"Y yo sólo una de sus calles..."

This year, this is my city. I'm so fortunate to be able to enjoy all of these places. 

A friend showed me this video and I thought it was very well done with the music, video and poetry so wanted to share it with all of you.

"Ella es Madrid."

All you need is love

Tuesday afternoon waiting slash wishing for the weekend.

Embajadores, Madrid

La Tabacalera i

Before Christmas, a work friend Lara took me on a walk down Madrid río one sunny Saturday.

We met up with a couple of her friends once we got to Lavapiés (Madrid's answer to Brick Lane) to have, what this Londoner was craving, chicken tikka masala. The trick with Indian restaurants in Lavapiés is just to go to whichever one looks the most popular in spite of any offers the guys outside their restaurants are hassling you with - in the end they are all cheap. We had a menú fijo for eight euros including a drink.

Well on the way to this restaurant, on Calle Embajadores, we walked past a place Lara wanted to show us. It is this enormous old tobacco factory called La Tabacalera which they have turned into a social centre for culture libre.

The place is a maze of rooms filled with seemingly abandoned art and they host every type of event you can think of. When we were there, there was a mini concert and various stalls to raise awareness for el día internacional del inmigrante. One of the things that shocked me the most was how empty it was, even though it was a Saturday. In Madrid there is so much to visit just off the beaten track which the guide books don't even mention (hence why I write this blog).

Enjoy some of the weird and wonderful things I saw:

A random garden out the back, with an area for fixing your own bike.

A motorbike shell made out old car and computer parts.

In the basement there are these graffiti lined passageways - which were a little creepy at the darker ends. The first of these photos was an accident but I think the fact that the frightening smiles seem to laugh makes it all the more menacing.

Down there we found giant origami.

Ir de shopping

Last Monday I had a puente (aka a day off). Nobody in Madrid city had this bank holiday as it was the saint's day for San Sebastián but seeing as my school is in San Sebastián de los Reyes we did. Perfect excuse to make the most of Madrid as usually with bank holidays everything is closed.

I went with my friend Helena to Fundación Lázaro Galdiano which is right next to my house but I'll tell you about that in another post. For now,  SALES my good friends...

Both of us love those little boutiquey type shops where you can find good quality clothes for pretty reasonable prices, hence C/ Lagasca and C/ Ayala. The stuff is often quite quirky and different but simple and very Spanish, and I love the very unique shop decorations.

Some of my favourites shops (the links take you to their follow-worthy blogs):

Anatomía

Ese o ese

Renatta&go

Bristol Bar

Missing England?

Bristol bar on Calle Almirante is the place to go. According to the bartender the owner is in fact from Bristol, hence the name and decor. With menus in English, flags dotted everywhere, a cardboard cut-out of the Queen, and a wall dominated by a photo of Queen Victoria, it's like being home... albeit a slightly scarily patriotic version.

It is one of the places to go for a gin&tonic - although they do have a restaurant part I hear - and they know their stuff. Maria asked for a less harsh, more suave gin and the bartender knew exactly what he was talking about, offering from the rows and rows of bottles an American gin which apparently has hints of orange.

I know nothing about gin - or tonic for that matter - so just went for the same thing. I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised, especially as someone who wouldn't usually order a g&t. Pretentious as I may sound, it was smoother and I could taste that orange.

Of course the drinks - being Spanish - were very strong and things got a bit silly.

Queen Victoria faces.

Going solo

I find doing those typical, touristy things alone pretty difficult. I know some really like it, the time to take it all in at your own pace, but I have to say that I very much enjoy discussing what I'm seeing. However, it was a few months ago now but after coffee on Calle de Alcalá with my friend Alex and a wander down to Atocha, I was too close to pass up the opportunity to explore the Reina Sofía despite being by myself at this point - especially since it's free for me as a student.

Here it is, with it's iconic glass lifts.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't very nice so I couldn't make the most of the lovely central patio, but given that I don't have to pay for entry, perhaps I'll go back on a sunny day with a book. Maybe I'll absorb some artistic talent from my surroundings or maybe I'll just look pretentious (uh-oh) - it's fine I am a tourist here after all.

I liked the use of space in the museum. 

Art around every corner.

And very white walls, characteristic of any exhibition of modern art, plain and empty with nothing drawing our attention away from the works.

I have to say it was pretty difficult to navigate the museum. I got a little confused so make sure you get a map or take a look at the one you see as you leave the lift. 

They actually have these innovative pamphlets to guide you around the museum if you haven't opted for a group tour or audio guide. There are five to choose from, each one providing a different outlook with which to see the works on show: Feminismo, Teatro, Arquitectura, Lo poético and El artista en crisis. Here, take a look. I took the Teatro leaflet and set off to find the most famous work housed at the Reina Sofía, Picasso's Guernica.

Apologies for the nature of the photo; in fact I took it before realising that you aren't supposed to take pictures of it and I contemplated not posting it, but the guard did let me get away with it once I said I was sorry so I assume its okay...

It is huge and captivating. The museum was relatively very empty on the afternoon I went, but a crowd stood staring and in silence at such an impressive representation of pain. As the pamphlet actually states, it is probably history's greatest expression of pain in art. Both the animals and women with their outstretched limbs, open mouths and bulging eyes, convey the power of fear and their attempts to cling at life as the bombs are falling on Guernica.

Thoroughly confused by the geography of the place, I found myself leaving through a different way in but snapped a couple pictures on my way out so here you go.