MadridMan.com: BLOG Madrid Spain

2008 San Isidro: Madrid Patron Saint Celebration

2008-05-13T09:03:29Z

2008's San Isidro is upon us here in Madrid, Spain. The official day for San Isidro, Madrid's patron saint, is 15 May but San Isidro Events are planned for an entire month. Thursday, May 15th, is THE day.

The "Pradera de San Isidro", which are the gardens or park grounds around the Ermita de San Isidro (the San Isidro Chapel - not to be confused with the church of the same name in downtown Madrid), is fortunately located very near me and is the location where Goya created many of his famous paintings of the city of Madrid more than 200 years ago. The Pradera de San Isidro is already lined with its stands and kiosks, the amusement park rides have been assembled, and the musical stage has been constructed. The only thing which remains are the people. The area will open Wednesday night at 8pm.

Going to the "Romería" (saint's day party of the local village) in the Pradera de San Isidro is a love-hate situation. I LOVE going to see all the children and older folks dressed in traditional costume as "Chulapos" and "Chulapas" and watching the older folks dancing the "Chotis" - the typical 19th century dance danced mainly in the Lavapies and El Rastro neighborhoods at that time. But I HATE the dense concentration of people. At the peak hour it's nearly impossible to walk anywhere, everyone being front-to-back, shoulder-to-shoulder and no one moving but everyone with a destination in mind. Total gridlock. And if it's hot - as it often is at this time of year - even worse.

But the "Romería" has more things to offer which I do love. One can drink cool, fresh spring water from the fountain at the chapel, the Ermita de San Isidro. The fountains water supposedly contains magical properties which cure sickness. Be sure to get there early because the lines are long-long-long, particularly on hot days. Drinking the water is free but a donation is accepted. There's also a nice rose garden next to the chapel.

What would a Romería be without ROSQUILLAS!?!? Rosquillas are a snack food similar to doughnuts but exist in two varieties: "tontas" and "listas" and are most typically found during San Isidro. Rosquillas are sold everywhere and are relatively cheap. Most people buy them by the bag and take them home to eat through the weekend. They're a bit dry but very tasty with coffee or milk. Covered terrace restaurants line the main street and serve absolutely everything from chopitos, paella, tapas, and full meals. Wine and beer and widely available too.

There is a mass during the day and concerts at night - which I can easily hear from my house - but I've never been to the Pradera de San Isidro at night. I understand it's an electric environment. On the very last evening they have a firework display which I love to watch from the building's rooftop.

OTHER CELEBRATION LOCATIONS:

There is also a "Berbena" in "Las Vistillas" - the gardens near the San Francisco Church ("Iglesia de San Francisco El Grande") with views of the Almudena Cathedral. The area is quite nice and large and is traditionally the place to watch chotis dance performances on stage. I've attended this twice in the last two years but will not go back this year. Lately, while the dances take place, the thousands of teenagers surrounding the stage and in the gardens pay no attention, more interested in their Botellón drunkfest than the cultural performances surrounding them. The teens are densely packed side-by-side, their plastic bags and empty beer, wine, and calimocho-mix containers littering the ground everywhere. It's not a nice seen, unfortunately, This area has been lost or overtaken by underage drinking.

The annual monthlong bullfight festival, "La Fería de San Isidro", takes place in Madrid's bullring, Corrida de Toros de Las Ventas. It started this year on the 8th of May and lasts until about the first week of June. The near-daily bullfights start at 7pm, last about 2 hours, and are televised on cable (satellite) television but not on public television. Getting tickets to bullfights of San Isidro is nearly impossible. "Bonos" or annual passes to the feria are closely guarded by people who renew them year after year for a high price. Few non-bono tickets are available and those few which are snapped up quickly in the first days they go on sale just before the feria starts.

San Isidro is also a time to enjoy Madrid's most famous food dishes including Cocido Madrileño, Callos Madrileños, and Rabo de Toro (stewed bull's tail). Sidra (lightly fermented cider) is also a popular drink during these days.

Since San Isidro falls this year on a Thursday, nearly everything closes except for many bars and terraces. Friday is a normal workday but some people will choose to stretch the holiday into a "puente" or bridge the Thursday into a 4-day weekend. The weather forecast for Thursday is partly cloudy and 73ºF/23ºC with rain the day before and the day after San Isidro. Looks like the weather gods have smiled upon us this year.

The entire San Isidro Program (in Spanish only): http://www.esmadrid.com/sanisidro/inicio.html

Madrid Spring: Easy and Simple

2008-04-27T21:26:55Z

Sunday night, 11pm. I just had my dinner (leftovers from lunch) of baked chicken (in soy sauce) and chicken croquets along with a rosé Peñascal wine. Very good. Slightly effervescent.

I was having my dinner at the table in the sitting room, near the television, and am watching the movie "Apocalypse Now" - in English. Thank goodness for satellite television where you can choose either the "original version" or the default Spanish version. I MUCH prefer watching American movies in English than in Spanish. I like hearing the actor's voices, no matter their native language.

Odd weekend here in Madrid. The weather was absolutely perfect, nearly summerlike - and I didn't even leave the house, not since Friday afternoon when I came back from the shopping. Most of the weekend entailed work, playing videogames, watching movies, and reading the newspapers. Oh, and lots of cooking.

While I don't do it very often, I really love to cook here. I probably cook much more here than I ever did in Columbus, Ohio. I don't cook anything fancy, mostly chicken, veal, pizzas, and the occasional seafood dish. I haven't been brave enough to tackle cooking fish yet through.

Oddly, now that I'm sitting here with the light, slightly cool breeze passing through the house, I have the inclination to get dressed and go downstairs and catch the bus to downtown Madrid for a walk. But nahh.. I'm settled in for the night. But apart from that, I also have the wants to explore Spain.

This "business" in which I'm involved affords me the opportunity to explore, to visit, to see parts of Spain I wouldn't otherwise be able to experience, all in the name of Spanish tourism - my business. So now I plan, I dream, I wonder where I'd like to visit next. The list is long but so is life.

Now, at 42 years old, I can't imagine ever actually, totally retiring from this business. Why would I want to? I can't see myself at 66 years old, putting the working world behind me and settling down to doing nothing more with my days than going down to the local cafe for my morning coffee and churros, buying the paper, and reading that paper on the terraza until lunch time, taking walks in the evening, and going to bed early. I can't see this for me - AT THIS TIME. I love my work. There's nothing better.

Tomorrow, Monday, is a typical day. I'll wake up and have coffee and bran cereal, do some work, then at about 11am I'll head to the gym. By 2pm I'm back at home, showered, and starting to make lunch. A typical day. I've noticed the topless sunbathers have returned to the outside terraza of my gym. Bonus!

Granada: Alhambra, Albayzin, Sacromonte

2008-04-03T10:19:18Z

GranadaMan Visits Granada, Spain!

Photo: Plaza Nueva, Granada City

Wow. What a trip.

I realize I say that after every trip but it always seems to be true, one trip outdoing the previous one. Or maybe that's simply the magic and mystery of Spain. It always leaves you wanting more. It always leaves you wanting to return.

This morning, March 31, 2008, I'm writing at about 7:30am from the train from Granada returning to Madrid. The train is nearly empty. My car has 3 persons including me and the other 2 are asleep. The sun is still down but I can see the embers of an imminent sunrise, a few dots of light on the mountains north of Granada. Just beautiful. Peaceful.

Five nights were planned for Granada but I got a bonus 6th night due to the hour change - without my knowledge.

I left Madrid from Atocha train station at about 7:30am last Tuesday, March 25th 2008 and had a fast-moving 5-hour train ride on the standard RENFE train. No high speed AVE trains are in the works for this stretch just yet. I watched the Hollywood movie (in Spanish) and looked out over the countryside. Even went to the cafeteria car once for a coffee but since I'd bought a sandwich in Atocha before leaving I had my late-morning snack at the ready just in case - and I did need it since I ate breakfast at about 5am.

Train travel is just the best in Spain - and throughout Europe, as I understand it. I'd traveled the trains in Switzerland, Italy, France, and even Belgium (in the early 1990s) and I never tire of it - unless it's a long-haul train. Those I don't like. But a few hours is very comfortable and relaxing.

On to the GRANADA TRIP!

GranadaMan video of the MIrador de San Nicolas

Can ANYONE say enough about the City of Granada? Talk about the epitome of the phrase "Enchanted City"! It has everything, and all without the confines of what feels like a village.

Of course, anyone visiting Granada MUST SEE the Alhambra. That really goes without saying but lots of people, including many Spaniards, believe they can "just show up" and see it - but you really can't. You can, if you're lucky, AND if you're willing to spend hours upon hours waiting in line for the few remaining tickets there MIGHT be available. Pre-ordering/reserving Alhambra tickets online is a MUST DO these days. And even with that you'll have a long-ish line to COLLECT the actual ticket at the ticket office. I saw people which must have been waiting in line for almost an hour just to get their pre-ordered tickets.

My ticket was part of a 5-day BONO TURISTICO card (32.50 Euros, bought at Caja Granada Banks) which not only included entry to the Alhambra but also 9 trips on public buses, entry to the Granada Cathedral, the Granada City SightSeeing bus (good for 24 hours), and a number of other goodies which I didn't use. All totaled, I probably broke even but since there were no more tickets available online for the Alhambra the only way I could get an entry ticket was to buy the Bono Turístico. And plus, having this card, my line to get my Alhambra entry ticket was only about 10 persons long and took maybe 10 minutes! I felt bad for all those other people waiting and waiting in the other line.

I'm not going to do a day-by-day, blow-by-blow, detail-by-detail account of my days in Granada because it would certainly take a good 10 hours of writing.

The weather was mostly good while in Granada these days. I think there was one or two semi-cloudy days and a couple of very very cold days. So cold, in fact, that I went out and bought a heavier coat! It even rained last night. Most days were sunny and clear which made taking photos in the Albaycin, with it's white-washed-walls, so much brighter. The springtime flowers were in bloom but few leaves were on the trees - which I thought odd for late March in southern Spain. It was also very humid and damp most of the time, particularly down along the Darro river, at the base of the Alhambra. Inside the Alhambra was the same, cool and damp but luckily it was a sunny day so the photos turned out nicely.

Granada is a city for photographers. There are so many twists, turns, picturesque cobblestone streets, and not to mention the views of the Alhambra from the Mirador de San Nicolas and from nearly any part of the Albayzin and Sacromonte.

Sacromonte is a place to be visited. It's also a place to see flamenco shows in a cave setting. What is "a cave setting?" Caves have been excavated in the hills of Granada's Sacromonte almost since the beginning of man but the modern caves, those in which people actually live, are rather modern. Most have running water, electricity, and a near-constant temperature. And what incredible views they must have day after day, stepping out into the morning sun with views of the Alhambra and then watching the sunset in the late afternoon. Must be great - but hard at the same time. The caves are usually pretty small - and LOW - and are always up some hill so lots of walking and climbing must be done. Sacromonte is inhabited nearly exclusively by gypsies. The #34 bus - leaving ONCE every hour (roughly on the 25 minute mark of the hour) from the Plaza Nueva - will take you to/near the many Cave Flamenco Shows in Granada's Sacromonte as well as to the Cave Museum. But if you're only going to the cave flamenco shows or to the cave museum it's actually best to take the #31 from Plaza Nueva, get off at the bus stop just before the Camino del Sacromonte, and walk the 200 meters to these places on the Camino del Sacromonte rather than wait up to an hour for the #34 bus.

The Albayzin/Albaicin is must more densely populated than the Sacromonte and also nearly totally inhabited by gypsies but there's a greater mix of cultures here. Lots of hippies, Moroccan, and other Europeans live in the Albayzin. This is probably my favorite part of Granada. While Granada City feels like a village to me, the Albayzin feels like a smaller village set apart from the rest of the world. The streets are very very narrow, many of them are pedestrian only, it's very very quiet, and the people are so casual, friendly, and easy going. One must take some caution walking in the Albayzin (and Sacromonte) at night, however. The narrow, dimly lighted twisty streets have yielded some muggings in the past few years - even in daytime - but there's safety in numbers.

The Albayzin has a number of terraces and squares including the wonderful Plaza Larga, the plaza behind the Mirador de San Nicolas, Placeta de Aliatar (a.k.a. Plaza de los Caracoles), and on and on. All of these have terrace bars where you can sit in the sun - or under and umbrella - and have a cold drink, a free tapa, or have a full lunch or nighttime "copas" with friends. The #31 and #32 buses takes you from the Plaza Nueva down below up into the Albayzin above - well worth the bus fare to avoid the steep walk up the Cuesta de Chápiz. It's all uphill until you get to the turn-off to go towards the Mirador de San Nicolas (where there's a bus stop).

Flamenco in Granada:

I went to TWO "Zambra" style flamenco shows in caves in Sacromonte in Granada. One night I attended the 9:30pm show at Venta El Gallo and was entertained for nearly 1.5 hours. The place is nice, comfortable, and they have a dining area and bar areas somewhat apart from the flamenco viewing area. This is a stage flamenco dance show and excellent musical accompaniment. For this one I took the #31 bus from Plaza Nueva to the bus stop (Peso de la Harina) just before the Camino del Sacromonte and walked the 200 meters to the location. There were signs along the way directing me to Venta El Gallo. It's a nice walk too with FANTASTIC views of the illuminated Alhambra along the way. Wow.

Another night I attended a cave flamenco show at Zambra de Maria "La Canastera". I wasn't really sure where this place was on the Camino del Sacromonte but knew there was a bus stop. So for this show I took the #34 bus from the Plaza Nueva - and waited a good 40 minutes for it to arrive - and surprisingly the bus driver didn't know WHICH bus stop was the one for this flamenco show. How many times has this bus driver taken tourists to these places?? So I found the stop, got out, and to my surprise it was DIRECTLY BELOW the Venta El Gallo cave. DIRECTLY below, mind you, so I could've taken the #31 bus and gotten off at the Camino de Sacromonte stop on the Cuesta de Chapiz and walked the 200 meters like I did for the Venta El Gallo show. Had I known.... No matter.

I arrived at Zambra de Maria "La Canastera" with a few minutes to spare and the kind gentleman told me to choose a chair at the back so I did, but right in the middle. I was one of the first to arrive, it seemed. But 10 minutes later the place was absolutely full. Busloads of people were filing in and taking their chairs around the floor. This was somewhat different. The flamenco dancing was done in the middle of the cave and people sat around the dancers along the walls. The musical accompaniment brought their chairs in after the last spectators arrived and setup just in front of the exit door. I was kind of happy to be towards the back with people in front of me because I was on a slightly elevated level and could see most dancing feet - but not TOO close to the floor so that the dancers didn't choose me to dance with them while the (included) drinks were being handed out. I passed on the drink because I knew I'd have one less free hand to take photos and noticed other people having difficulties with this, one glass was dropped and broke, and others were asking people to hold their glass so they could take photos. The show was entertaining and the musicians and singers were great.

After both flamenco shows I decided to walk back to the hotel because the slow, cool, nighttime walk along the Camino de Sacromonte, except for the tourist buses passing by from time to time taking their guests back to their hotels, it was peaceful and the views of the Alhambra were spectacular. Plus, the walk downhill down the Cuesta de Chapiz is pretty easy if you can walk in the street because the sidewalks are somewhat stepped and cobblestone and hard on the feet bottoms. Then once at the bottom of the hill you reach the Paseo de los Tristes and the walk along the Darro River with the illuminated Alhambra up above you at all times. This is a magical, romantic stroll at night. I love it.

By the time I reached the Plaza Nueva after these nighttime returns from the flamenco shows it was already 11:30pm or later and most all the restaurants and nearly all of the bars were closed or closing so finding something to eat at this time was difficult. What I did most late nights was walk towards my hotel along the Calle Navas for beers and free tapas included. THIS IS THE STREET for tapas bars in Granada. Calle Navas probably has 20 tapas bars, almost all offering 1.50 Euros cañas (small glasses of beer) and a free tapas (of their choice). Most nights I walked through and stopped at three bars, had three beers, and three tapas and I was full. No dinner necessary! Other nights I stopped at FOUR bars. The tapas vary but are usually substantial. I was never simply served a plate of olives or a plate of potato chips like you get in Madrid. In Granada it was always a small sandwich with potato chips, a large place of mixed pastas, a plate of paella, or even a piece of steak on toast with potatoes! It all depends. In all the bars I had a beer (during the day I had non-alcoholic beer to keep my tourist's energy maintained) only once was I not served a tapa - and that was actually a bodega and not a bar bar although they did serve food. Along Calle Navas, they served a free tapa without fail. The average price for the caña was 1.50 Euros but I had one as cheap as 1.30 and as expensive as 1.80.

The food in Granada is good and very similar to that in Madrid. You have your veal steaks, your lomo, your chicken and garlic, your fish (galore!) and seafood, paella, but many many more Shwarma/Kebap fast-food-style restaurants than Madrid has (and Madrid has a lot!). The tapas (free and otherwise) were similar or the same as in Madrid. The breakfasts too were the same. I had toast with olive oil and tomato spread nearly every morning with my coffee. I had my breakfast and 6pm coffee in the same place near the hotel nearly every day. By the 3rd day I'd walk in and they're say, "Café con leche?". It's nice to walk in someplace and to be known, to be recognized. That's a nice feeling. I always felt like saying goodbye before leaving but they were closed early this morning when I left and yesterday, being Sunday, they were closed all day.

I took two tours in Granada. One, Granada Picnic Tours, Anne, an American woman from Kansas, took a small group of us around the Alhambra, spending roughly 4 hours with us, and giving us all the details about the Alhambra in a very casual, familiar manner. It was a wonderful success and I enjoyed it a lot. I also took the Saturday morning Granada City Hall tour of the Albayzin. This tour was offered by Maria, a Spaniard, and she toured a small group of us around the Albayzin - entirely conducted in Spanish - and filled our heads with thousands of dates, details, poems, and stories of the neighborhood and the city of Granada. It was an educational tour to say the least.

My hotel, the Hotel Carlos V, a 1-Star hotel in Granada, is located on the Plaza de los Campos in the Realejo neighborhood - which I REALLY liked - and not only because it was at the end of the Calle Navas but also because it was must more Spanish and very few tourists were seen walking the streets. It's only a few blocks from the Plaza Bib-Rambla and Plaza Nueva. The 1-Star hotel is located on the 4th floor and one must be "buzzed" in at the front door, similar to hostels and pensions. You walk through a very large foyer to the elevator and walk out on the 4th floor to the hotel lobby. The hotel is quite nice and has about 25 rooms. Being on the 4th floor, (that' the 5th floor in the USA) all the exterior rooms have wonderful city, mountain, and valley views. The building's on a kind of cul-du-sac and a kind of garden on another side and a place station on the other side. The Hotel Carlos V was completely renovated a few years ago and every still looks brand new, modern, very clean, key-card door access and electricity activation in rooms, modern bathrooms, and free internet computer terminal in the lobby and free wi-fi in the lobby and lounge rooms and may even reach to rooms further than mine, about 2 doors down the hall from the reception room but it did reach nicely. Breakfast is offered but I don't know what or at what price as I always went out for breakfast. There's even a large outdoor terrace/balcony with table, chairs, and great views but neither food nor drinks are allowed in the hotel apart from those bought in the vending machines (snacks and coffee). The bedroom's bed and pillow was firm and very very comfortable. The bathrooms were modern and free soaps, comb, and shoe-shiner was offered. I used them all. The hotel staff was very very friendly and helpful with anything I asked (extra night, call for a taxi, public transportation questions). The room was even temperature controlled but I didn't touch it.

Language: I spoke Spanish in Granada with everyone and without problem. It was my impression, from overhearing Americans/Brits at restaurants, boarding buses, buying tickets, that few service-persons spoke anything more than a few words of English which is pretty typical.

Cash is king. Few places took credit cards except for the larger bars and restaurants. Same goes with the size of the bill with which you're trying to pay. It's more difficult to be able to pay with a 50 Euro bill. The terrazas/terrace bars almost never took credit cards.

People: The people of Granada, from service people to those on the street all struck me as very friendly. Maybe this was largely because I spoke to them in Spanish.

Bonus Day in Granada!: My last day in Granada, Sunday, got up at 8am, got dressed immediately, and went out for breakfast before my 10:20am train departure. LOTS of time. I had to walk a little further to another bar for breakfast since the nearby one was closed. After breakfast I walked to the Plaza Bib-Rambla and sat at one of the rounded lamppost seats to take in the peace and quiet except for the church bells. The city seemed nearly completely asleep. There I was on the plaza, looking up at the Granada Cathedral dome tower against a clear blue sky, when a crooked toothed gypsy man, about 60-something, came up to me asking if I wanted my shoes shined. I'd never had my shoes shined before but these things were desperate for a cleaning after 5 days of dust and dirt and hills of walking around Granada. GREAT! "How much?" "4 Euros." Perfect! So I sat there, exchanged small talk, and after about 10 minutes he was done. Did a decent job and my shoes did shine but he didn't use any polish, just a brush, a damp rag, and a dry buffing rag. But fine. They're still much much better than they were before. I still have plenty of time, strolling slowly up the Calle Navas once again to the hotel. I get in the room, start to undress to take my shower and pack my suitcase when I check the laptop clock. It reads 10:05am!!!!!! WHAT?! I poke my head out into the hall and ask the cleaning lady the time. "10:05am." ARGH! So I throw on some clothes and head to the reception desk and sure enough, there was a time change the previous/Saturday night and I had NO idea. Here I am in Granada, don't know anyone and don't talk to anyone so I hadn't heard of the change of time. I did look at a newspaper on Saturday and nothing was mentioned. So boom! My train was leaving in about 15 minutes and no way I'd make it so I booked another night. And I was so glad I did! The weather Sunday was perfect, cool, clear skies, and I spent it in walking in the Albayzin. Rather, I was strolling, very very slowly, taking all the twists and turns of each and every street, had a big lunch on a terraza on the Placeta de Aliatar under blossoming trees and with flamenco guitar and singers nearby. It was a perfectly relaxing day - one I'd had lost had I made my train.

That day finished off like so many days in Granada, walking down the Calle Navas for tapas and beers, getting to bed early at 10:30pm. The next day, THIS morning, I did have to wake up at 5am to get my 6:45am train to Madrid - from which I'm writing this blog entry now. Hope you enjoyed reading it. I truly enjoyed living it!

Semana Santa in Spain

2008-03-14T20:56:29Z

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is in near-full-throttle position here in Spain. While today's only Friday evening, one notices immediately fewer cars in the streets and the more traffic on Spain's highways. Madrid, on the other hand, will be comparatively tranquil with little traffic and lots of available parking spaces as seemingly half the population leaves town.

SOME PEOPLE like students, teachers, and some businesses, take the entire week off while many others only close only on "Jueves Santo" or Holy Thursday and through Easter weekend.

Other people will go to the family home in the "pueblo" for rest and relaxation while many others go down south to Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba, Cádiz, or the beaches of Málaga.

Still others will take advantage of the free time to fly to France or Germany or even to the United States where the exchange rate is VERY favorable for those carrying Euros.

VERY unfortunately, the weather forecasts for Holy Week in Spain are not very positive, expecting cloudy skies and some rainy conditions throughout Spain accompanied by cooler temperatures. None of this is surprising since Easter came SUPER early this year.

Many people will be enjoying the religious processions throughout Spain too, including in Madrid. I hope I'll have the opportunity to see some as I'm staying here this year although I'd love to get away for at least a few days. Oh well. I guess I can wait until the following week when I expect to spend 6 days in Granada. Hope the weather's good there. We'll see.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Week_procession

11 March 2004 Madrid Train Bombings Anniversary

2008-03-11T21:46:04Z

It really does seem like only yesterday. But in fact, 4 years have passed since the March 11, 2004 Train Bombings in Madrid by terrorists. It was a day when it seemed that time stopped altogether. Nothing else in the world existed.

In Columbus, Ohio, the night before the train bombings, I set my computer to record Madrid morning's radio news which I did every night. The next morning, upon awaking, I'd burn the saved MP3 file to a CD-RW and then take it to work and listen there.

But this particular morning was different - and would never be forgotten. I turned on my computer as usual, eating my cereal while going to the Spanish news websites. And that's when I saw it.

I'd recently been able to subscribe to TVEinternational through my cable service and so I turned on the TV immediately - at about 5am or 11am local Spain time. To my horror I saw the the horrible aftermath just 2 hours after the bombings took place. Atocha Train Station was chaos as were the streets surrounding it.

The Death Toll kept going up and up with every minute and my mind went immediately to friends I knew in Madrid whom took the trains through Atocha on their way to work. First thing I did was call off of work so I could better follow the situation and see if they were okay. Luckily, everyone one I knew was.

People from all over the world sent ME dozens of emails with hopes that my friends in Madrid were okay. I was doing the same, sending dozens of emails to people I knew there.

The next day I went to work and everyone there was asking about my friends in Madrid. While working, I followed the Spanish news online while also listening to the recording I'd made the night before the bombings. It was spooky. The recorded news program to which I was listening stopped what they were discussing and gave us the brief news, "An explosion of some kind has taken place at the Atocha Train Station," but nothing more was known until shortly thereafter. I still have that CD recording and listen to it from time to time.

Roughly 10 days after the 11-M train bombings I flew to Madrid for my already scheduled Semana Santa vacation there. Some people at work thought I was crazy, as if I was flying into a war zone or something. My family was concerned too. I wasn't worried in the least. In fact, worry wasn't an emotion I felt since knowing my friends were okay. There was something which was drawing me to Madrid. I NEEDED to be there. I NEEDED to be with the people I cared about. I NEEDED to see all this for myself.

Madrid and Spain continues in a state of recovery. People never forget the event nor those whom were lost to this pointless terrorist attack on 11 March 2004. In general, Spanish people are VERY VERY resilient. They won't forget what happened but they're also not afraid to walk the streets or use the trains. For that I give them a lot of credit.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_March_2004_Madrid_train_bombings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_the_11_March_2004_Madrid_train_bombings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_11_March_2004_Madrid_bombings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atocha_Train_Station_Memorial

Zapatero re-elected as Spain's President

2008-03-09T22:06:57Z

With the elections nearly over and 95% of the votes already counted, both the conservative party Partido Popular ("PP") and the socialist party Partido Socialista Obrero Español ("PSOE") have acknowledged the victory of PSOE's José Luis Rodriquez Zapatero to be Spain's president for another 4-years. Mariano Rajoy, PP's party elect, has already called Zapatero congratulating him on his victory.

Today, Sunday 9 March 2008 was my FIRST Presidential election experience here in Spain. And what an experience it was. I cannot vote as I don't (yet) have citizenship but I went with some friends whom did vote first thing this morning.

First of all, I love the Spanish voting system whereas the elections ALWAYS take place on a Sunday so more people are available and free to vote. NOT like when elections take place on a weekday/workday and a real effort has to be made, ask for work time off to vote, etcetera. I also like the "rule" which says no party, no candidate, no media outlet can make new claims or additional campaigning on the Saturday before the elections as it's a day of reflection. I think this is due to a 1984 law - which I think is great.

Here, I watched BOTH of the 2 debates between Partido Popular's Mariano Rajoy and PSOE's José Luis Zapatero and found it very interesting. Luckily, finally, my Spanish comprehension has reached a point that I understood nearly everything said in the debates. And also, both candidates spoke very slowly, making it easier for me.

I was also impressed that there were no less than 10 PARTIES with candidates running for President of Spain. Isn't that incredible? Can anyone imagine an election in the United States with TEN PARTIES represented? That's just incredible. And they all get time on television. Ten Parties! Wow. And new parties are popping-up and others leaving every elections.

As is customary, as the voting started off, both parties claimed a pre-victory. But as the exit poll numbers rolled in things began to change as it seemed likely that PSOE would win the election. Both parties' headquarters are located in downtown Madrid and both had large groups of supporters outside their front doors and also where all the speeches were made - OUTSIDE.

As time drew to the end, all parties made their speeches congratulating PSOE's victory, EXCEPT for the Izquierda Unida ("United Left") party - the 3rd most popular party in Spain - which critisized the two-party election system, not giving equal time or equal opportunity to their party. This guy was really angry but took full responsibility for the outcome while promising to continue fighting for the rights of women, immigrants, and those whom can't fight for themselves.

"IU" will likely finish with 3% of the total votes while PSOE will get about 44% and PP will get about 40%. I'll update this figure when the final votes are counted.

People are passionate about the elections and with good reason. Spain is a country which LOVES to demonstrate. PSOE typically demonstrates in the Puerta del Sol while PP always demonstrates in the Plaza de Colón below the enormous Spanish flag. I won't try to describe both parties here because there are always those whom would read too much into my words and start labeling my claims. Suffice it to say that PP is the right-of-center nationalist conservative party and PSOE is the slightly-left-of-center liberal party.

The campaign certainly wasn't "clean". What campaign is? For everything one party claims the other party criticizes. For every benefit one party claims the other party claims as a disaster. I guess this is the way of politics and I don't like that.

My day began today with the elections. LOTS of people in the streets on this Sunday morning. Shortly after that I went to the Teatro Real - NOW TWICE IN ONE WEEK - this time for a classical music concert with great seats. After that, I had Cocido Madrileño with friends in their home. After that I had a nice, long, cleansing walk home - much needed after that wonderfully heavy lunch - and then started in with the elections details on television. Again I ask, "Am I Spanish YET!?" hehehe... I guess not - but I'm working on it!

So congratulations to José Luis Rodriquez Zapatero on his win to continue his presidency 4-years more. PP will have another shot at that time - and will no doubt make a good campaign for it.

International Working Women Day

2008-03-08T09:32:55Z

As in most of the rest of "The Modern World", Spain recognizes working women in all the media outlets - including THIS one. Today is it, 8 March 2008.

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women's_Day

Even I've noticed an obvious shift in sex of traditionally male positions. Most notably, to me, is the number of female doctors - at least in Madrid - in the hospitals and local doctors offices. The doctor I had when I first moved to Madrid 2 years ago was a man. Shortly after "joining", that man left and was replaced by a 50-something woman. We get along very well, as well as with the man before her.

But in waiting for my turn to see my doctor I can't help but notice that ALL the doctors at my doctor's office (called a "Centro de Salud" or "Ambulatorio") - except for one man - are women! One time I took a friend to a "Centro de Salud" in downtown Madrid after a non-life-threatening accident and he was attended by not one but two female doctors. I've even spent an unfortunate amount of time visiting people at hospitals here in Madrid and many of the doctors there are women too. And surprisingly, a high percentage of the nurses there are MEN! Wow! In many many pharmacies you'll also find female pharmacists. Very common.

In addition to the public health-care sector, I've noticed more and more public bus drivers are women! This, to me, is very very surprising. The high majority of drivers are still men but I hadn't seen a female bus driver in Madrid until about 9 months ago. Same goes with taxi drivers - which remains mostly male. I've seen maybe 4 women taxi drivers in Madrid in the last 2 years. This number may not change too much as driving a taxi is much more potentially dangerous than driving a bus what with the potential for robbery of a taxi driver, women being more of a potential target.

Also in the street cleaning sector. One might consider street cleaning to be WOMEN'S WORK. But until about 9 months ago I never saw a woman cleaning the streets with the broom and the cart. They were ALWAYS men. But not now.

Police: Wow. What a shift. I've seen so many female police persons on the streets. The seeming majority of the women working as police persons are giving out parking tickets and working traffic maintenance but I've also seen a number of policewomen carrying pistols for hard-core law enforcement.

But while there are more and more women working, their wages still are not equal to those those of men - which is still the case all over the world. But I things are improving - albeit slowly. The thousands of responsibilities at home still mainly go to the woman - whether they're working outside of the house or not.

From the pages of Qué! newspaper (translated by yours truly):

"IQUALITY IS A LONG WAY OFF
Just 'To Lend a Hand' at home doesn't help anyone
In the last year women have occupied two of three new jobs created in Spain. The news would be satisfying if the salaries would be equal to those of men in the same jobs. But the worst thing is that this step forward in the working world hasn't meant the same thing for the domestic jobs in the home. There are people whom continue thinking it's sufficient "to lend a hand", but there's an abyss of sharing tasks at home."

It's important for women to have all the same opportunities as men. I just wish Spain would do away with their sexual and age discrimination. It's incredible to me to see job postings in newspapers offering XYZ JOB but they're ONLY considering women. For example, "Seeking woman, age 19-26 years old." Isn't this shocking??? There don't seem to be an age or sex discrimination laws on the Spanish books. Imagine a perfectly qualified male, 59 years old, applies for this same job and he's told that no, he won't be hired because A) he's NOT a woman and B) he's too old. WHY would they only consider hiring 21-29 year old WOMEN for that job? To me it's obvious. The company offering this job wants to pay a LOWER SALARY. And why? Because they think a woman's work is less valuable than the work of a man. And why the age restriction? Same reason. They think the value of a young person's work is lower than a mature person's work. Besides, right?, (tongue in cheek coming here....) a young woman doesn't have a family to support, right? Why should we, "The Company", pay her any more?? Shocking. Really shocking.

The Spanish working world really leaves a lot to be desired in MANY respects, not only the topic of the disastrously low salaries in general, but all to make the rich owners richer. That's what it's all about, right? Maximizing profits at the expense of everything else. These same rich owners are SO HAPPY for the influx of illegal immigrants willing to work for nearly nothing and with no benefits. This too makes the rich owners richer. Same with the working woman. If you can pay a woman, a young woman, or a young immigrant woman less - that means more money in THEIR (the owners) pockets. HUMPH! A hot topic for me. A VERY hot topic.

I support equality. Which is why the observance of today's day, "The International Working Women's Day", is so important. And in the vein of pure equality, I'm waiting for the invention of "The International Working Man's Day". Now THAT would be equality to the last point. But... we all know that's never going to happen. Is THAT equality??

A proverb in English goes, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." Which means "What is good for a man is equally good for a woman; or, what a man can have or do, so can a woman have or do. This comes from an earlier proverb, "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."

POSTER AT LEFT: Taken from Wikipedia's page on The International Women's Day.

The 1932 Soviet poster dedicated to the 8th of March holiday. The text reads: "8th of March is the day of the rebellion of the working women against the kitchen slavery" and "Down with the oppression and narrow-mindedness of the household work!". Originally in the USSR the holiday had a clear political character, emphasizing the role of the Soviet state in liberation of women from the second-class citizens' position...

Ballet Nacional de España in Madrid

2008-03-06T08:19:45Z

Last night I had the honor of attending the Ballet Nacional de España: Elegía-Homenaje a A. Ruiz Soler, El Café de Chinitas. This was an homage or dedication to Antonio Ruiz Soler - a flamenco dancer, choreographer, and director born in Sevilla in 1921 and died in Madrid in 1996. He was more familiarly known as "Antonio el bailarín". So last night's ballet was ballet with a touch of flamenco.

First, the place... It took place in the famed Royal Theater or El Teatro Real in Madrid, between the Plaza Isabel II and the Plaza de Oriente. (metro: OPERA) Wow. What a place. The place is grand. GRAND! And very nice. It was built in 1850 and closed in 1925 due to damages caused by the construction of the metro station, ÓPERA, just below the theater. It reopened in 1966 totally remodeled. It closed again in the mid-1990s for remodeling once again.

I've been inside twice or three times before, attending classical concerts but always sitting in the uppermost seats near the ceiling. The views are not the best from up there but thankfully they have big screen monitors, surprisingly, for these "cheap seats".

Last night's show was something special and my seat was on the ground floor, in the "Butaca de Platea" - definitely NOT the cheap seats last night. If you look in the photo above, I was seated on the lowest "covered" level at at the left. No screens were necessary here! What great views. What great sound. The orchestra was ethereal during the first half of the performance.

The first half of the performance of this production, called "Elegía-Homenaje", of the Ballet Nacional de España was classical ballet but with just a touch of flamenco. The female ballet dancers wore solid color dresses. The men wore flamenco-style costumes. I must admit that I was just a tad bored in this first half but it was also somewhat entertaining.

At the 20-minute break, after just 35 minutes of performance, I got up to go have a glass of champagne at the bar which is the custom when attending the opera, ballet, or theater. Went upstairs a couple levels and turned left to what appeared to be the entrance to the bar. There were two uniform-wearing women standing at the door checking tickets - which I found odd. So I showed my ticket and she waved me through. What I thought was the entrance to the bar was actually a small room filled with VERY well-dressed people. All men were wearing suits and ties and the women in fashionable dresses - and then there was me, wearing my best jeans, shoes, and my best shirt, along with my shoulder back wrapped around my body. Yikes. I feel terrible UNDER dressed to be here. But fine. I'm here so I go to the back of the room where I find a small bar and two bartenders which are handing out glasses of champagne, errr... CAVA. With Cava in hand, I turn around to see a large, round table in the middle of the room. The table is covered with hundreds of little foods-on-melba-toasts, foods like tortilla de patata, cheeses, hams, paté, a tomato spread, a greenish spread, and a number of other things. I help myself the best I can with glass in one hand and food in another, trying not to break the melba toast all over my shirt - or the very spongy, expensive-looking carpet on the floor. Starting to leave for my seat before the beginning of the second half of the performance, I stop at the door to ask the woman there if this room is for everyone carrying tickets. She said something like, "No. This is only for those whom carry these particular seats." I didn't really understand it but gathered it was only for those carrying the more expensive "covered", side/private seats. Oooookay! And here I just happened upon this room by chance! I know that in the public bar area - for common folk (ha!) - they charge 3 Euros per glass of champ...err... CAVA.

Back to the seat for the second half, called "El Café de Chinitas". And WOW, what a second half. It lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. This was true FLAMENCO DANCING - and also Sevillanas - but being ballet it had obvious ballet movements in the flamenco dance. Very very entertaining from beginning to end. The women were dressed in more flamenco-style dresses and the men also in flamenco or bull fighter-style costumes. The music, this time, was mainly performed by flamenco groups on chairs but a few numbers were performed by a rock or jazz band behind the curtain. On the full-size screen just behind the performance, separating the dancers from the band, was constant slow-motion video of images "inspired by" Salvador Dalí. And many of the songs sung were poems by Federico Garcia Lorca. There was a reoccurring character of Salvador Dalí as a child throughout the ballet performance. A few of the songs sung and performances actually gave me chills - which is always a good thing.

One very entertaining and funny set - which did not give me chills - featured a paunch man dressed in drag as a female flamenco dancer, complete with full plumage, makeup, wig, stockings, female flamenco shoes, and large fan. He had very manly movements, very comical at times, and very very entertaining. I wondered whether this was art or comedy - or a fusion of both, I presumed.

The end of the show, as with most works of theater, dance, or opera, included about 10 minutes of applause as the many groups were invited to the front of the stage for their share of the applause, then everyone, then the main characters, then the bands, then the main characters again, then the choreographer, then the director, then the entire group again, and on and on. Wow. My hands hurt by the end. But it did come to an end at about 10:20pm and I walked out the backside doors facing the Plaza Oriente and nicely illuminated Palacio Real.

What a nice evening. Hope I'm fortunate enough to visit the Teatro Real once again. I understand getting tickets to the OPERA in Madrid is nearly impossible, being sold out for months in advance by season ticket holders.

Madrid AVE Train to Barcelona Now Open

2008-02-23T11:17:05Z

[The below blog entry is a slightly modified version of the same entry on my Barcelona Blog.]

The high-speed AVE train connecting Madrid and Barcelona was finally completed and its first official trip took place on 20 February 2008.

Media outlets all of Spain ran a story about it including multi-page articles on the topic with graphics, photos, interviews, and (at least) two newspapers even made an interesting "stop watch" comparison, step-by-step, of Train Travel to Barcelona versus Airplane Travel to Barcelona. I'll discuss this later.

A 16-year wait has finally come to pass. FINALLY! The first high-speed train run between the two cities arrives ahead of schedule and more than 70,000 tickets have ALREADY been sold for future trips. Wow. That's incredible.

The Nuts-and-Bolts:
There are 17 trains going in each direction per day, from Madrid Atocha train station to Barcelona Sants train station, with a total capacity of 13,498 passengers per day. The best/fastest travel time is 2 hours and 38 minutes but other AVE trains take 3 hours or up to 3.5 hours. Check RENFE.es for schedule and prices (up to 62 days in advance). Until last Friday, the fastest Barcelona-Madrid train trip took about 4 hours. Stops from Madrid include Guadalajara, Zaragoza, Lleida, and Barcelona. Top speed is about 300 kmph but average speed is only about 200 kmph. Seating configuration for the upper, "Peferente class", where one can plug-in their electronic device at their seat, is a "thin" 2 x 1 - one seat on one side of the aisle and two seats on the other side, all seats face forward. Tourist class seating configuration remains the typical 2 seats on each side of the aisle and no electronic device plug-ins available. I believe all seats face forward in tourist class too.

PRICES: 119.50 Euros is the general, Tourist Class price for the trip. Yikes! But buying your ticket on the web (which proves to be confusing and difficult to foreigners visiting Spain) costs only 47.80 Euros. Preferente Class prices are much higher. General ticket price is 179.30 Euros one-way. No cheaper, web-purchase tickets are available for this class. Breakfast is included in the morning, Preferente Class tickets. Before the AVE was open for business, I'd made this trip once using Preferente Class service but didn't find the "free breakfast", slightly larger seats, and somewhat more-nicely-dressed attendants to be worth the huge difference in price.

The ESTRELLA Madrid-Barcelona night train still exists, taking about 9.5 hours and costing as little as 38 Euros one-way.

Comparisons of Train travel versus Plane travel from Madrid to Barcelona have been made and both sides both win and lose - depending on the passengers objective.

If price is the deciding factor, AVE train travel wins, costing about 58 Euros less than airplane travel - including presumed taxi costs from/to train-station/airport.

If speed is the deciding factor, airplane travel wins, taking roughly 25 minutes less than AVE train.

If comfort is the deciding factor, MadridMan claims that train travel wins over airplane travel. Why? Train travel involves faster lines in security, less standing/waiting for the actual trip. Plus, on long-distance trains you have a greater range of motion, more space per seat, wider aisles and more abundant, larger restrooms. There's also a selection of recorded music "stations" to which to listen with the free, provided earphones as well as at least one movie. Not sure how they'll show entire movies on the new shorter/faster train routes though. And maybe the best thing about train travel is.... The Bar Car, almost always open, is ready to serve the passenger breakfast, lunch, snacks, sandwiches, beer, or coffee while standing at the bar or along the large windowed walls, providing oftentimes wonderful views of the (in this case) FAST-PASSING countryside. And the "Captain" never saids, "Please return to your seats. We're experiencing turbulence."

The Alternative: Bus Travel from Madrid to Barcelona: The trip takes between 7.5 and 8.0 hours and costs between 27 Euros and 37 Euros. The bus company making this route is ALSA. Saves 10-20 Euros but takes, ugh, 4-5 hours longer. My lower back tightens just thinking about it.

Watch the sparkly 6-minute RENFE Madrid-Barcelona AVE video at http://www.renfe.es/video.html with nice music and visuals. No language spoken but Spanish textual details are given regarding the trip.

The Down Low: If one can make their purchases via the website (one must first create an account and have prior personal contact with RENFE, verifying your account at the train station), it can really save a lot of time and add to the comfort and pleasure of the trip - including the same at your destination. There's nothing worse than arriving for your "Trip of a Lifetime" all tired, worn-out, and stiff from a long trip - like how you feel after getting off an overseas flight. I can't imagine spending 8-12 hours on an airplane, landing in Madrid or Barcelona, and then taking an 8-hour bus ride or getting on another airplane shortly thereafter.

Enjoy Spain's Vast Train Travel Network!

Live Music at Colonial Norte Madrid

2008-02-22T17:09:01Z

Photo: Exterior of Princípe Pío in Madrid at night. See in the lower righthand corner the purple neon lights and Colonial Norte sign. The Colonial Norte "space" includes the entrance at the lower level, a restaurant on the second floor, and the discotheque, concert hall, and cocktail bar on the top floor just under the iron ceiling beams. Inside the Princípe Pío building is a mall with cinemas, restaurants, retail stores, and a supermarket. Below ground is the intercambiador for metro and local trains.

Colonial Norte occupies part of the Principe Pio train station in Madrid, located at the bottom of "La Cuesta de San Vicente" and next to the big gate of the "Glorieta de San Vicente", very near the Rio Manzares river.

The train station, which served northern Spain, was once called "La Estación del Norte" and was built in 1861 and designed by Gustave Eiffel. It was converted to a kind of multi-purpose mall a few years ago and has become a true commercial success. Underground, one can still find Cercanía trains and metro but the long-distance trains are now gone.

Princípe Pío had been an eyesore for as long as I can remember. The nice old building was falling down for years, all broken windows, totally empty. Warner Studios, I believe, bought (?) part of the building to put in a state-of-the-art cinema complex and the rest was rented out to restaurants, retail stores, and.... Colonial Norte. The renovation of the old Madrid train station is nearly complete. Only one end is still empty and renovations there have already begun.

Colonial Norte, part of the Grupo Otero Restaurantes, is a fancy restaurant on the 3rd floor (you go up via a glass elevator) and a super-modern discotheque/cocktail bar on the top floor with the original ceiling V-beams directly overhead. This space is vast, lots of purple neon, and everything sparkling new.

It's in this discotheque space which becomes a concert hall, called Sala Colonial, on Thursdays and Saturday nights for live music. The concerts are listed as starting at 10:30pm but the two times I've attended the bands didn't come out until 11pm. I'm now a fan of this place.

Thursday nights they tend to have either flamenco singers performing or pop groups. Saturday nights are usually the World Music bands, organized by Mapamundi, which has world music radio programs on Radio Círculo (of Circulo de Bellas Artes) and Radio Elo.

On Saturday, February 9th I went to see JEREZ-TEXAS, a 3-piece flamenco-jazz-classical band. It was so entertaining that I bought their CD after the concert which is something I almost NEVER do. The group is composed of "Ricardo Esteve with the flamenco guitar, Matthieu Saglio (from France, I think, but his Spanish is perfect) with the cello, and Jesús Gimeno with the drums." Tomorrow night, Saturday night, I'm going to see the Lidia Pujol concert. She sings Folk Ibérico.

Last night I went with my London buddy Steve to the Angel Pastor concert - Flamenco Cante. Wow. What a show. What life. What passion. It was just young Mister Pastor (in his 30s, I'm guessing) and energetic flamenco guitar accompaniment. This coming Thursday I'm going to the Maria Toledo show. That'll no doubt be great too, totally flamenco singing and flamenco guitar. Mmmm... Nice. She's quite well known too.

As I recall, it costs about 12 Euros entry but that includes your first drink - but not sure if you can order ANY old drink or if it has to be either wine or beer. I mention this because otherwise the wine and beer costs 7 Euros each. the cocktails are 10 Euros each. They also give you a free tapa with the drink, usually nuts or raisins or something similar. The arm chairs in the middle seating area are rather hard seated but look nice. Further back you have bar stools. On the sides you have similar chairs but also some deeper, plusher arm chairs which are very comfortable but the view isn't as good from there. Smoking is allowed.

As mentioned above, it's located on the metro (Principe Pio) and bus lines but isn't in Madrid's Old Center so there are rarely any tourists inside. There were a few last night, however. One can walk there from the Old Center but it's a good long walk downhill - which means you'll have to walk UPhill after midnight after the concert. Or, just take a taxi or the metro. The place is very nice. Check out their website at http://www.ColonialNorte.net to see what I mean. There, you'll also see the concert lineup. Enjoy! I know I will!

Madrid's Cine Ideal - Original Version Movies

2008-02-17T23:14:06Z

Cine Ideal, located on the Plaza Jacinto Benavente in Madrid near Puerta del Sol, is part of the Yelmo Cineplex chain. It's also my favorite cinema here for showing Versión Original movies in English - if they're American or English movies - but also for movies in their original version from, say, France, Romania, China, or wherever - but then with Spanish subtitles.

It's also the location of nearly all of the MadridMan's Madrid Movie Club gatherings.

I see all my Hollywood movies here. They have approximately 10 screens and generally run about 13 films at a time. Right now, 9 of the 13 movies are Hollywood movies, all show in their original versions with Spanish subtitles.

The cinema is pretty historic too, I believe. The beautiful ceiling crown molding in most of the individual screening rooms is evidence of that. But the rest of the building is totally modern. Most of the "salas" are of decent size. One or two is downright tiny, somewhat bigger than a big-screen television, but only a couple of them are almost as large as your typical cinema screen in an American movie theater. The seats are modern, comfortable, and all have cup holders. The lines are generally long at the ticket booths on a Friday or Saturday night but very short on a weekday afternoon - that's when I try to go. Ticket prices are about 5 Euros for the first showing on Mondays but otherwise they're around 7 Euros. Not bad. Oddly enough, at least to me, most of the individual screening rooms have their own bathroom in the back - or sometimes at the front. This, to me, is odd. And after the movie, you cannot walk back through the cinema but instead are shuttled out the front-side exit door to the street.

Today I went to see the 4pm showing of "4 Meses, 3 Semanas, y 2 Días" - a Romanian movie. It wasn't my idea to see this movie but I was accompanied by someone who did so... whatchagonnado, right? It was slow, and somewhat boring with difficult fictional subject matter (i.e. an illegal late term abortion in Romania in the late 1980s). While somewhat boring, it was also somewhat interesting - AND in Original Version - in Romanian with SPANISH subtitles. Luckily my Spanish is decent enough that I could follow the story.

Last week I went to see "Ahora o Nunca" - or, in English, "The Bucket List" starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Wow. That was a movie. Very good and likely to win Oscar Awards. I also recently saw "In the Valley of Elah" there, starring Tommy Lee Jones, also nominated for an Oscar. Next up, is the (Spaniard) Javier Bardem movie, "No Country for Old Men" - a movie creating long lines at any cinema showing it and is likely to offer the Spanish star his first Academy Award from Hollywood. And also there's "There Will be Blood", the Daniel Day-Louis (nominated for an Oscar), which I'm hoping to see soon.

Wow, so many good movies out lately - and thank goodness I can watch them all in their original version - ENGLISH (with Spanish subtitles). Hearing the actors' own voice, for me, no matter the language, is most important. That's what acting is all about.

Acquiring Spanish Citizenship

2008-02-14T08:49:33Z

Not to be confused by the popular book by the same name, "The New Spaniards" was the headline for an article in yesterday's free daily newspaper ADN: Madrid edition. I was reading it on the bus while heading downtown. It's also relative to a previous blog entry, "The "Spanish Image" for Travelers".

The official title of the ADN article is/was:

Los Nuevos Españoles
22.309 Extranjeros [in Madrid] se Nacionalizaron en 2007
("22,309 Foreigners [in Madrid] became Spanish Citizens in 2007")

Unfortunately, I can't find a link to this article on their website but here are some of the points which I found interesting:

In 2007 41% more foreigners in Madrid became Spanish citizens than in 2006
Carabanchel, a Madrid district, had the highest percentage of immigrants with 23%, 59,000 total
Barajas, also a Madrid district, had the lowest percentage of immigrants with 16%, 5,400 total
MY district of Latina had second highest percentage of immigrants with 18%, 49,000 total
According to a census, today there are 548, 456 foreigners in Madrid - 2,348 less than in 2007

The largest foreign populations in Madrid are nationals from Ecuador with 101,687 total and Romanians with 57,082 total. I'm rather surprised the highest foreign population isn't from Morocco - or maybe they're filed in a different category.

I have to wonder if the above numbers are ACTUAL totals or just REGISTERED totals. I would imagine many many foreigners are "off the books", illegal, and uncounted. It seems to me the count is based on a census so these would be REGISTERED numbers of foreigners.

To acquire Spanish Citizenship, the general rule is that one must first have Spanish Residency for 10 years before applying. HOWEVER, different categories of people carry different lengths of time before one can apply.

citizens of Latin American countries, Andorra, Philippines must have Spanish residency for 2 years
refugees must wait 5 years before applying for Spanish citizenship
a one year wait is for those born in Spain, non-Spanish spouses of Spaniards, widows/widowers of Spaniards, and those born outside of Spain by a Spanish father, mother, or grandparent

Once applying for citizen, the average wait for approval/denial is between 18 and 24 months. Wow. One must pass an interview where you show that you have lived legally in Spain and that you have been paying Social Security taxes. Once approved for Spanish citizenship, one must then take part in a "Swearing In" in front of a judge where you promise your allegiance to the King and the Constitution of Spain.

Will I choose to take Spanish Citizenship some day? I don't know. While the United States does allow duel citizenship for its citizens, Spain does not. "Spain says" that if one receives Spanish Citizenship the recipient must then denounce his other citizenship - but they don't walk you to your embassy to follow through with the process. That's your responsibility.

Common Questions to MadridMan

2008-02-13T17:24:23Z

I suppose because relatively few people leave their native countries to live elsewhere - whether temporarily or permanently - it's an oddity to live abroad. It's probably even MORE odd for a United Statesen to leave his "Land of the Free/Home of the Brave" for some second-tier country (tongue-in-cheek ethnocentric comments), leaving all prosperity - and dreams of prosperity - behind.

But WHO chooses to leave their country? Among them include refugees in war-torn countries, poor nations, people whom might have business in their destination country, to re-join family, political, social, and racial reasons are the ones which come to my mind.

The following is a homemade interview of MadridMan by J.C. Ciudano... but some of the questions have been posed to me several times.

Q: Was moving to Madrid for good the right choice for you?
A: For me it was the right choice. Everyone has to deal with his own demons regarding leaving your family, country, and way-of-life behind. I've dealt with mine and feel much more at ease with myself and my future here in Madrid.

Q: Has it been easy?
A: For me, yes. It has been very easy. But I'm also aware that it's very very difficult for 95+% of the United Statesens whom come to Spain to live so I'm the anomaly to the normal equation. I'd been preparing myself both mentally and culturally for my move to Madrid for at least 6 years so my culture shock was nearly non-existent when I arrived. My goal was to assimilate myself to Spain even BEFORE arriving. But shortly after arriving in Spain there was a stretch of months, probably the first 6 months, when I went through some stress for the shops' opening times, having difficulty managing my workday to go to the supermarket during their OPENING hours. You see, many/most of the supermarkets and shops close from about 2pm to 5pm and THAT was just about the time I was READY to go! Adjusting to the change in meal time was easy for me. Nearly without fail I have my lunch at 2pm and my (light) dinner at 10pm and stay up until about 1am every night. Remember, I work at home so my schedule is however I want to make it. This means I rarely get out of bed until 9am, breakfast in front of the computer with some work/emails, then go to the gym, get home by 1pm or 1:30pm, shower, then make lunch and eat in front of the TV, 30 to 60 minute siesta nearly everyday, then wake up, have a coffee and a snack (i.e. a MERIENDA) in front of the computer where I'll stay until about 10pm when I'll stop to have dinner with the 10pm movies on Canal+. It's a relatively short work day during the week, maybe 6 or 7 hours, but I also work a solid 6-8 hours on Saturdays AND Sundays too. LOW STRESS is my lifestyle. I suppose most autonomos work longer days but probably few work on the weekends. I just love my job!

Q: What do you miss most about the United States?
A: There's not much, really. Difficult as it may seem, escaping the United States anywhere on this planet must be virtually impossible. Spaniards ask me this question constantly, "Don't you miss the United States?" And my answer is always the same; "What's there to miss? It's everywhere!" It's CONSTANTLY on the news and in the newspapers - and not usually for positive things but sometimes with regards to scientific breakthroughs. I turn on the TV and I get The Simpsons, Friends, Seinfeld, The Sopranos, CI:XYZ, House, NBA Basketball (which is big in Spain) and nearly all the movies are from Hollywood both on TV and in the cinema. USA based products like Coke, Pepsi, Nike, MacDonald's, Burger King, Hard Rock Cafe, and Starbucks are seen at every turn on the streets. Switch on the radio and, depending on the station, at least 50% of the music is in English and/or from the United States. The USA is inescapable. What's to miss? But there is one thing I miss - my Ohio State University Buckeyes football games on Saturdays. ARGH! That's a tough one to swallow. So I listen live via internet radio and follow on ESPN's GameCast graphical play-by-play coverage. I hope to attend one game in person this coming autumn. On Canal+ there are one or two NFL games shown per week but that's about all - and all the broadcasters are Spaniards speaking in Spanish. That's okay - but not the same.

Q: Are there any things you wish you had done before you left?
A: Hmmm... I don't think so. In my last 6 months in Ohio, USA it was already a certainty that I'd be moving to Madrid. I took advantage of that time "to be present" to my surroundings, my family, and my friends. Those 6 months were the best time. I was going out, meeting with friends, doing things I either never did or rarely did, and put extra effort into every moment. Throughout that time I asked myself, "My goodness! Why wasn't I like this before?" I guess it comes down to complacency. When you know everything's good and moving along you just continue moving along, going with the flow and very little changes take place. Routine sets in. But when you know "These are the last 6 Months of my life - here in the USA" you tend to look at things from a drastically different perspective.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: Absolutely. I just wish I could've moved to Madrid sooner. But as it worked out, I had to wait until I was (just) 40 years old. I'm certainly glad - and fortunate - to have lived the first 40 years of my life in the United States. That's a wealth of knowledge, experience, and opportunity I have under my belt. The USA isn't perfect, far from it - in fact, the general political climate aided in my decision to move to Spain - a much more liberal and generally more socially enriching environment - but living in the USA (or anywhere in the world) for such a long time gives one perspective. For example, if you bought your dream car at 16 years old and that was the only car you'd drive all your life you'd have no idea that other cars might better fit your. But if you buy several cars throughout your lifetime you'd know that while you loved your first car, your second car handled much better on the curves (of life).

Q: Was everything the way you thought it would be?
A: Pretty much, yes. I'd been visiting Spain about once each year since 1995 until 2002 when I started visiting twice a year. In those visits I visited many of Spain's regions and experienced many of their customs, festivals, holidays, and events. Some visits lasted 1 month while others were as short as just 5 days. And you know what, that 5-day visit was nearly the best one of them all. Intense. I already knew that Spaniards were generally gruff on the outside but soft on the inside. I knew that dog owners casually allowed their doggies to leave their "gifts" on the sidewalk. I knew that Spaniards will do just about anything for you, very easygoing, very conversational, very social. These last 2 things were/are an adjustment for me. IN FACT, much of what Spain represents are many of the things I lacked in my own life in the USA. I often joked with people and coworkers in the USA that I had surprisingly more friends in SPAIN than in the USA! That I had longer and more meaningful conversations in the SPAIN than I ever did in the USA. That I drank and ate more in Spain than in the USA!! (that last one is dangerous - Spain is the perfect place for a United Statesen to become overweight and alcoholic VERY easily as we have little respect for moderation). And unlike most others who come to live in Spain, I already had a large network of friends and near-family here in Madrid so I had a kind of safety net and people who would help me with paperwork, knowing how the system worked, how to order a pizza, and little details of day-to-day life.

Q: Do you think you will stay there forever?
A: Short answer is YES. I can't imagine something happening which would cause/force me back to the United States. I suppose if my company was decimated and I had no source of income I'd consider, however briefly, a move back to the USA. But I can't imagine going back after just 2 years here. Here I have FREE health care for any and all of my needs. Wow, I can't say enough about the health care system in Spain. Sure, I pay into the Social Security system, paying now the minimum of about 230 Euros monthy. That not only covers my socialized medicine but also goes towards my retirement pension when that time comes. But at 230 Euros monthly my pension won't be anything worthwhile. Regarding medicines, the prescriptions I'd habitually get in the United States cost me about $50 every 3-months, by mail order, with a state government insurance plan. The same medications here cost me 4 Euros. Wow. Incredible. Shockingly cheap. And there's no co-pay for doctors visits. When I go to the doctor with an appointment, usually the 8:30am group in the morning, I never wait for more than 15 minutes. When I went the first time and explained my medicine wants (not medicine NEEDS because they really aren't necessary) and showed the doctor one of my previous prescriptions, she simply looked at it, then to her computer, and printed out the prescription! ZIPPEE!! ¡Tan Fácil!

Q: Has it been tough financially?
A: Not for me, fortunately. Remember, I had been planning this move for YEARS so I'd accumulated a good nest-egg emergency fund if things didn't go well. But things went even better for my hobby-turned-business once I arrived in Spain. Again, I'm the anomaly. Few people can use me as their "Road Map to Success in Spain" - although I admit I've often considered writing such a booklet. It'd be incredibly difficult for people to follow in the same way, however. Anyway, here in Madrid I'm well connected. I live alone but don't pay any rent. My real expenses include electricity, gas, internet, television, phone, grocery, and comunidad fees (monthly fee to the building). The "over and above" expenses include lunches out, beer or coffee stops, a little on public transportation and taxis, bowling, movies.

Q: Just what is it you do for a living??
A: Good question - and one I'm frequently asked. In short, I sell advertising. That's it. MadridMan.com carried me well for about 8 years but with more competition presenting itself on the internet I found the necessity to diversity, starting BarcelonaMan.com at the beginning of 2006, then GranadaMan at the end of 2006, and ValencianMan towards the beginning of 2007. What's next? My short-term plans include smaller-scale websites for SegoviaMan, ToledoMan, BilbaoMan, SanSebastianMan, CordobaMan, CadizMan, and on and on. I'm also putting forward more effort in the city-specific lodging-only websites like Pamplona Hotels, Zaragoza Hotels, and a great number of others as time permits. Sometimes I feel like I'm burning my candle at both ends. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed. But I never lack for work to do. And so far, I love doing it. My day is far from monotonous. There's something different around every corner.

Q: Are you "Legal"?
A: Yes. I have my Tarjeta de Regimen Comunitario para Extranjeros - got it about 3 months after arriving on December 29, 2005 but filed for it 3 months before arriving. My company's legal too. It's a registered Sociedad Limitada (a.k.a. "S.L.") company with a C.I.F. (fiscal number) any evvvvrything! I read in today's newspapers that I can eventually apply for citizenship too but so far I'm not in a hurry to do that. Maybe someday.

Q: Do you pay taxes in the United States?
A: Ugh. Yes. Well, I did for the year 2006 because of the date on which my company was registered. Luckily, through the US Embassy here in Madrid, I found an older US military gentleman who does taxes for a few Americans here. Wow, I was happy to find him even though he charged me like $200. For tax year 2007 I don't expect to pay any US Taxes because of my status as "living abroad and having no income in the USA". I don't know the exact figure but apparently if you're a US Citizen living abroad you don't have to pay US Taxes if your personal income is less than $75,000 (or something like that). Any income made abroad over that figure YOU DO have to pay US taxes on the excess. Isn't that ridiculous? I, being my own company's only employee, gave myself a low-ish monthly salary so I don't expect to pay any US Taxes for 2007 - but of course I still have to file a tax return. How do I live on a low-ish salary? I don't. I also live siphon the savings I've accumulated over the years before coming to Spain.

Q: Did you have problems with the language?
A: Problems? I didn't have any problems, per se, but learning a new language is a never ending education. I'll never know it all. I'd started studying Spanish in my junior/3rd year of High School as part of the foreign language requirements. I really didn't go willingly but watchagonnado, right? I didn't do particularly well but at least it went better than my one year of French as a freshman. I put in my time, did my homework, and took two summer trips to Mexico with the Spanish Club - of which I wasn't a participating member but they let me tag along since I was (ahem, my parents were paying) paying for the trip and was at least taking the Spanish classes. After high school, college, and more language requirements - 20 Credit Hours (that's 4 classes at 5-credits each) - so I took Spanish. Well, as we all know, College is MUCH more challenging than High School on all levels. I went to class most of the time, did very well in my first two courses, not so well in my second two courses, but passed and was done with the foreign languages, probably forever. OR WOULD I???.... Life went on and had little occasion to speak Spanish after college so I forgot most of it - happily. Then I met a Colombian neighbor woman in about 1991 who'd just moved to my apartment complex in Centerville, Ohio (a Dayton suburb). Her English wasn't good, probably a little worse than my Spanish, and used me to help her with all sorts of things after having shown the least little bit of interest in her language and Latin American culture - not knowing anything about Colombia except the obvious things you see on the news and in the movies. Fast forward 2 more years, 1995, and I find myself visiting Madrid for the first time and spending 1 month. That's when my eyes and my mind opened. I traveled all around Spain, met some people with whom I'm still friends, and began to take a real interest in this new, unusual, historic country - which had SO MUCH to do with the early development of my entire home continent. Very shortly thereafter I wanted to learn more about the country, had an interest in computers and the burgeoning internet, and needed a hobby. "Hey! How about a webpage!?" In 1996 I started my first webpage, "MadridMan's Yankee Home Page" on Geocities (back then it was totally free), put up some of my scanned Spain photos, wrote a short journal, and started adding little amenities here and there over time. Back then, when the internet was young, there was only one other Madrid-focused, English-language PERSONAL website on the internet. I remember being thrilled when I had my first 15-visitor day! Wow! "THEY LOVE ME! THEY REALLY LOVE ME!!!" Hahhaaa.. Wow, well, that was then. Now I get WAY more visitors per day and, well, I don't know if they love me but they do seem to use what I have to offer so that gives me satisfaction. (don't worry, I'm tying this all into how/why I wanted/needed to improve my Spanish skills) Just a couple years I was telling my parents about the success of my website and my father suggested I contact some Spanish language schools in Madrid to see if they'd like to advertise on my website. I told him he was crazy! WHO in their right mind would want to advertise on my tiny little personal website?! No one. Right? Or would they......? I sent 3 emails to language academies in Madrid and 2 replied saying that YES, they'd like to advertise. I WAS SHOCKED! And they paid a lot too! But from that day forward, correspondence with the hundreds of advertising clients I would have from then, 1998, to now, would all be done in Spanish by email. Wow. So to tie all this up, the daily correspondence with my clients in Spanish, my reading Spanish newspapers, listening to Spanish radio online daily, and listening to Spanish music would help me a lot in improving my Spanish. Now, living in Madrid for a little more than 2-years, I speak Spanish everyday with people on the telephone, the shop keepers, and most of my Spanish friends. The friends are largely bilingual but we tend to speak in Spanish but it's nice to know we can switch to English if necessary.

Q: What do you regret about moving to Madrid?
A: That's a tough one. My only regret is that I don't see my family or friends more than about once a year. But it's not an overwhelming regret. We all stay in weekly contact via email and SKYPE calls. In fact, I probably speak to my family and friends more often NOW that I'm living in Spain than when I lived in Columbus, Ohio those 10 years before moving to Spain. That's about it. I have to admit it was particularly difficult saying goodbye to my parents at the Columbus Airport when the took me for my 1-way flight to Spain. Hugging them then, knowing I'll infrequently see them, NOT KNOWING if I'll ever see them again should something happen. You know. All the usual things which go through your mind when you say goodbye to someone. But these were/are my parents. My ONLY parents. And there I was a 40-year old man, fighting back the tears, hugging my parents goodbye (hugs aren't big in my family) at the airport security checkpoint. "Would I ever see them again?" They'd asked me several times over the years, as any parent would, "Are you sure this is what you want to do?" The answer was always the same. "Yes." And now, as they know how things are going with me, I think they're now proud of their son - after so many years of the torture I put them through. Finally I found my niche. In some ways it's a shame I had to find it outside of my own country, away from my family. But sometimes that's the way it is. Parents want their children to be happy and relatively successful. I think their minds are finally at ease in this regard.

Q: How often do you return to the United States?
A: About once a year. Well, I think I've been to the USA just twice since moving here, both trips were in summer for family reunions. My typical stay is about 10 days. It doesn't seem like much time but before long I find myself "itching" to return to Madrid after only a few days. And when that plane touches down in Madrid Barajas airport, ahhh.. what a sigh of relief that. I'm SO happy to be back in Spain.

Q: Do you get to travel much now that you're in Europe?
A: Not as much as I'd like. I've been known to lament to friends that here I am, living in Europe for 2 years, and I haven't even left the country! I did think I'd have more opportunity to travel throughout Europe, being my own boss and all, but it hasn't happened. Partly due to laziness, I'm ashamed to say. But there are so many places in Spain I want to visit too. In this regard, I have taken pretty good advantage of my time here, visiting Granada twice, Valencia, Tarragona, Barcelona, much of Cantábria, and lots of the towns and cities near Madrid. I'd also visited MANY MANY places around Spain during my frequent visits here. The ONLY places outside of Spain I've visited so far since moving to Madrid include Porto, Portugal, Geneva, Switzerland (twice), and... errr... that's it.

Q: Are you glad you moved to Madrid?
A: That's an easy one. Yes. How many times have I been walking through Madrid at day or night after being out with friends, having beer and tapas and lots of conversation, on my way to get the bus back home, and look up at the magnificent architecture or listen to the sounds around me and think, "My goodness. I'm really here. I'm REALLY here. I'm LIVING in Madrid. I'm living my dream - a dream richer than I ever could have imagined."

A long-time English photographer friend here in Spain made the would-be newspaper headline years ago (before my move to Spain) on an online chat one night which rings so true;

"COLUMBUS MAN DISCOVERS SPAIN"

Super Tuesday in Madrid: USA Primary Elections

2008-02-05T09:40:19Z

It's amazing to me that for the last 5 days, "Super Tuesday" is a headline across Spain and probably across the globe. A lot is riding on this one for both the Democrats and the Republicans - and for the world.

The topic seems to be on the lips of most Spaniards as well. Just in the last 24 hours it seemed that every commercial break included a news clip about today, "Super Tuesday".

Last Sunday I went to a luncheon here in Madrid with about 12 other people, mostly Spaniards. I was the only American. The American Primaries were on everyones mind. Is this normal? Do Spaniards really care that much about the PRIMARIES in the United States? I can understand the Presidential elections being of great interest to everyone in the world.... but the primaries? Maybe it's more for the novelty of the two Democrats running; one white woman and one black man. Or maybe it's the possibility of "newness" of power for a woman or for a black man in The White House - a first in US History.

I'm registered with one of the political parties and to no surprise they've been sending me about half a dozen emails per day!! The Democratic Party is holding "Live Elections" here in Madrid and also in Barcelona. The Republican Party, is seems, is not. I'm not sure why. If anyone knows where/if Republicans one can vote here in Madrid please send me an email or include a comment to this post and I'll include it. Thanks!

In Madrid, the Democratic Party is having a Super Tuesday/Fat Tuesday combo party at Star Café on Calle Serrano Jove, 5 - Metro Arguelles) from 8pm to 2am where one can vote live (or online if registered) and Mardi Gras party with live music.

What's going to happen? Who knows. Will we be better off with a new political party in the White House? Who knows. Time and history will tell.

January Spring in Madrid(?)

2008-01-24T14:49:05Z

Here I am in Madrid, Spain. It's nearly 4pm and I'm watching a Spanish movie, "Adosados" (1996) after a lunch of pasta with green olives and Ribeiro white wine.

The thing is, the sun is getting a little lower now, over the building being constructed across the street. But I still have the sun shining into my living room. And all the windows are open. Don't get me wrong. It's not really warm. Well, "warm" for me is a relative term. I don't know the temperature but I know that I'm perfectly comfortable in my jeans and sweatshirt. There's no wind. Definately no rain. There's no clouds in the sky. And there's almost no wind. It's an absolutely perfect day for me, but....

... IT'S JANUARY 24th, 2008!!! AND THIS IS WINTER!!

Last year at this time I certainly had all the windows closed and was bundled up for cold weather and cloudy skies. Okay, maybe there wasn't a cloudy sky, but it was certainly cold! Wasn't it? Maybe there is something to this whole Global Warming, Climate Change thing which the US Government has denied...until recently.

Yesterday was the same. I had a meeting downtown on Gran Vía at noon and then met a friend at the Plaza Mayor at 2pm. From there we walked to lunch on the Calle de Santiago for a wonderfully delicious and filling 8.50€ Menú del Día. After that we had a walk around the Madrid de los Austrias - and I wasn't wearing my jacket, but had it draped over my shoulder bag the entire time. What's wrong with this picture?? My British friend even remarked about how clear and blue the Madrid skies were. I could only agree.

While having a coffee in the historic Café del Nuncio (photo) on the Calle de Segovia I was perusing the different historic photos of Madrid hanging on its walls. I always love the old Madrid photos but one in particular caught my eye. It was a 1920 photo of the Río Manznares at the Puente de Toledo - a lesser known bridge to tourist due to its location - and saw that there was about as much water in the river then as there is now!

I always attributed today's lack of river water to the over-development of the villages UPstream but maybe I was (partially) wrong. Maybe the river's ALWAYS been like this. I wonder why then the river expanse is so wide? Maybe for the potential, possibility for flooding over the Manzanares' banks? Hmmm.. I'm guessing no. But WHY would the original architects build the river walls so darn high then? That's the question.

In the Plaza Mayor there were a number of terrazas open for business. Sure, I've seen terrazas open on FREEZING COLD days in Madrid and Barcelona, catering to the tourists whom have come to Spain from arctic countries expecting tropical climates only to find this, and having gas burning heater poles over the terraces to heat the incoming tourists expecting such warm naturally. I guess I can't blame them. Spain has the image of being warm all year 'round but it really isn't - until lately.

Currently, there's a constant inversion later settling over Madrid city. Today, they said it was "African Dust" - whatever that is. But they recommended people stay indoors and NOT do outdoor exercising - even though the temperature and weather conditions are perfect to do so. What's going on here??

I'm hesitant to complain about the winter weather here in Madrid because I absolutely LOVE IT. But realizing this is not altogether natural makes me pause. I saw some movie which took place in Madrid during the time of Spain's Civil War and there were several scenes where it was snowing - IN MADRID! SNOW! How has the climate and environment changed in the past 60 years? ONLY 60 YEARS!?

There's a slim chance that I might STILL be around 60 years from now. (we're all "long livers") How will Madrid be then?