Friday 29 November 2013

Year abroad lessons learnt - take two

So two and a half months in...

1. Loving not having to leave a tip ever, joy of all joys - no, that's not actually sarcastic.

2. Everyone here has a pueblo and come puente (bank holiday), Madrid empties. But it's not a wealth or class thing; having a second home, a village home, is basically the norm here.

3. Macedonia doesn't refer to the country, it means fruit salad. Yes, when I saw it on the menu, I too was confused. I take it that historically it comes from Macedonia, or it's just some weird coincidence.

4. I used to make fun of people who wear sunglasses in winter. Turns out only in England does it look ridiculous, here it's a necessity because even at it's coldest (we've already had snow) Madrid is still always blindingly sunny.

5. Fanta limón is definitely missing from the British beverage market. It's one I'll miss on coming home. Especially for mixing copas, a typical girl's drink going out here is not 'vodka cranberry' but 'vodka limón'.

6. I will never understand the oh so popular yogurts here that you open up to find a semi-solid gelatine with water on top. I will not mix my own yogurt. This should be done for me. Get on it Spain.

7. Working at a school I'm weirdly up to date with what's cool for kids. Rolling school bags seem to be a thing... who needs a Easyjet allowance sized wheeling suitcase for the one book they bring to class? Confused.

8. Shower gel containers are always at least 500ml. Finding a normal sized bottle is strangely impossible. They last you for months though (while taking up half the space in your shower).

9. Here drinks are served in these goblet cups at bars. I feel like Harry Potter or a royal every time I go out for a vodka limón (see 5).

10. Little old man happy in the company of his tiny weeny chihuahua, you make my day every day when I walk past you on my way home. Below is the only photo I have of him.



Thursday 28 November 2013

La Latina

It's not as if the area's Rastro (flea market) on a Sunday is even the reason for most of the people around to be there, no - it's just the excuse needed because La Latina has been buzzing with life every time I've been there. A great place to go for tapas, a drink, or just to hang out and appreciate some secret-but-incredible churches.

Here are some of my photos from a Sunday there with some work friends.







man just playing his wine glasses. As you do.


This is Spain: churches, just plain churches, not even cathedrals, are gigantic and insanely beautiful.


The place to go for a meal, is definitely La Musa. We stumbled across this place behind the Iglesia de San Andrés because I noticed the pinterest-looking rustic white gate and chalk board.

It was just me and Ger, and for two, they have the degustación menu which is very good value for money and means you get to try a little of everything.


Makipan is something I'd never seen before. A sushi concept, but made with bread rather than rice. Delicious. I always love a bit of fusion gastronomy.

They give you just the right amount of everything.






Definitely go if you find yourself in La Latina, or actually, go out of your way to get there. I would. Luckily there's one in Malasaña as well. It's probably one of my favourite restaurants in Madrid at the moment.


Chanel

As a blog is just a string of random thoughts pieced together on the internet, I thought I'd share with you, lovely readers, how I miss French. I was never that great at it to tell the truth. I did A-level but let's put it this way, I did French for at least 8 years longer than Spanish while at school, yet I'm doing Spanish (and just Spanish) at university.

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. In an attempt to refresh my français, I decided to watch Coco avant Chanel and (importantly) without subtitles. It was more difficult to understand than I had remembered when I first watched it at the cinema in London but still, I like the film. At almost two hours, it is pretty long though so with the need for concentration for translation, not a one to watch when sleepy. You have been warned, I ended up watching it in two shifts as I almost fell asleep watching it at the end of a working week.

I liked this second time I watched it mostly because Audrey Tautou is just a very good choice for the part and is just very French, but also because visually, I think the film is very interesting.
I'm not really talking about the costumes, although the revelation of the pieces we recognise as very Chanel walking down that amazing mirrored staircase is exactly what the end of the film needs to lift it back to life again.......

I'm actually referring to the use of colour - well shades (black and white) if we're being picky - in the picture as a whole. Even from the very beginning at the school, where the scene is all black and white with the hospital-white beds, and Gabrielle's drab uniform contrasting with the twin girls in rich burgundy in their parents' arms, and later on another contrast between the garishly embellished monstrosity of a party dress bought for her in keeping with the fashion of the age and the outfit she ends up making for herself to wear to said party, we are given a hint at Chanel's 'future' designs and how a basic colour scheme is not necessarily plain but simple and chic.

Anyway, watch the film and decide for yourself. It's not one I think I'll ever buy on DVD because it can be a bit slow-going, but will certainly watch it if it's on TV - particulièrement pour pratiquer le français encore.

Someone stop me rambling. Here is a Chanel video that I came across on a friend's Facebook. A little midweek inspiration. I'd love to know how to make design videos like this.


Wednesday 20 November 2013

Azotea

A few weeks ago I went on a recommendation, with a group of friends, to the roof terrace (azotea) of the Círculo de Bellas Artes. It is a great place to go for views of Madrid. You can look over the city, including Palacio de Cibeles opposite and the iconic Madrileñan Metropolis just across the road.

You have to pay for entry and the drinks are a little pricey but I think it's worth it, especially at sunset for champagne or at night for a cocktail. We did the latter.

With the huge cushions to sprawl out on, it's perfect for good weather so when it's starts to get warm again - I may have to wait a few months (meh) - you will find me there!










I even went back when showing Madrid to a friend, as with the price for entry, the museum are free. However, the queue was so long for the lift that we bailed on the views and just saw the exhibitions instead. Català Roca's black and white photos were particularly interesting, showing us 20th century Spain through his lens. I was very pleased with myself, managing to recognise most of the photos taken in Madrid. I really am getting to know the city... I will never want to leave at the end of the year.

Friday 8 November 2013

niMÚ

For steak tartare, wine and dressing a little dressier, niMÚ down on Goya is a lovely place to go. Germán took me there for our anniversary and as he had an exam until 9.30pm - meaning our time was somewhat limited - I was very happy just to go out for dinner. It is small but sophisticated. I particularly liked the metal-backed menus, and the service was exceptional.

I also discovered my newest obsession, sorbete. Combining desert and a cocktail? Genius. I had a mojito sorbete and while Ger's had was lemon and tequila.







Yahuh. I'm liking Madrid so far.


Tuesday 5 November 2013

Cerveza por favor

Considering post-work cañas. Mahou or San Miguel, that is the question.


vs.


Date Night

Being a lovely girlfriend, I found an architecture exhibition in Madrid and took Ger. It was at the Biblioteca Nacional which in itself is interesting in terms of architecture. Here's me being the language geek that I am - Alfonso X, my good friend.




We then ambled over to where the museums are, Paseo del Prado, Madrid's Exhibition Road. By night, I snapped with my iPhone until it died. Blogger total mode.

Caixa Forum.



The Reina Sofía lifts.


Place to go for Picasso.


You know it.



Chao for now...


Sunday 3 November 2013

Firsts

I am so slow with this blog, I do apologise dear readers but I wanted to write to you about how the weekend before last we had our first house guest and first party. Both were lovely, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
So it was Dafydd who came to stay with me and Maria for the weekend, a friend from Oxford who does Spanish like us but also Portuguese so is in Portugal, in Coimbra, this term. Follow his blog here.
I don't think Maria and I did too badly, acting as tour guides in a city we actually barely know ourselves. We went to our classic Lateral, also to Tommy Mel's (American diner feel), shopped in Barrio de Salamanca, had a copas (party) to introduce our friends, and wandered around Madrid.

This was a feria of old books that we stumbled upon by Recoletos on the Sunday. It had stalls with novels, comics and even 1920s postcards from different European countries, some of which had been written on and sent, which I was very tempted to buy just to read the stories they told. I ended up buying a second-hand Agatha Christie book in Spanish so as to practise my language without it feeling like work. Haven't got round to that one yet though hmmm....


We went to lunch in the Mercado de San Antón which is a architecturally a simple concrete block of a building. The ground floor is a market which the building looks into as an internal courtyard with your typical breads, hams and cheeses. The first floor is divided into tapas bars, funnily enough we came across one that was completely deserted in spite of the fact that the others were all a tope (packed), so it turns out that one only had vegan and vegetarian food. You shouldn't ever try to take meat away from a Spaniard, even the vegetable dishes are flavoured with jamón. Finally the top floor is a restaurant and terrace which seemed to have a good ambience. We ate at the restaurant and I had a delicious truffle pappardelle, which I would definitely recommend, although the place is a tad pricey.

We then had fro yo at this place around the corner in Chueca. I love these kinds of finds. Check out the eclectic decor.