Hi Mongo! Wow! That IS a cosmic coincidence that you'll be in town at that time. hehehe..

And you have some good suggestions about where to go. But places like "El Abuelo", "Casa Labra", and "Torre de Oro" are all very good - but very small places. If we have more than 5 people it'd be impossible to wedge anyone else inside if there are (and there will be) other patrons. What would we do if we had 50 people show up for the party and 40 of them had to stand outside in the January cold? Of course, we're not likely to have anywhere close to 50 people, but for that reason, among others, I mentioned "El Brillante" because they have a big space in the middle.

I remember a couple times our large groups left El Brillante in search of other places and found it nearly impossible to get all of us inside because the places were already too crowded. I can already guess/calculate we'll have a minimum 10 persons. You know how small "Torre de Oro" is on the Plaza Mayor. If you put 10 people in there the bar is full. Add 8-10 patrons there upon our arrival and we have a problem. To "tapear" is something best done in groups of 2 to 5 maximum.

(and now Mongo groans.... "Oh god. What have I committed myself to?")

Saludos, MadridMan