I forgot to mention that I bought a pair of shoes in madrid. They are just THE BEST. Good leather, black (of course), and very comfortables. The price? 8.500 (42.5$). There are many good places to buy shoes. I went to a new mall in my neighborhood but you can find very good stores in Sol, Gran Via, etc. Jusut make sure that you buy authentic leather when you buy shoes (they have a tag). McClarke asked me good places to buy shoes, but I always buy them in my neighborhood so I don't know many other places, but I specially like "Los Guerrilleros" in Sol, they have good shoes at a very good price, but be carefull they have bad quality shoes too.
Besos

Deja vu of Balise's " Shoes, Shoes, Shoes " and ranman's " Shoes-Where to buy in Madrid? " thread,

Nuria
Where is your neighborhood? I will be in the area c/Altamirano, Madrid 28008.
Mucha gracias!

Madridman

With regards to the shoes you bought is "Fluchos" the brand name? I would like to buy my husband and son similar shoes you bought for yourself.

Muchas gracias!

I am from Vallecas. It is a "workers" neighborhood. It wasn't very popular many years ago because gipsys live there. Nodays it is an okay place but not many people want to live there. I love that place and its people, but it is not what you would call a turist place. The good thing is that is almost like a village, we know each other and every time that you go shopping you have a great time, sometimes if you don't have money you can buy anything and pay later, try to do that in "El Corte Ingles"

Hey MM, give Nuria a break! If no woman can survive without at least 5 pairs of shoes, how do you expect them to get by with just one Shoe thread (or should that be lace?)

Hahhaa!! This is a scream. In part, El Boqueron, because MY ladyfriend complains about how many pairs of tennis shoes I have and don't wear. hahaha...

mclarke, yes, "Fluchos" is the brand name of those I bought in 1999. I LOVE THEM!!! WOW! They're so comfortable. I was all set to buy a similar pair this year (last month), but in black and guess what. The price had nearly doubled since 1999! I think they were about 10,500pts (STILL dirt cheap! I should have bought them!) and this was in the Barrio Lucero (smallish, working-class neighborhood on the other side of el Rio Manzanares). I instead bought a different brand in black, they too are comfortable, about 5,500pts, and I didn't notice they were MADE IN EU(all written in English - European Union) and not made in Spain specifically. Upon recounting this "Tale Of Shoes" to a friend there they said that with the HUGE boost in popularity of the Fluchos brand (seems I got mine soon after they arrived on the market) the price has boosted accordingly. But darnit! I STILL should have bought those! They're SO comfortable and stylish (at least to me -- I'm no expert). The new ones are very soft leather, VERY light, and very comfortable too at least.

Saludos, MadridMan

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 11-30-2000).]

And, El Boqueron, how many pairs of shoes does your wife have? Got a good giggle out of your comment .... helped start my day off right!

Thanks, Nuria & MM
I have been buying Spanish-made shoes for years but lately most of the shoes now comes from China/Taiwan. Somehow Chinese/Taiwanese shoes seem not to agree with my feet. Visiting Spain next month is an opportunity for me to stock up on Spanish-made shoes (real leather) and good fit.

Just counting the days -- Dec. 28 and I will be in Madrid to celebrate New Year!.

Puna - I don't know my wife's shoe count, but I do know there's no space in the hall closet! Actually, I'm something of a shoe fiend myself (not tennis shoes though - strictly for sports!). Today I'm wearing my current favourites - a pair of brown suede lace-ups I bought in Madrid in September.

And if we can't find enough other reasons to go to Spain - we can always explain by the statement "our wardrobes need replenishing!" You do know I was joking about the shoe count ....

Puna,

My husband told me not to fill my luggage with shoes. Since I will be in Spain, I will definitely buy, buy, buy shoes. I told my husband that the household budget for 2001 would be a surplus because of the savings from buying shoes in Spain. Spanish shoes normally costs in my area $150-200 a pair. If the average cost of a pair of shoes in Spain is $50 that is an average saving of $100 a pair. So if I buy 5 pairs, I would be saving $500. Isn't that great to begin the year 2001 with a saving $500.00?

P.S. - Puna, My 20 year old daughter goes to school in Cambridge, MA. She is studying for a semester in Madrid. Maybe I could visit you in March when I attend her school's Junior Weekend 2001.

I have been reading your messages about shoes and I think you are missing the best shoe shopping area in Madrid (where I was born and raised). Forget about "Los guerrilleros". Go to Goya, Claudio Cuello and Serrano and you will find real Spanish shoes. The prices might be a little bit higher but with the dollar exchange rate it is worth it.

Maria
Where are those shoe stores located? Thanks.

MClark - also purses, purses and more purses (bolsos & zapatas)! And, if need be, an extra suitcase to bring it all home in. Wallets (an inexpensive and easy to carry gift for whoever is watering the plants), gloves, leather jaccket or coat (pricey but much better quality than in the US for less money). All to go along with all those shoes!
BTW - if you are email accessible - I'll send you my email re Cambridge

Hi MClarke, I don't know if you are familiar with Madrid. In case you are, these places are just behind la plaza de Colon. La calle Goya finishes in La Castellana and you can take it there and just go all the way up to the Corte Ingles de Goya. If you walk on the left side you will pass la calle Serrano (big street) and a little bit later you will cross Claudio Cuello (which is smaller but good for shoes).

Puna,
Thanks for the tips on what to shop in Madrid. Please do send me your e-mail in Cambridge.

Regards

MClarke - I'm going to get a through trashing from our leader - but neither you nor I have emails that show up - so I don't know how we could contact one and other re your trip to Cambridge ...

Based in part on Madridman raving about Fluchos I bought a pair at El Corte Ingles in Madrid. The shoes are awesome! They are so comfortable. It feels as if I am walking on plush carpet everytime I step.

Puna, unless mclarke JUST added her email to her PROFILE, you can find it by either clicking on the LETTER icon or face? icon to get their email. Puna, yours doesn't show up because you haven't included it in your PROFILE for some reason. You might want to add that if you want others to contact you.

Alejandro, SEE!! I TOLD'JA!!! Those Fluchos ARE great!! I can walk for miles and not even know it.

Saludos, MadridMan

What's a flucho? Is that a brand? I don't want to miss a good shoe tip!

Mucho Gracias MadridMan - I thought the email address had to show under the person's profile ...

El Boqueron, Fluchos (<-see website) are a brand of oh-so-comfortable and stylish (to me) Spanish shoes. I love mine !

Puna, if the member has made their email address public in their profile then you should be able to see and click on it to send email. Do you see the email address for mclarke?

Saludos, MadridMan

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 12-05-2000).]

Yes - Thank you. Found her email and responded to her original question and didn't go off on a tangent .... no more wet noodles! Thanks again.

Madridman

Thanks for creating a link for "Flutchos". I printed the different shoe models. When I buy shoes for my husband/son, I have an idea which models they liked. They do really look good and the quality is also super.

We came back with lots of shoes from Spain, a whole bunch. We took Nuria's advice and went up near calle Serrano. My wife got a couple of pairs of shoes up there, but her real find was Gredos, a zapateria right next to the Easyeverything cafe on Calle Montera near the Puerta del Sol. They had muestras "samples" of good quality shoes for 2000-4000 pesetas a pair.

Actually that was Maria's advice above Thanks, Maria

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 01-11-2001).]

I will be in Madrid on January 12 only for a four hour layover before heading to Malaga. Would love to do some shopping. Is there any good places to shop near the airport?

Shoes, Shoes all over Madrid, Sevilla, Cadiz, Granada, Cordoba. I bought 2 pairs of black-real leather shoes in Madrid, in fact at Nuevos Guillermos. Really cheap like $25.00 each. I bought Flutchos for my son around $50.00. He really likes the comfort of the shoes. My daughter bought Campers for herself and younger brother. A bit expensive around $70-80.

The best place to buy shoes I think is in the Alicante area, almost of the shoes are made there, in Elche they are relly cheap, although I don't think it's worth a trip just to buy shoes. I didn't know about Fluchos, I will have a look and I never thought 10000 pesetas could be cheap for a pair of shoes. For trekking shoes I could recomend bestard's boots (14-18000)ptas.

Miguelito,

You must be loaded willing to pay more than 10,000 peseta for a pair of shoes. My younger son really likes his Flutchos, very dressy and most of all water repellant. We have snow right now in the metro DC area. He was so surprised how his Flutchos dried up quickly. He gave his Camper to his father. He has to adjust to the look of the of Camper (very wide front. Camper is also water repellant. Campers now is becoming to be a fad. Flutchos has not yet reached the popularity of Campers.

Hi. Does anyone know how I can buy a pair of Fluchos shoes in the USA? Perhaps online? I got a pair while in Spain years ago and They were great!

Thanks
Rich

rjpjnk@eartthlink.net