Valentines Day in Madrid

2016 is now well underway and it's that time of year again when thoughts turn to dinner reservations, frantic card choosing and date ideas. That's right Valentines day is just around the corner! Whatever your usual feelings about this celebration of all things lovey-dovey, while on a year abroad it can be something to really make the most of and look forward to if your partner is able to visit you.

As of today you have just under a week to get planning and, for those of you in Madrid, I thought I'd put together a roundup of suggestions for fun/romantic things to do in the city. So in no particular order here we go:

1. Templo de Debod

This is number one on everyone else's list of things to do on valentines day so I thought I'd get it out of the way quickly. It is certainly pretty romantic; an ancient egyptian temple transplanted to the heart of Madrid, surrounded by a still reflecting pool and green park area. Visit at sunset to enjoy the sky turning gold over great views of the city and the temple itself all lit up and glowing.

2. El Circulo de Bellas Artes

Continuing with the sunset theme one of the best places to be at nightfall in Madrid is the rooftop bar on top of the Circulo de Bellas Artes. There are luxe sun loungers for relaxing and sipping your mojito while gazing out over the skyline. This is a very popular place so be prepared to arrive before sunset to guarantee a space; then settle in to watch the sun sink and the city come to life.

3. Platea Madrid

If you're looking for somewhere different to eat why not try Platea Madrid? This gourmet food hall is housed in an old converted cinema complete with red velvet and gold brocade. The food is delicious with many different stalls offering a variety of tasty options and there's often a jazz band playing live on the stage. Even better it's accessed from the street through a fruit and veg shop; I remember my mouth fell open as we passed the punnets of strawberries to find the enormous and very glamorous cinema hidden behind.

4. El Club Allard vs Calle Cava Baja

If you've got a bit (or a lot) of spare cash and are in the mood for top notch nosh then head to El Club Allard. Chris and I paid this place a visit to treat ourselves as it was the last time we'd be in Madrid together. This truly is one of the best restaurants in Madrid, with a price to match, but the food is beautiful and if you're looking to impress then this is the place to do it.

On the other hand if, like the majority of us, this place is more than a little over budget then pay Calle Cava Baja a visit. This is one of the most famous streets for tapas in Madrid and the food is delicious, cheap and plentiful. The atmosphere is great with everyone flocking to their favourite bar to sip drinks and enjoy great company and great food. If you're looking to really show your partner what life in Madrid is like with some authentic Spanish tapas and waiters that you'll need to practice your Spanish skills on then this is the place to be!

5. ParaPark

Thinking of innovative date ideas can be trickier than expected. If you're stuck then why not give ParaPark a try? This place is based on an idea first developed in Budapest and has now been rolled out to the rest of the world. You and your partner (or some friends; teams of up to 5 are allowed) are locked into a room full of interactive puzzles, clues and brainteasers and have to escape as quickly as you can. This is great fun and really requires good teamwork and quick thinking. If you're interested check online as you'll have to book a slot and then get ready to put your thinking caps on!

6. Parque de Retiro / El Palacio

For those whose idea of a good time doesn't involve a mad scramble against the clock to escape from a room full of clues then there are plenty of more relaxed options. El Parque de Retiro is one of my favourite places in the city; a huge green park full of gorgeous scenery, a picturesque lake and people relaxing in the sunshine. It's become a tradition for couples to hire rowboats and drift about on the water watching the world go by.

If you're both fans of history or art then why not use this as an excuse to pay the Palacio a visit? I was truly impressed with the interior of this building; it was the most luxurious place I've ever seen! Plus with tickets at only 11 euro each it won't break the bank. (Make sure to get an audio guide!)

7. The Zoo

I've always thought the zoo is a great place for a date; it's essentially a walk in the park with lots of interesting animals plus excellent areas for picnics and plenty of places to grab a drink. The zoo in Madrid is a little further out of the city but easily accessible by metro and is well worth a visit. I would much rather the animals were in the wild but this place manages to alleviate most concerns pretty well. The animals look healthy and cared for and their enclosures are well designed and full of things to keep them interested. Our favourites were the tigers and the monkeys who could keep you entertained for hours with their antics. This is the perfect place to spend an afternoon.

This is only a taster list of the things that Madrid has to offer for couples on valentines day. There is so much more to see and do! Why not take a segway tour through the city and really show your other half what it's like in your new home? Book an appointment in a spa and spend the day being pampered. Spend the morning in one of the many fantastic museums, take the foodie in your life to the Mercado de San Miguel or go for a romantic ramble along the river. The choice is yours!

If you feel you've seen and done everything in Madrid then go on a daytrip. Toledo and Segovia are only about an hour away by train and are lovely places to explore (see links in side bar for posts on these cities and more).

Whatever you end up doing I'm sure you'll have a lovely valentines day. If you have any other ideas for things to do then please leave them as a comment below or tweet me - I'd love to hear them!

Chris to Madrid!

Chris has just left after a lovely 5 day long visit; though it passed so quickly it hardly felt like any time at all! After only an hour in work on the Wednesday morning I hurried to Nuevos Ministerios to meet him on the platform (thankfully this time without falling flat on my face on an escalator...). We wandered around Sol for a bit and then found some huevos rotos for lunch in a little place with a TV showing a live feed from a chicken coop...exciting times. Chris had woken up at about 4am to get to the airport in time for his early flight so we just headed home that evening and relaxed (in case anyone's interested The Maze Runner is a pretty decent film).

Thursday morning was spent at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional which is only about a 20 minute walk away from my new flat up past the Prado Museum. It's really worth a visit if you're ever passing by as there's so much to see. We were there for almost 3 hours and had only just moved into the Middle Ages after passing through the Roman occupation of Spain and the Prehistoric galleries. They had a reconstruction of the first human Australopithicus Afarensis, or Lucy for short, which was brilliant as I'd heard a lot about her over the years but never seen her. She's much smaller than I imagined at only about a metre tall. There was also a replica of the Taung Child's skull with the marks left by the eagle that killed him all those millions of years ago still visible. The rest of the galleries were full of treasures and weapons from throughout history. My guidebook said that the museum would be free which it was for me with my student card but it turned out to be 3 euros for Chris.

That evening we made sure to arrive early at Café Central, the most famous Jazz café in Madrid, to bagsy seats. We turned out to be really lucky grabbing the only 2 bar stools left which meant we had a great view; right in front of the stage and over everybody elses' heads. We'd come to see Pardo & Carmona & Colina & El Bandolero who played a kind of flamenco jazz fusion which was incredible to watch. Pardo switched between sax and flute accompanied by guitar, double bass and with El Bandolero or "The Bandit" on drums.

 

 

 

 

It was a brilliant concert and we sat there in the dark happily munching giant salmon and brie tostadas. Café Central is a little pricey but definitely recommended if you want good jazz in a Spanish atmosphere - I didn't hear another English voice for the whole evening.

 

 

 

 

On Friday came the hour Chris had been waiting for...ParaPark! This concept originated in Budapest and has now spread to the rest of Europe (I know that there are centres in London and Paris at least). The idea is that you're locked into a room and are told to escape within a set time limit. The room is full of all sorts of mind puzzles, clues to solve, passwords to find etc that gradually let you come closer to finding the passcode for the door. It's so much fun! I won't say anything about what's actually in the room in case I spoil it for anyone but having to figure everything out as a team with the added time pressure is really exciting. When the door finally opened with 15 minutes to spare the feeling was incredible; a kind of mad relief and crazy exhilaration! You can play in teams of up to 5 people and there are 2 different rooms to choose from with different levels of difficulty. The place itself can be quite hard to find as there's no big sign outside; you just need to look for a mirrored door that has the ParaPark symbol on it in red paint and press the bell to the right side.

A quick snap of us (and assorted room decorations) that the lady took after we escaped:

After ParaPark we found a bar for a drink and ordered a couple of cocktails...both a bit of a failure. I ordered a Sex on the Beach but the barman made it with white rum instead of vodka which was disgusting while Chris ordered a Michelada. The World's GROSSEST cocktail. It was like a Bloody Mary at first but then after he'd poured the beer in it was just not drinkable. After a while we moved on to a bar that I'd heard about called The Passenger which was supposed to be made up to look like the inside of a train with screens showing passing countryside. It sort of worked but we weren't really impressed in the end; the screens weren't very good quality so it seemed a bit of a waste of time.

Next came the Templo de Debod a real ancient Egyptian temple moved to Madrid in the 1960s and now the best sunset watching spot in the city. We got there in time to see the sun sink behind the temple and although the sky was mostly ragged clouds it was still beautiful. A Trumpeter was leaning on the balaustrade looking out over the Palacio Real playing lazily along to a sound track while his little dog wagged his tail and tried to make friends with everybody that passed. It's definitely one of the most romantic places I've found in Madrid; perfect for the day before Valentine's Day. We also got to have a go on the slacklines that a group of people had strung up between the trees next to the temple. These are like giant stretchy tightropes that people walk along trying to balance and not fall off. It's really tricky!

Dinnner was traditional Spanish fair in La Bola. I ordered Arroz a la Madrileña and Chris had roast lamb which turned out to be the entire front leg of a lamb... hoof and all. He said it was delicious though.

Saturday was skiing day. We decided to visit the indoor ski slopes at Xanadú; a giant shopping and leisure centre on the outskirts of Madrid. It took us only about 20 minutes to get there by bus from Principe Pío. Chris was really good at skiing as he'd had lessons as a kid and been on holiday a few times. This was my first attempt and needless to say I was...less good. A particularly memorable moment was when I crashed head first into the opposite fence after having crossed the entire slope trying in vain to turn and failing massively. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get any photos as Chris' phone got too cold and refused to turn on. The slope is covered in real snow and has a proper ski lift to get you up to the top. I'm not sure how I feel about skiing now; on the one hand when you're doing it right and are speeding along it's brilliant but on the other hand when you're completely out of control and are heading for certain death it's bloody terrifying!!

Sunday was just a chill day. We met up with Cat and her boyfriend Matt, who was also visiting, for lunch in La Fragua de Vulcano a really good Spanish restaurant close to Plaza de Santa Ana near Sol. We wandered around afterwards and headed up to the restaurant floor of El Corte Inglés for mango and chocolate ice cream. Then Cat and Mat left us to try and see if they could hire a row boat on the lake in Retiro and Chris and I headed to a beautiful bar/restaurant that I'd found in Goya when out with a friend. We ended up dallying quite a bit too long and Chris had a mad dash to the airport; getting there after the gate had supposedly closed but thankfully still making it in time.

It was a bit of a rushed end to a lovely few days but it was brilliant fun from start to finish. The time passed so quickly it feels almost like I dreamt it but am now back in the routine of things here with work and YARPing to be getting on with. Next time I'll see Chris will be back in England over Easter and I can't wait!