey Devon, we both posted questions about getting to Marbella from Madrid. We'll be driving there on May 12 and staying at the Four Seasons Timeshare. We're originally from Chicago too. Mucho coincidentios!

[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: betharita ]

Hello betharita,

That is spooky that we are both from Chicago going to Madrid at the same time. We are also staying at a timeshare in Mijas Costa. Are you driving? I have rented a vehicle from Avis and are going to follow the itenary given to us by the other thread. I plan on leaving madrid at 8am. Please email me and maybe we can connect at some point.

Devon

By the way I am up for meeting at the plaza mayor on the 11th. Its my birthday and I WANT TO PARTY!