Paris1972-Versailles2003

I have truly enjoyed updating these old posts in my blog, and thank you for reading me. This one ranks up there as memories flash back as I write. It was a very moving moment in my life and plenty of anecdotes in my blog on it. Of course, this nostalgic post will be on my black and white series, no pictures. For now let me bring back to from Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Ok , as the nostalgic season is continuing and I am on the mood of remembrance, I need to tell you about Madrid. I arrived on December 30 1970 and left on May 10 1974, it was a shocking beautiful experience, still very much in me.  After years been told by my grandparents that were from Tenerife and speaking to me about Spain that elusive far away country I came to dwell on its customs and food and tradition, finally I was on the land of Cervantes. Lucky enough in life to be able to come back and visit often, and from 2003 every year at least once. Never enough.

So here I am again to speak about the city of Madrid again. I have several posts on it ,but some are older ,from my beginning blogging. This is their story, my story.  I am not going to go into full lenght on what is Madrid to me. It was simply a early teen view of a new surrounding, once told by grandparents and now visually upon me back in 1970.  I grew up there at Calle de Alcalà 331 , 2do A ,Buzon 67, metro Quintana line 5 just out of the metro. Nearby is Plaza Quintana, and our closest park was Parque el Calero. Going to the sports complex Elipa  was fun on the bus P13 now name 113. Docamar the best patatas bravas of Madrid since 1963 are still there! Calzados Victor at 238 Alcalà my mom purchased my first shoes in Spain there, and ever since, I stop by and already got my boys shoes there too. The beltway or first one the M30 was finished by 1974 when I left Madrid. It was nice to walk all the way to the Monumental Ventas bullring.  It was a nice quiet working class neighborhood part of district Ciudad Lineal, and now drastically change, almost beyond recognition even thus I do stop by for memories’s sake.  I still remember the elevator/lift in my piso/apartment you could take it up but not down, it was from the belle epoque era very nice but old and rusty. We were only on the second floor (3rd US).

Anyway, I get very sentimental just talking about the city.  As the saying goes; From Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday!!! yes!! There, now do enjoy Madrid to the fullest, as in Spain, everything is under the Sun.  We drove from Las Majadas ,province of Cuenca , Castilla La Mancha region on the A40 connecting at Tarancon with the A3 to Madrid and parking on the Atocha train station Saba parking lot. Then, we were all over walking at first, from Atocha to calle Atocha to the Plaza Mayor and onwards to Calle Arenal, Preciados, Carmen and back to Calle Bailén and the Royal Palace and Cathedral of Almudena!!

I have stayed several times at the Ayre Gran Colon Hotel at Calle del Pez Volador, 1: this is an excellent hotel, with cafe resto dj music disco style at nights, big rooms, nice friendly service, and central to all of Madrid on lines 6 circular and line 9 out on calle doctor Esquerdo or the buses 56,143,156 stops right there.  The Café Ayre is wonderful with dj music ,big sports TV, and a Champions records win.  The breakfast are full style with plenty to eat and great display of goodies,nice. I needed taxi service once to get to office and they were very efficient and on time. Nice hotel complex. Recommended. It has change name part of the Marriott chain but should be still good,

I set out to walk Madrid, like any city ,the best way to really get to know it. I walk the areas that I ran and hide to go out in my early teens years; the walk up to the Torre España or Spain tower ,with 220 meters high (232 with TV antennas), and the tree line 
calle del alcalde sainz de baranda to get to calle  Menendez Pelayo and the wonderful Retiro park or Parque del Buen Retiro, and see the place I went to birthday parties etc now a fine resto Florida Park, the wonderful fountains and alleyways of the park, the monument to General Martinez Campos with the inscriptions of his campaigns like a major one in Cuba in the 1876-1895. You come behind the  monumental arch and statue to king Alfonso XIII and the pond or estanque del Retiro with its magical boats, that I once rode my girlfriends on it lol!!! Still the place to be if you are in love!

I went over Menendez Pelayo, and doctor Esquerdo streets, see the nice  Church of the Santisimo Samontinos , Calle del Alcalde Sáinz de Baranda, 3 off Menendez Pelayo.  Right across, had my wonderful merluza with almonds garlic,olive oil dish, and chips and nice cruzcampo beers,and Mahou 5 Estrellas try them all lol!! again. Finish with a nice coffee, all for 32€ yes the fish dish was huge! and the beers plenty just needed to walk back to hotel ::) This was at  Cerveceria Cruz Blanca at calle Menendez Pelayo,47, with branches all over Spain. They became my regular stop in Madrid here and at the other location nearer the hotel in calle del Doctor Esquerdo.

By Calle Arenal we past the old archives building of Madrid dating from the 17C. The Palacio Real is always wonderful to see even if been there several times, the Cathedral of Almudena is a wonderful monument that was seen again, and onwards along calle Bailén on the other side to the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande.  On Calle Atocha got in finally into the Church parroquia Santa Cruz , a wonderful Church that in the past had been close when passing by , this time it was fully open and wonderful.  I took the kids to my all time favorite since even younger than they, Chocolateria San Ginés (see post), in my youth used to come here after the dance club next door ; Joy Eslava (see post), which at the time was a community dance hall and theater, later becoming a chic discothéque. I past by it too. San Ginés is the famous churros con chocolate racion or the porros a bigger size churro. A must in Madrid!  We did went shopping at El Corte Inglés by calle Preciados 3 and had our lunch in the 7th floor cafeteria ,and later stop by my favorite store, the official Real Madrid store at Calle Carmen off Sol. We did shopping here too and got a nice beer mug ::)

We came back to the Plaza Mayor a must to visit while in Madrid , always a happening ; see the Plaza del Callao and the famous cinema there, and got around the Teatro Real or royal theater, and the Puerta del Sol square.  We passed by the mercado de la Cebada market and the famous theater La Latina. A visit to the mercado San Miguel is a must and see the beautiful building of the museum of Anthropology and the Ministry of Agriculture. Down to the Puerta de Toledo where we took the C2 bus to get back after a long exhaustive day of walking to all the wonderful Madrid Streets always telling my sons where their Dad had walked before even younger than they! A nice neat family experience. Of course, when we parked at Recoletos (Paseo de) , we immediately took a look at the Fuente de Cibeles that was undergoing renovation/cleaning and the Palacio de las Cibeles, the old city hall of Madrid and now a great place to see and climb to the top for great views of the city.  At the corner you can see the Casa de America a cultural center sharing the heritage of Spain and the Americas, all in the Plaza de la Cibeles.  Of course, we ate all sorts of ice creams and sodas along the way and water from mini grocery stores, but the nice sit in was near my old neighborhood on a new outfit call Audrey Brunch & Coffee, Calle Alcalà 183.  This is a new place, nice clean and friendly full of locals in non tourist area. We had our chorizo sandwich and fanta lemon here as well as coffees and sweets to load up on the sugar content and survive the 35C weather in the city.

A bit further walking and you reach my Puerta de Alcalà, the great gate of Madrid and I lived closed to it for four years! And from there, you go in to the fame Parque del Buen Retiro park another must and always a must for me, a wonderful memories of youth and still feeling Young just stepping into the park. ear here, in Calle Alcalà just across from the Retiro park before arriving at the Puerta de Alcalà lies the Church of San Manuel y San Benito where my mom used to take me as a boy. It is still nostalgic to see it and remind if need to of my mother again, always in my mind even if already 13 years of her passing. ne park that used to be my hangout and so far until now no pictures is the parque Eva Peron off the Plaza Manuel Becerra. There is a Church parroquia de la Covadonga right there too.  There is one by Doctor Esquerdo going towards Plaza Conde de Casal and another one by Menendez Pelayo and Calle del Alcalde Sainz de Baranda across from Retiro park, this is the Cerveceria Cruz Blanca, is another of the typical one in my Madrid away from tourist central. Right diagonally from the brewery restaurant and before crossing the street to Retiro park there is a nice archicturally done Church the Parroquia del Santisimo Sacramento.  

Of course, I visited my old neighborhood of  Quintana, right off metro line 5 at  Alcalà 331, always a pilgrimage when in town. The plaza Quintana with my old Docamar was the site of heavy mahou beers and patatas bravas, just across my old piso, apartment. The place was packed with people out mingling, talking, playing cards, just a bustle and hustle of a vibrant lively city as always the times or needs dont change in Madrid.

There you go folks, there is a lot more on my coming and going there in my blog. Madrid is more than just a tourist city for me, it is like home! Capital of the kingdom of Spain and everything in Spain can be found there. Again, hope you enjoy this post on from Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday !!!  as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!