Since I was a little kid I’ve always dreamt of going to Europe. I remember looking through travel magazines, books, tv shows and relatives’ photos and been enchanted with the old continent. The dream had been brewing for more than a decade. Lets fast forward to 2014.
It was my fourth semester as journalism mayor student and was living in my hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. I had the right amount of credits and good grades to apply for a semester abroad. At ITESO, where I studied, the exchange office asks you to write down your three main options in the order of your preference, the cities I chose were: Madrid, Buenos Aires and Granada. One month later I recieved the most exciting email that I’ve ever read.
Dear, Paco. We are delighted to announce you that Universidad Autónoma de Madrid has accepted you as an exchange student for the first semester of 2015… and so on. Madrid here I go.
The reason I chose Madrid was simple: football. The beautiful game has always been one of my greater passions and my favourite team happens to be Real Madrid. I didn’t know much about the city, it is not as renowned as Barcelona, Paris or London. I only had the simple and stupid stereotypes anyone can think of: paella, party, bullfighting and football. As you’ll find out later on this post, Madrid is much more than those four things (you already knew it).
Today, after six months living there, a two week visit in the summer of 2016 and another trip on October 2017 I share to you the reasons that made me fall in love with the city. As any madrileño would say: ¡de Madrid al cielo! ¡From Madrid to the sky!
Street life
Walking around in Mexico is not a great experience. The cities are mainly designed for cars and public transportation is mostly awful. One of the first of many surprises Madrid had for me was how easy anyone could move in the city. Take the efficent and cheap metro, maybe RENFE (suburban train system), a bus or bike. For me, walking was the best option as I could wonder through Madrid’s always surprising streets and alleys.
From the enchanted Plaza Mayor to the buzzling Puerta del Sol prowling wierd and exciting characters like fat Spiderman, a mariachi band or some creepy goatlike persons scaring the hell out of children. I loved to roam Arenal Street and head to Plaza de Oriente with a backdrop of the Royal Palace and the Almudena Cathedral next to it.
One of my favourite spots in Madrid is Plaza Santa Ana in Barrio de Las Letras neighborhood, always suitable for an evening stroll to catch some tapas and beer with friends. For shopping head to Preciados street which leads you toward Callao in the heart of Gran Vía, Madrid’s most famous avenue. Feeling a little hipster? Then head to Malasaña, a trendy, fashionable and fun area north of Gran Vía. In Madrid you can even find a real egypcian monument, the Temple of Debod and leave your trip to Cairo for another occasion.
Madrid is a city suitable for anyone. For posh boutiques and fine dining restaurants definetly head to Salamanca’s Goya and Serrano streets right next to iconic El Retiro Park, the city’s green escape. La Latina offers a multicultural scene and features two of the most iconic food institutions of the capital, but we’ll talk about that later. The art lovers have three world-class museums in Museo del Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen Bornemisza museum which lies on Paseo del Prado. Truly a breathtaking boulevard located between Plaza de Cibeles and Ronda de Atocha filled with trees, monuments like the Neptune and Apollo statues. Getting bored here is your own fault.
Football
As I told you in the introduction. My love for football and especially Real Madrid is insane.Sunday, March 2, 2015, was the first time I met Santiago, better known as Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of Real Madrid. It was a horrible match, to be honest, Los Blancos tied 1-1 against a much weaker side, Villarreal. I simply didn’t care about it, to be standing in the colosseum of Paseo de la Castellana was impressive, singing Hala Madrid y Nada Más electrified me, but the real tears came after.
It was the Champions League second leg quarter-finals against city rivals Atlético de Madrid, the first match ended 0-0 in the Vicente Calderón Stadium, it was now or never for the defending champs. The game was tense, not much action until the 88th minute when Mexican star Chicharito Hernández lifted the roof and 87 thousand fans erupted as Real Madrid reached the semifinals for the fifth year in a row. I must admit that I cried during the Champions League anthem, with the goal and after the final whistle. I day I’ll never forget.
Food and drinks
If you come home before 3 am, you didn’t go out at all. That’s the madrileño way, as a friend told me. I once read that Madrid has the most bars per capita in the world, I don’t really know if that statement is that accurate but I can tell you it’s really easy to find a local joint to pop a few beers in Madrid. Saying that Spanish food is terrific its quite an understatement, for me, it’s the best cuisine in the world alongside Mexican (I gotta rep my country) and it goes far and beyond tapas and paella.
My favourite neighbourhood to go out to eat were definitely La Latina, Malasaña and Chueca. Calle del Pez and Calle de la Luna offer an enormous amount of options from typical meals and more avant-garde restaurants, it really depends on your budget. My favourite ones are:
Txirimiri: specialises in pintxos and the basque country food.
Dstage: a two Michelin star restaurant owned by chef Diego Guerrero, it’s quite a trip for your five senses and for your wallet too.
StreetXO: owned by three star Michelin chef David Muñoz, it’s Diverxo’s younger and rebel brother, with an eclectic menu with influences from Asian and Latin-American flavours.
La Castela: a classic Madrid tapas’ bar and restaurant, you can’t miss Mihojas de Ventresca dish, it will astonish you. It is the fattier part of tuna cooked with tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and world-class olives.
Man, I’m starving right now.
I could go on and on about places that I enjoyed but the most important memory and the gift I got in my travels are the friends I made.
It might not have the beautiful and pristine Croatian beaches, Italian food, castles like Prague of Budapest, it is definitely not as clean as Vienna, but it has the best people. It is my second home, where my favourite people and places are, I don’t get lost, words and expressions are familiar to me now, I know the metro system, the streets and the tapas bars.
I celebrated a Champions League title: La undécima, a dream come true. It has amazing sunsets, music festivals, I even reconnected with some family I never seen in my life. I’m always happy and fulfilled in Madrid. I’ll be back because there’s nothing like coming home.
Here is a list I made so you can enjoy in your next travel: https://goo.gl/maps/ZxGRodzfMohMmYV76
