Me Gustas Mucho Madrid - What to Eat, Drink & Do

Spend an afternoon in Real Jardin de Botanico, Madrid / July 2013

I had few expectations of what the city of Madrid would be like when I arrived - friends in Barcelona had warned that it wasn't as fun, and the fact that I had the flu meant all I could look forward to was recovering in bed. We stayed in an apartment just off Puerta del Sol, which is the busiest plaza in Madrid, located right in the heart of the city. Being school holidays, the plazas were filled with an array of fantastic street performers and cartoon characters. Even mid-week, the plazas were bustling with families and the elderly. Every pub, bar and club was packed - the city truly never sleeps!

EAT
El Pazcador - Come here for free tapas. Seriously. They are free.
If I hadn't been brought to this spot by a local, there is no way I would ever have stopped here based on appearance. There were legs of hams hanging behind the counter, a slots machine by the entrance, five tables at most in the dining area and no ceiling fans or air con. We actually went to El Pazcador for sangria and beers (so to this day I'm not sure whether it actually identifies itself as a restaurant or bar), but sure enough with every round of drinks we ordered, another three plates of tapas would land on our table.
We ate tapas at a few different restaurants in Spain, and this was by far the most authentic tapas experience. They served standard plates such as baked potatoes with spicy sauce and marinated olives, but then came dishes of crumbed muscles with béchamel sauce, fried chicken wings, roasted pig ears (oreja de cerdo) and fried pig skin (chicharrón). I don't eat meat so I was a bit restricted with the plates I could eat, however, my very adventurous friends assured me that the meat dishes were amazing and the plates were all polished clean. The drinks were cheap and very generously sized so at the end of the night you will find yourself very drunk and very full.

DRINK
La Vía Láctea - Malasaña is definitely my favourite area to explore at night - full of eclectic, quirky bars. (The club Tupperware tops my honorable mentions list.) La Vía Láctea is another local haunt - they play all sorts of garage rock, psychedelic and classic punk - the vibe was awesome, I just wanted to dance all night. The decor was very cool - lots of 60s band memorabilia, tour posters and front page newspaper articles. There was plenty of room to dance, booths along the walls, a pool table and little tv sets playing movies like Pulp Fiction. It was nice to get away from the ridiculous tourist clubs filled with hostel groups that serve overpriced drinks and only play Swedish House Mafia or Pitbull.
I would like to take this moment to mention that I drank my first ever beer in this bar - probably only because I was already too drunk to taste it.

DO
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia - From April to September this year, this museum has a Salvador Dalí exhibition across the third floor. I'm a big fan of Dalí, not just for his versatility across different art forms, but also his sheer eccentricity, so I had to see this exhibition. We lined up for a good half an hour to secure tickets as access is spread across several sessions in the day. I expected to see a few rooms of paintings from the Surrealist movement, but the entire third floor was dedicated to the exhibition and didn't just include paintings but also drawings, letters, photographs, video interviews, films he had co-created, and his 'publicity stunts'. (Yes, The Persistence of Memory was in the exhibition. If it isn't already on your bucket list to observe this painting - it should be. As wanky as this sounds, it felt like such a significant moment to see this incredible piece of art in person.)
Definitely give yourself at least a half day to see the whole museum - you need to at least see all the post-modern and experimental installations, they were fascinating! The museum has to be in my all time top 5 favourites - I came out of there feeling as if all my creative energies had been revitalised.

Bye Barcelona: The Best Of - What to Eat, Drink & Do

Spice heaven at Mercat de La Boqueria, Barcelona / June 2013

Hola! I’m sitting in the first class carriage of a train, en route to Madrid from Barcelona. High-speed trains may just be my favourite means of transportation – most of the major train lines run out of the centre of the city, unlike most airports which are tens of kilometres outside of the heart of town. There is no hassle boarding (compared to the two hour check-in, bag drop-off and screening process involved in catching a plane), there is plenty of leg room (in ‘clase preferente’ at least) and it is so pleasant watching the countryside pass outside your window.

Our party of three spent our last night in Barcelona sick in bed with the flu. We were too congested, achy and feverish to leave our apartment much to our disappointment – I was feeling particularly needy and called my Mum to have a sook. Mia and I spent most of our afternoon belting out Celine Dion songs in our stuffy voices, much to Jayson’s disdain I’m sure.

EAT
Taranná café - We were immediately drawn to this café because it reminded us of Surry Hills and somewhere we would go for brunch. I am so glad we stopped here, because it is easily tops my ‘favourite cafés in the entire world’ list. The café itself had such a warm and homely feeling – outdoor seating, flowers everywhere and the sweetest, most attentive waitresses. The food itself was so fresh, I felt like it was literally nourishing every single cell in my body.  They also had a delicious range of wines for a quarter of the price you would pay anywhere near La Rambla. At night, the venue doubles as a tapas bar until at least 1am, with a large variety of different appetisers.

DRINK

Juicy Jones - a colourful little vegan restaurant, about a 6 minute walk from La Rambla. While their food is incredible, their juices, smoothies and teas are to die for. Any possible exotic fruit and/or veg combination you could imagine, they’ve already mastered and for a very reasonable price. The smoothies are perfect for breakfast to get your metabolism going, and juices are ideal for a post-siesta pick-me-up.  You can add various superfoods to any of the drinks, spirulina, ginger, mint, ginseng just to name a few. The restaurant does serve alcohol, all of which is organic and ecologically friendly. It gets quite noisy as the place fills up, but this just adds to the atmosphere.

DO – Get away from La Rambla. It may be the busiest street in Barcelona but it in no way captures the essence of authentic Spanish culture. While it is worth visiting La Rambla to visit the Mercat de La Boqueria and looking at the Gaudí architecture, the rest of the street is a tourist trap. In terms of the restaurants, there is no variety in regards to what they serve – pizza, paella and sangria, the quality of which I would compare to something you would find in a TGIF or Hogs Breath café. On La Rambla, expect to pay double what you would in any store or restaurant that you would find in a side street.

I would recommend walking (everywhere) around the areas of Raval and Barri Gòtic, where you will stumble across some gems in terms of bars and restaurants, not to mention the charming architecture – these areas don’t lack authenticity in terms of the Spanish experience. Do be weary of pickpockets in these areas though. In the middle of the day, we witnessed a boy rip the necklace off an old woman’s neck and run off with it. Don’t carry anything you don’t need with you, and ladies always wear your handbag across your torso.

** I've posted this from my phone, will fix any ugly formatting when I get onto my laptop. Love love xx