Emociones Vocales del Futuro – Avant-garde vocalisation at it's finest

“Emociones vocales del futuro” is a project by VocaalLab, the Netherlands based international workspace for avant-garde vocal music; collaborating with the Teatro Real and the CMDC with an international group of exciting young singers, this unusual workshop concluded with a set of performances in the Sala Gayarre at the top of Madrid's Teatro Real.
More than just a musical anthology of contemporary vocal music showcasing new talent, “Emociones vocales del futuro” is a strong piece of performance art which stands alone. With modern classics such as Schönberg's “Der buch der Hängenden gärten” and Kagel's “Turm zu Babel”, a libretto translated from a Biblical fragment into various languages, performed in: English, French, Dutch, Greek and Hebrew; but also includes the work of contemporary composers such as Hungary's György Kurtág and the Spanish Álvaro Martínez León, performed in conjunction with movement, creative staging and intense expression.
The first act sets the scene for a party: the singers sport champagne glasses and elegant attire with the concert piano as the social hub. The performance leads you in slowly to the familiar grounds of traditional opera staging, where motion is generic and limited to embraces and dramatic strolls across the stage; but the dynamic evolves as random movements become prevalent and choreographed sign language flows into a sexual and maddened frenzy. Traditional vocal techniques expand using motion of the body with a conscious ability to enhance and constrict sound to push the limitations of the human voice further. The singers display their versatile talent with acrobatic contortions and sensual motion; a departure from the traditional statuesque poses taken up by most classical singers, exampled by the multi-talented Laura Bohn who belts out Schönberg with a great virtuosity, before crawling up the wall like an inverted arachnid. The act climaxes as the singers propel the grand piano across the floor into the doorway behind the stage, swinging and climbing from it with bacchanal intoxication.



A mental institution stages the next act, allowing absolute free reign in the anything goes territory. Vocal experimentation goes beyond standard singing to explore the uncharted art form breathing, clicking and throat singing. Motion still dominates as spanish soprano Carolina Barca gives a breathtaking rendition of Luciano Berio's Sequenza III, with the voice amplified, distorted and controlled using the cupping of the hands and the positions of the body in fluid movements projecting madness. Frantic insanity is coupled later with the short, post-modern brevity of the Hungarian piece “Tandoori-leider” composed by Kurtág and with a passionate performance by Bolivian lyric-soprano, Sara Sabag, accompanied by a haunting lone violin. “Le voisin d'en face” by Spanish composer Álvaro Martínez León closes the performance as a complete departure from classical singing, as an exploration of breathing and moans in the context of music, exploding like orgy in an asylum, going above and beyond the usual vocal expectations and cutting all boundaries and performed a cappella.
Individual pieces from various composers in several languages linked together by effective staging, with an excellent range and talent of singers who not only give a stunning vocal rendition but also breathtaking choreography and raw expression makes “Emociones vocales del futuro” a unique show. At times, some things appear gratuitous, which is a common pitfall in art with an edge, fortunately while some of the choreography seemed random, the majority was not without meaning. As with all avant-garde work, this project is an acquired taste and best suited to those seeking an experience which lingers on the fringes of modernity and convention. “Emociones vocales del futuro” is not an opera nor a recital, but a multimedia of art forms.

Current exhibitions at the CaixaForum

For some reason Sundays mean art days, not just for me but for the rest of Madrid apparently. After having spent the entire morning in bed in my PJs I felt almost disgusted with myself. I walked to the room next door and asked my flatmate if she wanted to go out, maybe check out a new exhibition. She thought it a splendid idea since she had spent the whole weekend in bed (such a house of sloths). A new impressionist exhibition has opened up in the Fundación Mapfre carrying great works of art from the Museé D'Orsay in Paris. Since it's free and looks interesting we decided to head out there and check it out.

However as soon as we got off the bus we shook our heads in disbelief wondering if an epic rock concert was taking place next door since there was a line of people going round the block. We crossed over the Paseo del Recoletos to find that the queue was indeed for the Impressionist exhibition. Certain art exhibits in Madrid have almost rock-star status and it's necessary to buy a ticket in advance to go (if it is a paid one) or to queue or go when the exhibit has been on for a long time. I remember I had to buy my Van Gogh ticket a week in advance for the exhibition two years ago a the Thyssen and I never managed to get into the Sorolla exhibit despite trying three times.

My flatmate and I looked at each other and discussed a contingency plan. Sitting in a bar or café was not a constructive thing to do so we thought we could try something else. The Prado is free on Sunday, so could try there. Again, a ruddy great queue. Lagrimas de Eros exhibition at the Thyssen? Good but I had already seen it and didn't particularly want to pay to see it again.

"What about the CaixaForum?" She said. I remembered having looked at the program and nothing caught my interest, but their exhibits are free and hence better than nothing. We walked on down the Paseo del Prado until we came to this post-modern art gallery funded by Spain's biggest bank.



The had 3 exhibitions on: one about Andrea Palladio - a famous Renaissance Italian architect, Hannah Collins - current History, and Maternities. I took one look at the Maternities brochure and recoiled in horror. I am not the kind of person who goes gaga over kids and motherhood is a concept which sends fear down my spine. Seeing an exhibition based on the gooey gagas of motherhood was not my idea for entertainment and at this point I was even considering paying for the Lagrimas de Eros exhibition again. My flatmate said "Come on - lets face our fears! Art is supposed to make you uncomfortable!" So we braced ourselves for the Maternities exhibition.



My honest opinion this exhibition generated no emotional reaction in me. The concept by photographer Bru Rovira wanted to show that love and family values could exist in any part of the world no matter how poor or devastated. Even reading the primary blurb made us look at each other and cringe "how corny". It's a concept that while noble has been overdone, almost a cliché now, but if the photography was good and had something to say it would be excused. The exhibition though was rather generic, and looked like they were photos which could have been pulled out of any National Geographic magazine. There would be a long blurb about the story behind the picture and you would look at the picture and it said nothing about the story. It was blank and devoid of a message. I would appreciate it if the message was conveyed, but it wasn't. The photos taken in Europe were more interesting because they were active, you could divulge a story from them. The others were bland.

The next exhibition was interesting: Hannah Collins - Current History. This was an exhibition split in 3 parts of photographic and video media about the life of the gypsies in Barcelona, life in Russia just after Communism and the journey of 3 African refugees to European countries projected on 3 screens. I thought this work was interesting, giving a snap shot of a life that most Europeans don't see. The gypsy one was fascinating as the film followed the life of this family in a slum outside Barcelona who lived a life total alien to what you would normally see. That their existence was based more in family and music and less about material comforts.



The Russian one was the weakest of the three parts. My flatmate found it too far removed from her culture and could not relate to it - just old guys walking staggering round the snow in fur hats drinking vodka. For me, while Russia and Hungary are very different countries, there were a lot of elements I recognised from living in Hungary just a couple of years after communism. If anything for me it seemed to familiar to be interesting to me.

The third section were 3 films shown side by side about African immigrants making their lives in Europe: One moved to London, one to Rome and one to Madrid. The Madrid one was the most interesting, talking about escaping Cameroon on a freight and trying to make a living in Madrid. This guy was homeless, but would wash his clothes in a bucket and leave them to dry in the sun. His appearance was smart as he tried to get legal status and a job in Spain. It was a rather moving piece and put a lot into perspective - that the little things we complain about in our luxurious lives are nothing compared to what other people suffer. It was not an exhibition I would go out of the way to see, but I am glad I did. It gave a lot of food for thought.




We wondered past the entrance for the Palladio exhibition and walked in to see it packed with people. We thought to give it a miss and do it another day, but soon realised that this was the last day for the exhibition. It looked interesting and was worth a skim at least. It chartered the work of architect Andrea Palladio through sketches, photographs and models. His influence on the neo-classical Renaissance style in Italy was very important. The exhibition was very cleverly laid and out and it was such a pity the previous two had saturated us a lot by this point. I am glad I gave it a quick skim.



The thing I like about the CaixaForum is that is gives a wide variety of art and through different media forms. The building itself is also worth having a gander at the architecture which is an interesting mix of cubism, modernism and post-modernism. The inclusion of vegetation into the architectural structure reminds me of the Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser who incorporated nature into his works.

Opera - Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner

Wagner is back at the Teatro Real with “The Flying Dutchman” or thats “Der fliegende Holländer” in German to you. One of his shorter operas in comparison to the usual five hours I've sat through whenever I've gone to a Wagner opera.

Full of Romantic, 19th century ideals, “The Flying Dutchman” tells the story of a cursed sea-captain doomed to sail the seas for eternity; every seven years he gets a day off when set foot on land, so like every horn-dog sailor he searches for a woman. But the Dutchman is no randy seaman as he he searching for a good wife who will be faithful to him till “death do us apart”, through her loyalty he'll find salvation.

With movie-like titles projected onto the curtain announcing that the opera “Der fliegende Holländer” by Richard Wagner is about to start, the music resonates throughout the auditorium. The opera opens with Act I, set in the North Sea off the coast of Norway. A projection of waves are seen in the background, and the stage is set to look like a modern day Nordic fishing boat – at the moment the setting is simple but effective. Daland, the ships captain, goes off for a nap leaving his helmsman in charge of keeping watch. The tenor, Vincente Ombuena, sings the song of the helmsman which is passionate and lyrical dedicated to his beloved back at home, it is full of nostalgia and longing. The helmsman is not a very good watchman as he falls asleep pretty quickly on duty. While he slumbers a large ship is projected moving into the background to obscure the wave, effective and dramatic effect which moves in time to the music. The large white letters on a rust background fade into view with the words “HOLLANDER” on it, a little bit tacky since it just means “Dutchman” in German, however most people wont know this so this is a forgivable mistake.

Our Dutchman comes on the scene, oddly staged on the platform below despite the little ship being raised above - his ship is supposed to be bigger and therefore wouldn't he be above? Danish baritone Johan Reuter laments his story of damnation to moving lyric of Wagner's music with a strong voice and subtle charisma fitting of this tormented hero. His yearns are convincing and we empathise with his instantly with his woes.

Daland (Hans-Peter König) finds the watchman doing his job; but that's the least of his worries when he sees a great big boat parked right next to him. Daland calls to the alien ship, and its captain reveals himself to be a Dutchman. He makes his big entrance down a rusty plank (again oddly staged since before we saw him down below) and reveals to Daland that he is loaded with precious jewels and gemstones. The Dutchman wastes no time in asking the captain if he has an unmarried daughter, and by the convenience of fiction and drama he: a beautiful, young and single daughter. Daland is a bit struck for cash and agrees that his daughter to be married off to the pale foreigner with the big rusty boat for a packet of gems. The Dutchman is excited at not only about finally getting a woman after years going insane at sea - but more importantly for the loyal wife who would break his curse.

Act II opens with a chorus of women in a fish factory, and a very dreamy looking Senta walks around carrying a little boat with red sails. She is soon joined by Mary, who in this production plays some kind of manager of the factory and suffers an identity crisis of being a young woman who wants to dress like a frumpy matron with terrible clothes and good make up, although German Mezzo-Soprano Nadine Weissman plays the role convincingly considering what she was allowed to work with, but at least her fabulous voice was allowed to shine through.

Senta tells her and the other women about the legend of the Flying Dutchman – this man damned to sail the seas in an eternity in boredom and despair. She naively wishes it to be her destiny to become his loyal wife and salvation – I guess she'll be happy at what Daddy is bringing her home then. German Soprano Anja Kampe sings the ballad with Leitmotiv beautifully and with great clarity, but the attention to her remarkable voice is distracted by a small object moving up on the wires. Even sitting in the 3rd row down in front I had trouble trying to discern what this object was... soon I realised it was a tiny toy boat, and I experienced deja vu back to the Stonehenge scene in This is Spinal Tap – having a spoof heavy metal go off in my brain while I tried to concentrate on Wagner was rather distracting.

Senta's ex Eric (Stephen Gould) over hears her passionate desires and is upset; he tells Senta of his dream that her father came back with a stranger from the sea for her to marry - he should get himself a tent and a crystal ball and charge people money with insightful talent like that. Surprise, surprise – Daland comes home with a new gift for Senta, a brand new husband who she doesn't know, fortunately it's love at first sight between the two. There is little acting or physical interaction between Senta and the Dutchman, but there is chemistry between them which electrifies the air. The look they give each other is genuine, but understated. A curiosity, an interest and a cautiousness between these two strangers. The execution between the two singers is excellent, it is subtle and effective – so why did the director place two extras in the background making out when he had such a talented cast to work with I don't know. I guess he wanted to home in the point they were falling in love, but the effect was cheap. The duet between the Dutchman and Senta is sublime, with the passionate and erotic charge you only get from Wagner's music.

Act III. At this point the director drives me crazy. The curtain is down and the letters ACT III are projected the same as the past two acts, which is fine and clean, but having a random cyclist go across stage shortly followed by a gratuitous Labrador then followed by a group of girls who run after a guy stripping his clothes off; all so contrived and ill fitting to the music. It played no part in the plot or symbolism or music - just pure gimmickry. Also during the storm, already effectively executed by the wonderful chorus, the director sticks random naked women spazzing out behind glass windows in the background, for no reasons other than shock factor. I am not a prude. I do not mind nudity on stage, but if things are just shocking for no reason I find this a show of poor directing, trying to be “avant-guard” for the sake of it. The ending too is poorly staged when you see the Dutchman walk off stage via the rocks, followed by Senta declaring to save him and jumps off the rocks in the same direction – does she jump onto the boat or does she kill herself? It's left too dubious and makes me wonder if the director got confused thinking he was directing Tosca.

Overall musically the show is wonderful, the cast is intensely good and one of the very few productions I have seen where the entire cast is strong, the chorus too did a fantastic job. The music, conducted by Jesús López Cobos is also flawless and raw with emotion, sensuality and drama. Musically this is one of the best productions I have seen in a long time.
The staging – as you may have guessed – annoyed me. It is not the worst production I have seen. The general staging, not including the irrelevant and annoying gimmicks was OK, but just Ok The singers were not made to act, and it was evident that they could. The setting was bland and executed mediocre at best. This is a fascinating story and a lot could be done to bring it out, but it's a sign of poor directing when the only way to follow the show is by keeping up with the subtitles. A pity as I like being able to follow the narrative from the stage and not just from skimming the libretto; the gimmicks just added insult to injury.

Overall I do highly recommend this production – if only for the talented cast and the wonderful music. I thoroughly enjoyed the two and a half hours of this production, but there is no interval so don't drink too much before going in. Definitely a must to check out if you are a Wagner fan or even new to Wagner as this is a nice introduction to the maestro.


Dates:14,15,17,19,20,22,23,24,26,27,28 of January
Location: Teatro Real, Plaza Oriente
Transport:Metro line 5,line 2, R (Opera) or line 1, line 3(Sol)
Prices:Without discount (16€-151€) ages 26 or under at last minute tickets get 90% off!

Corsets and Absinthe

It had been a while since I have been Goth clubbing. Despite the fact I think sometimes Goths should smile more often and be less serious about life, I love a lot of things about the Goth culture. I adore the music, the literature and the clothes. I am a proud owner of four stunning corsets. Unfortunately seeing as it is 2008 and not 1908 wearing a corset on a daily basis is not only bloody uncomfortable but will get strange looks from people especially in my job.

However one of my favourite things about Goth clubs is that I look perfectly normal wearing a corset there. Another thing I love is the music and also there are some very amusing and interesting characters you would only meet in the Goth club (like the guy alone at the bar wearing listening to his iPod and looking like a professional in misery).

A few months ago, I managed to convince some friends to go clubbing with me there. I met some really cool people who also were in the search for clubbing buddies to the dark side of the Madrid club scene. After months of saying we were going make plans to go again (but travel, life and work got in the way) we decided por fin to go again.

A main question on anyone's lips on a Madrid night out is "Which bar to start in?. Considering this was not going to be the average night out in Malasaña or in Sol we had to think of an appropriate bar to start feeling our inner Goth. There are some good places around and about but they were either to far or we didn't know them. Drinking red wine in my bedroom while listening to Sisters of Mercy or VNV nation seemed a bit cliché and less fun to me and it is what I always end up doing. However my friend introduced me to the weonderful, charmingly bohemian Café Manuela in the district of Malasaña and conveniently close to the club.



It is a fancy looking place, but it does not feel expensive nor pretentious. It is decorated as if it were a bar from 19th Century Montmartre. What was even better was that they served absinthe - three different types of absinthe. Sounds cliché too but I personally don't care - I love Absinthe!



However a lot of places when you ask for absinthe have no idea what to do with it and give you "chupitos" or if they know what to do with it, there still isn't very much of it. My friends sensibly elected the 50% one, I on the other hand went for the 70% because I usually drink that (a tiny bit watered down a LOT).

The bartender took out three large tumblers full of ice and filled them to the brim with absinthe, the colours turning milky as the absinthe interacted with the ice. I stood there mesmerised and in shock was the bar tender filled my glass with a dark green and very flammable drink (I know that form experience when I introduced my hand to some absinthe and a lighter). We were given a glass of water to accompany it too, and along with some sugar. We sat back down and started to drink. We three looked rather out of place all gothed up (well we suited the place more - I guess the others were looking out of place really) as we sipped on milky concoctions of different shades of green. The absinthe was very good, but very strong. After making my way down on half of the glass I already felt I would have trouble walking down the stairs to the bathroom. On finishing the tumbler I swore to myself not to drink anymore alcohol that night or I would simply die!

We proceeded towards Gran Via to the Gothic club Dark Hole. This is the only goth club in Madrid I have been to, and I must say its pretty good! I personally really liked the music which was a combination of 80's batcave and synthpop and then moving on towards EBM as the night reaches it's peak. Nearly everyone is dressed in black in there but there are still a couple of people in t-shirt and jeans. I had a fabulous time dancing most of the night on the stage with enough absinthe in my blood to erase my inhibitions and enough redbull to keep me dancing for hours like a monkey on speed. A club recommended for anyone in to 80s music, alternative dance music, into the goth culture or for a night out clubbing with a difference. I love this club and it's my autumn's resolution to go there more often following café Manuela and my tumbler of Absinthe - but I will elect the 50% one next time.

Ciné Dore - Bringing the old school cinematic magic back

A month or two ago, a friend of mine invites me out to see an Ingmar Bergman film. I am always up for doing things providing time, money and energy permits so thought why not. We met up at the metro station Anton Martin in "El Barrio de las Letras" meaning the Neighbourhood of literature which I think is such a charming name! It's just off Latina and Lavapies in the heart of old Madrid.



The cinema is a delight! Its an old restored cinema from the early part of the 20th century. With beautiful Deco style both inside and outside. Cine Dore specialises in showing films from the Spanish ministery of Culture's archive. They have special themes each month and show about 3 films per day. It is incredibly cheap to get into with tickets only costing 2.50€ per piece with student discounts available and also the option of getting an abono for 20€ for 10 shows!


The actual cinema hall itself is a delight! With balconies, gilded columns, murals and a wonderful stage with a heavy theatrical curtain, you think you are there to see a play rather than going to the movies.

You dont need to be a film lover to appreciate the charm of Cine Dore, they have a wonderful cafe there which is free to enter and is really stylish and delightful! Its one of the few bars in Madrid that is quiet and non-smoking and is ideal to go and work on your latest novel, read a book, study or just hang out for a nice conversation with friends. Whether your poison of choice is wine, beer, coffee or something heavier they have good quality and cheap drinks there. I hightly recommend their coffee by the way!

For more details on the film program and opening hours check out the website (its not fancy and in Spanish but it has all the up to date information there) http://www.mcu.es/cine/MC/FE/CineDore/index.html

The Flavour of Madrid...

I abhore supermarkets with a passion. I find them so clinical, depressing and not to mention expensive! The vegetables go off in a couple of days and are usually fairly tasteless. They maybe convenient, but I try to avoid the supermarket whenever I can.

A friend of mine introduced me a couple of months ago to the market hall - I large hall filled with different stalls selling everything from fresh vegetables to game. You could pretty much buy everything you want fresh here and at half the price, and do it in a way that is not only a sensory experience but interesting and with an atmosphere full of character and Madrileño charm.

I live on the south side of town, just off La Latina. But "El Mercado de Maravillas", which translates charmingly as "The Market of Marvels", sounds like something out of 1001 nights is the best in Madrid and the cheapest. I have been to other food markets but this one is my favourite. I even take the #3 bus all the way from Puerta Toledo to Cuatro Caminos every saturday morning to shop at this wonderful place. The bus journey itself can be a pleasure as it passes through the centre of Madrid and you get a free tourist trail thrown in! Within half an hour I arrive at this Market of Marvels and am ready to do my shopping.




Although there are many bars to tempt you to a nice caña with a bit of Paella or preserved peppers before you engage in doing your weekly shop. For about 1.80€ you can get a nice little beer with a small pincho of Paella to give you that energy to shop. Now doesn't that sound like so much more fun than going to the supermarket?

My first port of call is the vegetable stall at the back of the market. This is owned by latinos and caters to the latin community of the area. There are an incredibly wide range of delicious and fresh vegetables at very low prices! I come away with kilos of delicious fruit and veg of all colours for under 15€!! You can get a kilo of artichokes for 1.50€, fresh ripe tomatoes, chilis, tender avocados that melt in the mouth, shiny red apples, juicy and sweet oranges to make your own juice with, basil that is so aromatic you can smell it a mile off.



You want some cheese? Next door there is a fine cheesery selling all sorts of different Iberian Cheeses, Manchego, Queso de Cabra (Goats cheese), cured old cheeses in olive oil, Queso Fresco, Blue Cheeses the lot.

There are stalls of Butchers selling you every part of the animal from beef to even game so fresh it has not been skinned or plucked yet. There are fish mongers with a choice of every type of marine crustacian and fish so shiny and fresh.

After the veggie stall I head to the counter for my delicious marinated olives and roasted peppers. I come away with kilos of legumes and beans, nuts, dried fruits and Valencian rice to make paella or risotto with. The olives are simply to die for! They have every type, size, colour in wonderful marinades. A simple and delicious luxury to have later on your long saturday lunch with some crusty bread, artichokes, and a glass of good Rioja.

You can buy incredible loose tea with all sorts of tempting smells and flavours. Fresh baguettes and breads of different grains, shapes and sizes. Everything! This market is just a sensual delight of colours, smells, tastes and people. It is wonderful to pick out your food and to interact with a real human. Having them recognise you and chat with you after the many weeks of your weekly loyalty. Its truly marvelous and fun! Then to go home and cook wonderful and tasty meals for the week with such sublime ingredients.

Ditch the supermarket and tv dinners! Go to the market and buy and eat some real food!

A sunday morning on the Paseo del Prado

It was a lovely sunday morning this weekend and I decided I was in the mood for some art that morning. I had wanted to go to the Reina Sofia, but it was closed due to the day of "los reyes", so walked a bit further up the Paseo del Prado to the Thyssen-Bornemissza art gallery - one of the big three in the Madrid's artistic repetoir.



Out of the three galleries this is my personal favourite. It has a vast collection spanning a 700 years time frame up to and including 20th Century art. It also caters to the art lovers of Monet, Van Gogh, Gaugauin and all the major art movements of the 19th Century which the other two galleries do not have. If you have only time in Madrid to visit only one gallery, and are not too specific on what art you are interested in looking at then go to this one - it has the largest variety and you will not be dissapointed in the collection. I didn't do the whole gallery this sunday as I have been to this museum about 3-4 times, but you do need a whole day really or at least most of the afternoon to see the entire collection. I mainly stuck to the first and ground floor where the 19th-20th century art is located.
Here you will find your fauvists, impressionists, romanticists, post-impressionists, expressionists, surrealists, cubists - you name it! Certainly proves to be interesting if you want to learn some art history as the art is catogorised by it's genre, and also provides a good cultural education as well as an aesthetic stimulation.

After my time in the gallery I was feeling oh so pretentious and wanted a coffee to follow suite. Not satisfied with the idea of going to the Starbucks next door, even with its chai soy lattes and its view of the Neptune fountain. I wanted grand, yet antique and flakey. Somewhere with character and history, a truely bohemian place to take my cup of black coffee. Where else better than the famous Café Gijón, ten minutes walking distance situated on the Paseo de Recoletos.



It's a deliciously wonderful old world place, built at the end of the 19th century and has been home and inspiration to the Spanish literati and artistic community in the 20th century; as well as being a historical iconic figure in Madrid cafe life. The place has a decaying grandeur atmosphere to it with its threadbare velvet seats and its chipped gold leaf framed mirrors. It smells musty, and has the ambience of an antique shop. The coffee was nice, but over priced but I supposed it is the price to pay when you are sitting in the seat where the Mata Hari or one of the Spanish literary giants may have sat herself so its excusable. The service is fast, but cold and impersonal - but fast service in Spain is a rarity so think of this as bonus. I guess in hindsight I would probably pay the same in Starbucks for a coffee or just shy of it so maybe not such a bad trade off then. Plus you cant get atmosphere in Starbuck no matter how nice a place it is situated in. I would go back there, and I would recommend going if you are a person who values atmosphere, ambience and history. It's a peaceful place away from the frantic bars of the more familiar Madrid and is a good locale to go to drink a coffee, discuss philosophy with your bohemian friends, write your journal or a novel or read one.

Winter Wonderland stroll down the Paseo del Prado

It is fast approaching Christmas, and I have been living in a black hole of work and fiestas and managed to pretty much forget it. I have been going out a lot but to the houses' of friends and pretty much avoiding the city. I am usually one to try to ignore the fact Christmas is coming but there is one thing I love about it is the tasteful lighting!



Now there is a difference between tasteful lighting and tacky lightning. Anything with a direct reference to Christmas or completely overdone is my idea of tacky, which is one thing that drives me nuts about the UK around this festive time. Britain doesn't do very good Chrismas lighting outside of London.



Germany was nice and most of it felt like you had walked into a Christmas postcard, but Madrid has a more of a magical feel to it. I feel I have walked into a fairy land or a dream. I was on my way home from Atocha when the lights at the roundabout between the station and the Paseo del Prado caught my eye. I saw a bunch of artificial cherry tree with blossoms in the centre, but the blossoms were lights. I was entranced and decided, sod walking home along the boring Ronda de Valencia but to walk up the Paseo del Prado to Plaza Cibeles and take the bus from there.

The lighting was stylish, elegant and beautiful. It gave a wonderful fantasy feel to the city, and was even more special to me for walking down there and I ADORE Madrid by night! The Prado was lit up beautifully and also had some of those luminescent cherry trees! I continued to stroll down on this lovely crisp, cold, refreshing winter's night till I arrived at the Ritz which was lit up so glamourously as usual. I feel the temptation to dress to the nines and just go there to partake of a drink and watch the rich and beautiful. The entrance too spares no expense in lighing decoration.

The Thyssen too is also contending for eyecatching lights with its fairy light garden around the entrance shimmering with silver light.



At Plaza Cibeles where the Paseo de Recoletos and Gran Via meet there are dazzling golden lights hovering above the streets. I highly recommend the Paseo del Prado at night, especially at Christmas.

Eating vegetarian in Spain

Its so hard being vegetarian in continental Europe, meat is such a dominant part of the cuisine that a lot of people (until recently anyway) would see vegetarianism as being something alien and wierd. Some countries are easier than others, most northern european countries despite having a very meat based local cuisine are accepting of vegetarianism, in Germany, Holland and the UK its easy to find places that cater to vegetarians. Eastern Europe I found to be the worst as my Hungarian family believe a chicken counts as vegetarian!

Southern Europe too is pretty hard, however Italy and Greece do have some lovely vegetarian local dishes. Spain most of the food is centric around meat and fish. I have made my life easier by being a pescatrian (I have a reaction to pork and just dont like meat), but 90% of my diet is vegetarian since I only really like fish in form of sushi.

Asides from cooking vegetarian for myself I have made an effort to try to find good eateries in Madrid that cater to vegetarians.

My first and favourite place, is also my only excuse for a fast food venture is the chain restaurant knowns as Maoz Vegetarian, specialising in the falafel. This place does not just cater to fast food for veggies, but also healthy fast food for anyone wanting a more nutritious option than Maccy D's. They are originally a Dutch chain, however you can find a couple of branches in Madrid and Barcelona. For under 4€ you can get either a falafel salad (consisting of 3 falafel balls and salad from their delicious salad bar) or a pitta bread with falafel and salad. The best bit is you can go back to the salad bar as much as you want and you get a delicious, healthy and 100% vegetarian (or vegan meal even depending on your salad bar choice) meal really cheaply. There is one located in Calle Mayor just off the Puerta del Sol and another in Calle Horteleza just of Gran Via. Maybe others exist but this I do not know about this.

Looking for some spanish tapas but daunted by the amount of meat and non vegetarian dishes to offer? Well I have some help for you. Near Cuatro Caminos there is a lovely new tapas bar called Cueva de Bandoleros which has been recently opened. And by tapas I mean the traditional buy a glass of wine or a beer and get a free little tapa. To make matters better you can chose your tapas when you order a drink. Now before my vegetarians had some problems there since none of the food included was previously veggie. However after pursuading the chef (a really lovely guy!) to include more of the herbivore market in his establishment he will now do vegetarian tapas on request. And it is fabulous. He really made an effort at creating new dishes to cater for us: garlic mushrooms, vegetable stews with wonderful spices, vegetarian revueltos (scrambled egg dishes with other stuff included in it). So if you ever go in there and order a drink, mention you are vegetarian and you will get something tasty and spanish and veggie. Also with 3 glasses of beer you will no longer be hungry and have spent about 6€! Not a bad deal eh?

Finally I want to talk about some fine vegetarian dining. The other day me and friend wanted to find a good vegetarian restaurant to do some elegant dining at. Well just off Recoletos we found a lovely place called La Galette II (there is another near calle Serrano). This is a lovely elegant yet homely restaurant with a wonderful vegetarian menu at good prices. Sure some things made us laugh as a one of their veggie dishes included bacon and another tuna, but asides from that it was above board. The cooking was great and we had a lovely dinner. Nothing was to be complained about. They do a menu in English so can double check it. They also do a non vegetarian menu so its a good place to go with any carnivorous friends of yours. The atmosphere was lovely, elegant and classy without being snooty. Could take a date, your parents, friend or more than one friend there and it would still be great. Highly recommended.

Dinner - somewhere cheap, beautiful with tasty food?

No problem! With all the restaurants in Madrid you dont need to settle for a place which is cheap and nasty, or expensive or beautiful, or with great food with the view of a nice busy road. I was doing a course in Madrid (yes I know I live here, but I just finished an interuniversity course which took me all over Spain, one course being in Madrid) and on one night with a group of my friends from the course we naturally wanted some dinner.

We tried to get a table in the Museo del Jamon off Puerta del Sol but at 11pm they told us it was due to close soon. A dilema! However we are blessed by the multitude of fast food shops around the area, including the wonderful Moaz Falafels (a vegetarian fast food place with is tasty, cheap and relatively healthy) and if you want more traditional you can pick up a cured ham and cheese sandwich from the museo del jamon.

We all went to our fast food place of our choice (me - I took the tasty falafel salad!) and took our food to the plaza Oriente. This is right in the centre in between the Opera house and the Palacio Real. Now who can complain with a view like this:



We were infact seated on the benches at the foot of the statue pictured. It was lovely to sit there eating our cheap fast food of our choice with a spectacular view where a restaurant would have charged us 20% for the pleasure. It was awesome!



I highly recommend it to anyone who fancies a nice picnic in the city centre. Maybe with a date? I could imagine this being highly romantic on a lovely moonlit summers night.