It's time for the (near) annual "Party with MadridMan in Madrid: v6.0"!!! (or is it version 7.0?? I've lost count) Mark your calendars and fit it into your travel/work/living schedule.

WHEN: Friday 9:00pm, April 16th, 2004
WHERE: Cervecería de San Andrés
WHO: Travelers, Spaniards, students, families, anyone!
WHY?: Meet other lovers of Spain, Spaniards, intercambio, practice your Spanish or English, laugh, drink, eat, and just have a good time!

Cervecería de San Andrés
Plaza de San Andrés, 4

SEE QDQ.COM MAP OF LOCATION HERE
[img]http://fotos.qdq.com/1/c/tbf/user=esphoto;uri=n0uWXUXXmKJH4DPDTyssLuRIjbA3bQ5FPtOx5ffqBX9Y7sU5OsTLY50GaHLVPlgoxM2ej7Da6Ao=[/img] [img]http://fotos.qdq.com/1/c/tbf/user=esphoto;uri=n0uWXUXXmKJH4DPDTyssLuRIjbA3bQ5FFJYdRRauiJxGpQt7/4j+SnOqi9NPVOwXoDfopk+aK2g=[/img]

About the location:
This is in (or on the edge) of LATINA, "below" the Palacio Real. Message board member barry wrote: This is a NON-touristy location so it may just be perfect for us... WAIT! We're mainly tourists!!! hehehe.. Oh no!

Unfortunately because of the "renovation" of the Glorieta de Atocha we won't be having the "Party with MadridMan in Madrid" gathering at the famed and favorite El Brillante. <sniff!> This is very very unfortunate and I'm quite disappointed. Believe me! Oh well. Time to try somewhere new.

As usual, I'd like to start at a terraza so we can all sit around and meet. After an hour or so of eating, drinking, and getting to know one another, we'll move on to someplace else and likely visit a few more places for more food, drink, and talk.

I ALWAYS look forward to these annual gatherings but this year has been a bit different what with the recent events in Madrid and Spain. I'd even considered not having it but... well... people are still traveling and maybe the get-together is more necessary now than ever.

See you there, I hope!! Saludos, MadridMan

Hi Madridman! I am pretty sure that PIM and I will be joining you for your soiree!

Will give some thought to possible locations. Have a great flight!

To meet the legend!!! Count me in!

Oh, come on! I look forward to meeting you!

I'll be there

I have a dinner that night but I'll be there with all you thirty minutes at 9 pm.

Pls note places:
El Espejo at Paseo de Recoletos
Cafe de Oriente at Plaza de Oriente

I'm looking forward to seeing you again, ABP!

I had considered El Espejo at Paseo de Recoletos & Cafe de Oriente at Plaza de Oriente but thought they'd both be too expensive but they are great locations. I should be announcing the location tomorrow night.

Saludos, MadridMan

MM:
Did you receive the e-mail I had sent you from my other e-mail address about two weeks ago? It was asking if you'd have time to visit my office while you were in Madrid this time around?

By the way, I hope to be able to join this party with MM, but can't stay late since I have to be up early on Saturday morning to take my son to his chess tournament!

Location decided!! (see above, first posting) Woo Hoo! Now I can relax. You can be sure I'll check it out beforehand, "test" the food and drink (with pleasure!), and see if I can reserve a few tables for that night.

Can't wait to meet many of you whom I don't already know and anxious to see those whom I do know. See you there!

Saludos, MadridMan

I don't know when you're getting into town Madrid Man, but it might be a good idea to see if we can reserve tables in advance and cut some deal with the bar. I'll stop by and ask if you want. Let's just hope it's not pouring rain that day!

barry, I'm arriving this coming Sunday and expected to check out the bar sometime during Semana Santa (next week) and then would talk to the boss about reserving tables. But if you have some experience with "cutting deals" at bars and reserving tables, by all means do it! Thanks!!

And if it's raining, hopefully we can simply stand/stay inside for awhile until everyone who's coming comes and then we can move on. But yes, rain would be a real bummer/downer/disappointment.

Saludos, MadridMan

Cross fingers, MM. Tonight it was raining a lot, and only 40ºF. Well, in fact it's been raining/snowing/winding MIERDA DE TIEMPO for two weeks now.

I'm optimistic, deibid! A lot can happen in two weeks' time! Think positive!! If it does rain, no doubt we'll have a smaller group, but regardless, we'll all just meeting inside the bar at the same location.

Saludos, MadridMan

Quite true! two weeks ago there was a wonderful spring weekend, I brought my baby to the zoo and the Velazquez sky was more beautiful than ever.
But the next week it was snowing all weekend!
Well, a mal tiempo buena cara.

I'd love to go to the party... but I have a baby and a pregnant wife to take care of, so you never know!

I WISH I could be there! That sounds like fun!! Can I be there in spirit? If so, dedicate a round of drinks to me! (I won't pay though . . . )

Estoy Celosa!!! Have a great time. Drink one sangria for me!!!

See you all there! I'm off to the airport. Woo Hoo!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY, MadridMan

Have a great flight Madridman!!!

So it is Plaza de San Andres? right?
Thumbs up for this decision Madridman I couldn´t think of a better place myself, people are going to love it. but as for not it being a touristy place allow me to disagree. That square happens to be in front of a museum about Old Madrid, it stands where one of the doors of the old XII century wall that surrounded Madrid was and from it you can visit Madrid´s oldest monuments like XIII century Torre de San Pedro or XIV century Capilla del Obispo. As for its nightlife places like el viajero or el Berlin Cabaret will fullfill the wildest expectations.

Andres

Hello from Madrid!!!

My ladyfriend picked me up at the airport and took me directly, at my request, to the Cervecería San Andrés where we had coffee and TORTILLA DE PATATAS! And yes, the place does seem perfect. They have a BIG terraza and, if it rains, they open the downstairs where there are many many tables. I put in a reservations for our date and time and will confirm later. I made no "deal" with the bar, however. Not sure how to do this.

We had some trouble finding the place as I´m not familiar with the area and the Plaza is located on BOTH sides of the San Andrés Church. We circled the one side (the larger side) assuming this was it and didn´t find it and this worried me. We asked where it was in a small store and the man told us it was on the OTHER side.

I´ll have to disagree with Andrés (la plaza y la cervecería de su santo) in that I still believe this area is nearly totally off the tourist map. I figure if it´s a place I´ve never been in all my years of visits then it´s not a tourist area. However, those whom go "deeper" will find the nearby restaurants in the Cava Baja. Even I´ve eaten at some of these restaurants but it´s definitely not high on the list of tourist locations. So, I´m a little concerned newcomers to Madrid will have some trouble finding it.

Here are some short directions: Imagine you´re driving downhill of the street alongside the western side of the Plaza Mayor. This is the Calle de Cuchilleros. Come to the first major cross-street and cross it to the Plaza Cerrada, walking LEFT of the Bar La Terraza and down the Calle de Cava Baja until you reach the Plaza San Andrés. When you reach the plaza, which will be on your RIGHT, you´ll see the corner and the terraza (at night) of the Plaza San Andrés. The nearest metro station is LA LATINA.

Saludos, MadridMan

Have fun for me MM. I had a good time last year at your gathering. I remember going with barry and some others to torero. I wish I could be there but I am no longer in spain. Oh well Maybe next year.

I'm jealous!!!!!

I have been to Cervecería de San Andrés a few times - discovered it by accident as I tend to wander/discover at will. It's a super location - and within comfortable walking distance of Sol if the weather is decent. However, cab it home at the end of the evening ....

Enjoy!!!!!!! MM - you really need to insert the "green face of jealousy" icon for those of us not there .....

Hey MM!! Sure wish I was there! Neat to hear you are already in Madrid! Sound SOO great!

PLEASE stop in and say hi to Joaquin for me at the Asquinina Bar Gallego. He is such a nice man. I am sure you will agree and he will get a big kick out of you stopping by to say hi from Pedro in California!

Have fun!

Aargh! Can't believe we'll miss this. We won't be arriving in Spain until about 2 weeks later and won't be in madrid until about 2 weeks after that. We were in Madrid in October and walked down around the Latina area - looked very cool. Enjoy the party everyone!

Susan

Thanks for going two weeks after I got back! That's okay...I had a bootleg MM party with one other person...

After 7 years of taking an April trip, this will be the first to coincide with the party with MadridMan date. (Good Lord willing and the dam
don't bust. I arrive 7 hours before the start of the party!)

Calibasco, how much La Casera did you bring home with you? I had 6-1/2 liters in February, of which 4 remain!

OK, MadridMan et al. We are in Madrid, comfortably ensconced at Hostal Adriano. My first impression is VERY POSITIVE.

I didn't remember how many things are closed during Semana Santa. Even El Corte Inglés is closed. Luckily all the bars and restaurants are open. We arrived at 0815, dropped our bags at Hostal Adriano, and marched right on over to La Mallorquina...straight up the stairs for the sit-down service, where I got the cafe con leche and napolitana de crema I had been dreaming about. As MadridMan would say.."Yum,Yum". See you all at the fiesta.....

Enjoy everybody! Wish I could be there again, last year was great. Too bad Im back living in the US now
Kelly

I´m looking forward to next Friday! Everyone PRAY/HOPE/WISH for NO RAIN! The big terraza there looks nice and inviting.

Saludos, MadridMan
(Today we´re off to Olivera for the night but visiting the Roman ruins in Mérida)

Have Fun everyone!
I unfortunately cannot get over there, so am a little jealous. However I have explored this area a little in the past and can agree it is a superb place for a get-together.... Hope you get some great aperitivos....

There is a rumor going around (which I started ) that a certain Madrid innkeeper may show up at the party.

In case my plane is late, please leave a trail of tapas when you leave Cerveceria San Andres so I can catch up with you

Hi Mongo! Hope your plane is not late and that you´ll be accompanied by certain Madrid innkeeper. That would be great. That which is not so great is that the 5-day forecast calls for RAIN both Thursday AND Friday. We´ll see. Hopefully that will change and/or ONLY be during the daytime. Cross your fingers.

KEEP IN MIND THAT IF IT RAINS WE'LL BE IN THE DOWNSTAIRS SEATING AREA OF THE SAME LOCATION!!!

Saludos, MadridMan

Great web site...It looks like I will be in Madrid this Friday (from Washington DC) for work related reasons, so will join you guys for a "copa"...saludos

Hey MM!

I'll try to stop by for a little while at least. Maybe I can convince my wife to come with me. Glad to see you are in town again.

NOW the forecast has been changed from RAIN to PARTLY CLOUDY. Keep your fingers crossed! The terraza would be much better.

Counting Down.....

MadridMan

Just talked with my wife. We will both make it for the party, and our boarder, Fernando, too. The place is just at the end of the street where La Soleá used to be located, so I know just where it is. Great bar on the south side of the street too. José el Duende and I used to go there for tapas before going to La Soleá. The street Cava Baja is were the old city walls used to be, and they stored wine in the "cavas" there, or so I have been told.

Well, I'm back from Spain already so won't get to attend the party. But the area is great. I discovered it on my trip last September. The Calle Cava Baja, Nuncio, Alto, Almendro....lots of great places and hardly any tourists.

I'm already missing it......

The area is my favorite.I wrote a post about it as "Plaza de Puerta de Moros" .It easy to find,it is near of :"Teatro de la Latina", At La Latina (metro station)

I´m going this morning to our selected location to confirm the reservation for our group. See you all soon!

Saludos, MadridMan

Went by the bar yesterday when I was in town. This is the bar José and I always went to. It has great food, and is definitely not a tourist hang-out. Great choice.

One important thing: if you are entering the Plaza from Cava Baja (or Alta), you need to go to your right and across the square (caddycorner). The bar is on this corner. I hope this is not confusing! Should be a great party. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

As mentioned above, I stopped by the Cervecería San Andrés to confirm our reservation but it seems no reservations can be made, in fact. Instead, it was suggested that I arrive at 8:30pm and pull tables together myself. Hmmm... So, I´ll be there at 8:30pm if anyone wants to come early and help "secure" the tables. Might look odd if I surround myself with 6 empty tables all for myself. hehehe...

See you there! Saludos, MadridMan

MadridMan, we could never let you take on such a monumental task all by yourself.

My wife and son and I will be there to help you secure the perimeter.

We have also invited two Spanish friends, but they won't be there until 9:00 PM.

This should be quite a reunion!

GoMadrid...Lee..Leo

Lee, it was quite a surprise seeing you and your wife today at Hostal Adriano . What a nice coincidence. And thanks for helping to "secure the permimeter". I should have some other help too - from anyone who would like to come early (8:30pm).

Saludos, MadridMan

Well, the showers stopped mid-morning and while it remains overcast it looks like they won't be back until tomorrow so it should be clear sailing for the terraza tonight! Only five more hours until the set-up crew arrives!

dying to hear all the details....I have been thinking of you all evening.

Hello all, especially you MM. This is my first time at your web site and MB. I ran into your web site by accident a couple of days ago and i love it. I am a Madrileño living in Austin, Texas and miss home a LOT BUT this is pretty cool I really enjoy all that you offer here. It brings me a little closer to home. GLAD :p i found ya !!!! Voy a comprar un Jamon Serrano de la tienda que esta en tu pagina de Web

Wow. I must say that was THE MOST ENJOYABLE "Party with MadridMan in Madrid" I´ve ever had. All previous gatherings were great too but this once was really something special. And I can´t believe that I stayed until 3:30am! I´ve NEVER stayed so late at one of these gatherings so this obviously suggests I was enjoying myself a lot!

Fantastic seeing many of you once again and meeting others for the first time. That Barry (message board member who lives on the Plaza Santa Ana) is.. wow.. incredible. What a wonderful guy, totally animated and energetic, not to mention quite stylish. Ahh... If only I could be half as stylish.

I was looking forward to seeing Chica and pim once again but am sure their busy lives prevented them from attending. Too bad. I would have liked to have seen them again.

We had a total head-count of about 33, I think and the vast majority of us spent a full 2.5 hours at the terraza of Plaza San Andrés and then about half went on to two more places where we stood, talked, and got to know one another. We had such warm, interesting people to be sure.

Thanks for attending!!! I´m already looking forward to the next one!

Will post some photos early this coming week, after returing home to the US. I hate to go and am already feeling the growing sadness and depression that comes with the last hours of another memorable and busy visit to Spain.

Another fantastic party, people.

Very sincerely, MadridMan

Dear MadridMan
I am reading with a smile about the wonderful time that you had with you friend old and new while in Madrid. I will be leaving Thursday for Madrid and after a weekend I will start to walk my Camino, once back in Madrid I will again spend some time with my friends. I understand the pain in your heart as I know my will be aching when my time comes to leave. But always remember, you should always leave when it hurts the most. Then pain will override the wonderful memories you will carry in your heart and soul. That what happens when you walk in two worlds. Lucky us!

Hi Madridman and gang!

So sorry I didn´t make it last night... I was really hoping to go, but worked late and then wasn´t feeling too good (middle age combined with long working hours :p ) couple that with the thought of getting up early to work this AM after having been out at a wild Madridman party... well, you catch my drift!

Glad to hear that you had a wonderful time. Would have liked to see you again... PIM and I actually met at your Madridman party back in Nov. 2001 and have been friends ever since! Would have been fun to "celebrate" an anniversary of sorts! Oh well, I have no doubt that you will be back here again when we can do it right!

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Well that was fun the other night. Did someone call me energetic? You should have seen me on Saturday, paralyzed by a killer hangover for most of the day. Never again. And I certainly wouldn't have won a prize for style as I groaned in a darkened room under the blankets (alone, I hasten to add and due to severe alcohol-induced dehydration). But was it worth it? Yes! Great to meet you all. Must dio it again soon.

Pictures, please!

I'm waiting too...

Hi!

Madridman, Becks has expressed my exact sentiments (just forgot to ad that the fact that we had gone out the previous night due to a previous appointment didn't help either ). I'm truly sorry I missed the party , and that a few people I was going to "bring" 'se rajaron' as well. But I'm really glad you had such great time and that the location suited the occasion! So...when is the next one?

Barry;...."You're the top! you're the Coliseum, you're the top! you're The Louvre Museum,...."
(Mman, as you can see, we share a common admiration for Mr. Byrne....)
I miss a lot seeing you around the 'barrio' lately guys!

Saludos,

p

hey Madridman...have you forgotten the pictures ( and your thoughts about your trip...whether it be a diary or not...)We are all dying to hear from you!! Remember...

DOH! No, I haven't forgotten but it was a very busy weekend so I didn't get around to it then. Okay. I PROMISE (write it in stone) to post some party photos tonight. TOP PRIORITY. Sorry for the delay.

There won't be a journal this time as I had no extra/free time to write while there. I have already posted my "review" of my daytrip in Segovia. Did'ja see that?

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks MadridMan for hosting the annual party and for your incredibly informative website. Hello to Barry, Pablo, Dean, Julio, Patricia, Susana, and Rosa who helped to make my first visit to Madrid so memorable. It was everything I expected and so much more...can’t wait to come back. When is the next party?

As promised, here we gooooo! I'll place those names I can recall. Please, those whom attended, add your names and I'll edit it as we go. The photos used below are "email-size" photos and not the full sized ones (which are about 150kb each while the small ones are 15kb each). You may click the accompanying link for the full-size photo is you like.

In all, we had about 33 people attending the "Party with MadridMan in Madrid" and we had such a good time. In fact, as I mentioned before, I had SUCH a good time I broke my own exit-time record for these parties by three hours, staying until 3:30pm!! There were still about 8-10 of the group still at the last bar too!

The Place: Cervecería San Andrés (painted gold at left) on the Plaza de San Andrés.

Large photo here

From left: Judy S. (hiding behind menu), Dean, & Torrales (right)

Large photo here

The GoMadrid family & ABP at left:

Large photo here

From Left: Julio of Hostal Horizonte , Martín de Madrid of 1st Class Pinups , ChrisR, & ABP.

Large photo here

5 Tables Pushed Together:

Large photo here

A glowing María (Antonio's cousin!) and husband Abel of Hostal Las Murallas

Large photo here

Foreground: Susana & Patricia (thanks for the correction!)
Background from left: Antonio of Hostal Chelo , replay (Rafael) of MSX Power Replay , & Luis of Madrid Skyline Webcam & Web Design

Large photo here

But wait! Here are more photos and commentary!!

One of my favorite photos with all my favorite people:
Foreground from left: Antonio of Hostal Chelo , MadridMan , & reply (Rafael) of MSX Power Replay
Background from left: Alberto of Hostales Adriano y Adriá , Julio of Hostal Horizonte .

Large photo here

At our last (of 3) bar of the night.
From left: Pablo (correct???), the famed Barry (he's the best), & Andrés of Walks of Madrid

Large photo here

From left: Luis of Madrid Skyline Webcam & Web Design , Dean, & Judy S. (thanks for the correction!)

Large photo here

CAN YOU BELIEVE I DON'T HAVE A SINGLE PHOTO OF MONGO!!!!!!!????!?!?!!?!? How is THAT possible???!

Thanks for the great photos, I was bummed that I didn't bring a camera to the MM party. Corrections: the last photo is me, Judy, (not Patricia. Susanna and Patricia are in the earlier photo you labeled the lively ladies from Southern California.) and Dean, not Dennis. Hello also to Andres, Antonio, Luis and Rafael who I missed mentioning in my earlier post.

Hi Judy S.! Thanks so much for the names and name corrections. I'm sorry I mis-labeled you.

When's the next party? Well, I'm guessing there will be a few more there in Madrid WITHOUT ME (hmph! ) before I throw another one. I'd like to think I'll have these things monthly. What better way to socialize with both Spaniards and NON-Spaniards?

What fun we had at the last party. Can't wait for the next one.

Saludos, MadridMan

I'm a Vampire!

No ... Trip .... Journallll????????
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
I'm tearfull.
I'm speechless.
Now I'm depressed.

Yeah, sorry about that, deibid. BUT on the bright side, mainly because of your promotion, I drank Fanta Limón nearly everyday while in Spain. After several days my ladyfriend, puzzled, asked me, "What's with ordering Fanta Limón all the time?? " I told her because it's something we don't have in the states - of course we have lemonade but.. well.. it's not the same. Even some of the bartenders looked at me oddly because when everyone else is ordering beer at around noon I'm ordering Fanta Limón! hehehe..

Sorry for the lack of trip journal. There just wasn't time to keep one during this visit. I'll be sure to add my account of our 3 days in Extremadura (Mérida, Olivenza, & Zafra) someday soon, though.

Saludos, MadridMan

Thank you, MM. Now I feel better. It was sooooo good to read your journals, your depictions of people, places and... FOOD, of course.
I laughed with every yum yum and mmmmmm.
You can tell your lady that your food descriptions are the best parts of the journals. You make me hungry everytime I read them.
Well, I'll have to learn to live without a 2004 trip journal... and I'm anxious to know about your Extremadura experience (yes, superb food there too!)

Wish I could have attended but I was one week off this time! Looks like you all had a great time and the food looks yummy too.

deibid wrote:
That's nice to know. Thanks! I'll tell her you said that! She thinks my journals, mainly talking about FOOD, are silly and unimportant. This last trip was one of my shorter ones, only 2-weeks. In the past I've had 3 and 4 weeks sometimes. It just didn't work out this time. If I ever move there I'll keep a daily (or weekly) WebLog.

Too bad you missed it, CathyM! I would have like to have met you. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hello!, uff, I was afraid because the "message board" didn´t accept my login name, I thought I lose my registration.

Greets to Madridman for this great (and short for me) edition of the famous international party, I had to leave very soon because of the wedding of my cousin in Valdepeñas.

Thanks to all the friends and new visitors!!

When is the next party? Can anyone come ? (I'm new on this board...)

april29, I'm not sure when the next "Party With MadridMan in Madrid" gathering will be. It could be this coming Christmas/New Years holiday or might be next April. Stayed focused here on the message board for notice.

But there are always message board member gatherings in Madrid. Someone just has to get the bright idea to SHOUT OUT and start one. Unfortunately, I won't likely be attending.

Saludos, MadridMan

I'll surely stay focused !!! Hope it will be soon, Christmas sounds great ! Hope also you will be available. And thank you for your site, really it is a great link which keeps me connected to Madrid when I cannot be there. Best regards.