Wandering in Madrid in the Sun

Tuesday March 10 was a spectacular summer-like day.  Blue sky with a high of 22C.  We decided to wander a bit in our 'hood in the late morning and then go to a different neighbourhood in the afternoon.

We are following the coronavirus situation in Spain.  A town just outside Madrid is a hotspot and all schools at all levels are now closed in Madrid for the next two weeks.  We head out for Valencia on Thursday and are definitely trying to stay away from crowds.  We have sanitary hand gel and are washing our hands all the time as are most Madrileños.

Sign outside a pharmacy

Our neighbourhood of Chueca has a number of boutiques, bars and restaurants.  One street is full of shoe stores and there are lots of jewellery stores.  We have been mostly window shopping when we are meandering on this trip.  A lot of the Spanish style wouldn't travel too well to Toronto.  We did find one store featuring two Spanish designers, where I bought an interesting cotton jacket.

Inside of Lurdes Bergada and Syngman Cugala store

These guys again

Lots of interesting buildings in our 'hood

I like the sun rooms on the apartments

We ended up at the Federal Coffee shop in our 'hood.   Great coffee and we shared a large bacon, lettuce, avocado sandwich with a poached egg.  The Spanish bacon was excellent.

At Federal coffee shop

Just up the street from the coffee shop was an intriguing looking building with the sign Museo ABC.
We peeked in and there looked to be some kids drawings.  We weren't sure what it was about, but we didn't want to go inside on such a beautiful day.   Later, we discovered that this was the ABC Museum of Drawing and Illustration featuring 200,000 drawings and illustrations that have been published in the ABC newsletter and Blanco y Negro magazine.  The ABC Collection was started in 1891 and includes a century of artwork by 1500 artists of all styles, techniques and artistic periods.   The building that houses the Collection is the former Mahou brewery, remodelled with metal and glass.  The Museum opened in 2010.

Another view of the Museum and offices/apartments

ABC Museum of Drawings and Illustrations

We sat out in the sun for a bit.  There was a small playground in one of the plazas and a bench where one can sit and do some biking exercises.

Alano using the biking machine

We then walked over to the Salamanca neighbourhood, an upscale area only about a 20 minute walk from our 'hood.   We passed a number of roundabouts with very nice apartments along the way.

Roundabout en route

Lovely buildings

Serrano Street was like Madison Avenue in NYC.  Lots of upscale stores under beautiful apartment buildings.

A corner in Salamanca

Our guidebook had a listing for the Manolo Blahnik shoe store.  It was hidden in a courtyard off the street.  One had to ring a bell to enter.  We took a pass but I did take a few pics.

Drawing and pair of shoes on display.

Another pair (excuse the reflection).

Very modern Ikea store on Serrano Street

Signs for a Pop-up Chic store-- the space looked like it was between pop-ups

The Pop-ups seem to take place in different locations in Salamanca

Pablo Serrano- 1973 Plaque said Esta Fuente Llamada a fuente y el Rio, por Encargo del Banco Hispano Americano

Merry go round outside the larger El Corte Inglés

We walked over to the El Corte Inglés men's store which has a lovely rooftop bar serving Mexican food.

Enjoying the sun

Great view from the rooftop lounge

We then walked over to Plaza Colón.  Plaza Colón is located in the intersection of the Chamberi, Centro and Salamanca neighbourhoods.  The Plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cristóbal Colón.

The side of the Plaza on Serrano Street consists of concrete large sculptures by Joaquín Vaquero Turcios (1933-2010).  They are decorated with inscriptions by philosophers and indigenous leaders.  They were erected in 1977.

Since Spain's National Day in 2001, the world's largest Spanish flag has flown in Plaza de Colón.

World's largest flag- a bit overwhelming when walking by. The original flag was replaced in January 2016 at a cost of 400,000 euros.

We spoke to a very nice man in his late 30s in the Plaza.  He told us about the sculptures and also gave us tips about nearby sites.  He was with his wife and two young boys who were going to be out of school for the next two weeks--- he was wondering what they were going to do with them for all that time.  He was a native Madrileño and very proud of the city.

The man we had talked to recommended we check out a small nearby pedestrian street with a number of restaurants on it.  Since it was only a minute away, we went to check it out.   Lots of fancy restaurants and bars on a small dead-end street.

We then walked through Plaza Colón passing a monumental sculpture above the Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid (Madrid City Cultural Centre (started in 1977).

Julia, the head of a girl with closed eyes, is a white sculpture, 12 metres tall by artist Jaume Plensa (b. Barcelona 1955).  It was installed in December 2018 and will initially remain there until December 2020.  It is made from polyester resin and white marble dust.  The artist said that "Julia is conceived of as a work to inspire personal, intimate reflection in the hectic rhythm of the public space".

Julia, by Jaume Plensa 

Monument to Christopher Columbus built in 1885 on the Paseo de la Castellana (Promenade of the Castilian) 

Julia on top of the cultural centre

We walked by the magnificent Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) located near the Plaza de Colón.  The neoclassical building was opened to the public in March 1896.

National Library-- very impressive

We walked down Paseo de los Recoletos to our neighbourhood and stopped at Bee Beer,  a craft beer bar and store.  The choice was a bit overwhelming, but the bartender helped us pick two of their own beers.  One is Kirakira Wasabi Lager and the other is Coronel Mostaza, an IPA.   Bee Beer sounds like "live" in Spanish and "that's what they do- staying true to the values that craft beer lovers hold ideal: quality, fresh and local ingredients, consistency and originality"(quote from their website).  They brew a very creative craft beer portfolio including an IPA with mustard seeds; a smoked brown ale with Argentinian red pepper; a wasabi lager; a pineapple juice IPA; and many others.

Their beers

Packing our two bottles

We then headed back to the apartment at about 8:15 p.m.  Alano made a salmon dinner with zucchini, onion and tomatoes.  We had our Kirackira Wasabi lager by bee.beer.  Very tasty.