Posted by Katrin on July 1st, 2007 — Posted in Art, Bars, Travel
Last year I blogged about Madrid, which has mysteriously vanished and got lost somewhere in the Matrix… Pictures and text was safely stored on my computer though, so here it is again:
Hola Madrid!
Last weekend I was lucky enough to fly to Madrid. It was my first time in Spain (if you leave out one childhood vacation which I don’t remember at all) and I felt very adventurous. Mostly because I am not used to being in a country whose language I don’t speak and it is such a weird feeling when you can’t communicate. You become very good in smiling and pointing though.
We were visiting friends who live right in the centre. The first night we went out to explore the tapas bars in their area. I might not have to stress how fantastic these were and can just leave it up to your imagination. But just in case: They were FANTASTIC! Mostly because there were only locals around us since tourists often don’t find their way into the regular living areas of a city. In the first one we had tostas which are similar to tapas but they are mostly all on a piece of baguette so you can eat them easily while standing and holding your glass of wine. You just keep ordering what you like and tell the waiter later what you had.
Then we went on to the next bar where we had our first Serrano Ham (there was lots more to come) and octopus which was delicious. It was a very buzzing atmosphere, everybody was enjoying a glass of wine and talking.On Saturday we started to explore the city. When I don’t have much time in one place I like to have just a general idea about where to go and then stroll around.
Madrid is certainly a good place to do that! Just start walking and see what lies ahead!
We also wanted to explore the shopping possibilities, after all Christmas is coming up. The inner city is very good for shopping and if you prefer to have it all under one roof try the department store El Corte Inglés. There are different ones around and if you are looking for presents this is a good place to go. We also bought a paella pan along with tapas plates and bistrot wine glasses for ourselves there.
El Corte Inglés
Hermosilla, 112
28009 Madrid
We didn’t have much luck with the weather, but that gives you just another excuse to go in somewhere and try more specialities. In the afternoon we were quite exhausted and felt like having a coffee somewhere. We came across this absolutely packed place which can be described as a tapas bar just for coffee and cakes. You stand at the bar, order your coffee and point to any of the little white dishes with a variety of cakes on them. They had a sitting room upstairs but that was full already and we were happy anyway to be in the middle of the buzz. Definitely a must-try-when-in-Madrid!
La Mallorquina, S.L.
Puerta del Sol, 8
Mayor, 2
Phone: 91 521 12 01
After having dinner in the inner city our host promised to show us two bars he liked. Both of them are quite hidden and you have to know where they are, otherwise you might walk by without noticing.
The first one was absolutely fabulous, my Dry Martini was superb and the setting couldn’ have been more amazing. It seemed to be an old theater and the bar is on the stage with a wide open space above you instead of a sealing! There was a sitting area as well which must have been the stalls of the theater once. You stand up there at the bar overlooking the rest. Who would have thought as the simple outside looked like this:
The second one was a Cuban bar which was different but very good as well. You actually had to walk into a regular appartment building and then find the bar at the first floor. Very smokey as I imagine cuban bars to be, and a very lively atmosphere. If you walk by a front door like this, it might be worth checking out the first floor:
Unfortunately I promised not to reveal their destinations, so they will remain special.
On Sunday we took a stroll in the park and headed towards the Prado Museum. It is free on Sundays and was packed in a very casual, relaxed way. I liked that but it also made me not want to stay very long because there are so many people moving around and standing in front of you. If you are in
Madrid and want to go choose another date, what you see is definitely worth the EUR 6,-!
I wanted to see Goya’s Maya which is brilliant. Or both of them I should say as you see here dressed on one and undressed on the other one. And then Las Meninas by Velasquez blew me away!
Museo Nacional Del Prado
Paseo del Prado s/n.
28014 Madrid
Phone: 91 330 28 00
And full of all these impressions we headed back home to London!
Share This
3 Comments »
Posted by Katrin on June 24th, 2007 — Posted in Events, Outdoors
Last weekend I had the pleasure of having half the day off in order to go to the O2 Wireless Festival. I came straight from work and enjoyed a beer while laying on the lawn in Hyde Park listening to Cat Empire. That has to be the most perfect way to start a weekend!
The whole thing was huge and my mentioning „I am off to see a concert“ just a tad understated, but I had honestly no idea what was waiting for me. The more surprised I was to arrive in a wide open space spreading out in Hyde Park, with various stages, food and drink stalls and even caroussels! Note to myself: must do better research.It started of slow, everyone still having a look around, but you know when you’re in London even the warm up bands are great.
For me the highlight was Gotan Project with an awsome mix of classical instruments and tango inspired electrical dance music. They are a group of musicians from Paris and Buenos Aires and even though I was familiar with their music before, I wasn’t entirely aware of them. They were fabulous on stage! The best thing of the whole festival if you ask me.
Faithless came last as the headlining act everyone was waiting for. Great sound and vibe and an enormous amount of people around us. Everyone in quite a friendly mood which is relaxing but I always feel a bit unwell in such a massive crowd (sorry if that makes me completely uncool…).
Make sure to give it a go when the festival comes round again! It’s definitely worth it.
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by Katrin on June 3rd, 2007 — Posted in Restaurants
Two nights ago we tried Imli, an Indian Restaurant with a twist in Soho. I had read about it some time ago and it was mentioned again in one of the Time Out newsletter which I receive every week (very handy to see what’s on – in a nutshell, so to speak). It is very different to any Indian Restaurant I have ever been to. It serves tapas style food but even though it looks different to what you would expect it has the flavours of India in every single dish.
The restaurant itself is pretty stylish, I liked the warm but very modern decorations and the phrase painted on the wall that good food is best enjoyed with family and friends – a true mixture of traditions and modern city life.The only downside was that it is extremely noisy. It is certainly not a location for a first date or romantic evening, but for dinner after work it is just fine (do prepare yourself for some repeating what you said though).
We tried the tasting menu which served 9 dishes and rice. The first four looked very experimental and tasted wonderful. They were served as a first round and had a ‘starter feeling’ to them. The five which followed were more traditional dishes, very spicy (could have been a little less for me) and I enjoyed especially the variety in small portions.
Go and see for yourself!
Imli
167-169 Wardour Street
London, W1F 8WR
Tel: 020 7287 4243
Fax: 020 7287 4245
Opening Times: Monday - Sunday 12.00 - 11.00pm
Imli, 167-169 Wardour Street
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by Katrin on May 21st, 2007 — Posted in Theater
Last Friday evening I was sitting at home, trying to figure out what to do with the weekend. Every now and then I have a look here, to see whether there are any affordable tickets to plays or musicals around. Honestly, I think the prices in London are absolutely mad if you don’t want to sit in the upper left corner behind a spotlight. I have done that before actually, back in my no-money-at-all student days in Paris. Half a baguette for the day, and a theatre ticket made me quite happy and I didn’t mind to compromise on the seat’s location.
Well, but thanks to this site sometimes you can get lucky. I was just browsing a little bit and found “a ticket for a tenner” for The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Called a friend, booked the tickets, and off we went on Saturday to stroll around China Town and then catch the matinee in the Apollo.
I loved it!
We had great seats in the 9th row or so, last minute bookings can be really good. It started out rather slowly, and Jessica Lange wasn’t as impressive as I had hoped (but then, who am I to judge). If you go to see a two times Oscar winner and an experienced stage actress you naturally get your hopes up.
However everyone might need some warming up on a Saturday afternoon, because the second part of the play was brilliant! Lange was fantastic, and an intense scene between Amanda Hale and Mark Umbers had me holding my breath. Ed Stoppard is great as Tom, the narrator of the play and main character. The only thing I found is that it feels a bit wrong to go out of the theatre after the play and find that it is still light outside. It just seems strange, so maybe I will avoid matinees in the future. The Glass Menagerie is unfortunately over now. But in general I can definitely recommend this venue, so watch out what is on!
Apollo Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue
London, W1V 7DH
0870 890 1101Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by Katrin on May 14th, 2007 — Posted in Restaurants, Bars
Oh cool, who would have thought I have this jewel in my backyard! Well, not actually in my backyard, but just around the corner anyway.
I was lucky enough to be taken out to dinner last night. We knew this place was in the neighbourhood but for some reason never got around to try it. Then a little article caught our attention.
Entering through a large wooden door which has a bit of a keep-out feeling you walk into a room that has such a comfortable atmosphere to it you want to just sit down and spend the entire evening there. Dark brown wood and warm reds dominate the interior, in the warmer months the French windows open up towards the quiet street where a few more tables are standing.
The menu offers Tapas style dishes divided into vegetable, meat and seafood, pizza (small ones, in line with the Tapas theme) and desert. All on an A4 paper – I love it when there aren’t too many choices. The food is absolutely delicious! The waitress recommended about three dishes per person. Try the house salad of Puy Lentils, Feta and Olives in Honey Mustard Dressing, the Roast Sweet Potatoe and Butternut Squash with wilted Spinach, and the Pork Meatballs in roasted Tomato Sauce. The Manchego filled Dates wrapped in Parma Ham are absolutely divine and because of their sweetness can work well at the end of the meal. Be aware of the oysters though, they are very fresh and tasty but huge! I’m not exaggerating… I am a fan of oysters but there even I hesitated for a moment.
Only sad note to the evening: We didn’t have much luck with the wine. The Montepulciano was disappointing, mainly because it was watery. The Rioja couldn’t win us over either. So you might want to try a glass first before deciding on a bottle.
Priory House
Bar and Restaurant
58 Milson Road
London W14 0LB
020 7371 3999
The Priory House
Share This
2 Comments »
