Bear and Tree Statue
The Bear and Tree Statue is located in Puerta del Sol, the place where New Year’s celebrations are broadcast every year.
I have been coming through this location many times over the last few days, and I only just realised that this statue is a symbol of Madrid! This is also a really popular meeting place in Madrid as just within these 2 days alone, I have been asked to meet at this location 3 times by different people!
La Latina
La Latina is a popular place for quaint little eateries that serve Tapas. This was where I had lunch with Javier (tour guide from Plaza de Torros), and we walked into one of the eateries that was packed.
Finally after 4 days, proper TAPAS!!!! I left the ordering to Javier and after about 15 mins of wait, our food came.
I don’t remember the name of the dishes, but here is my rendition of the dishes – Meatballs in brown gravy, Thick tomato stock with eggs and jamon (type of ham, and pronounced as “ha-mon”) and finally Chorizo (sausage).
And they were really good! Don’t be fooled by the look of the portions, we were so full we couldn’t finish the chorizo!
We proceeded to a nearby cafe within La Latina and had a drink and part of our conversation touched on some of the weird traditions that are done to animals in Spain. Apparently there is a village which is famous for carrying goats to the top of a cliff, and then drop them to see if they could fly (which of course they couldn’t, so you can just imagine what the immediate outcome would be! Splat!)
And in another place in Spain, a hole is dug in the ground and ducks are buried with just only the heads sticking out of the ground. People will then proceed to try and hit the head of the ducks with something like a golf club, and get the head rolling, while the ducks are still alive! Apparently they don’t do this to live ducks anymore, but with a simulated version.
Even so, I felt so sick listening to them and my heart goes out to these animals.
The heavy lunch must have gotten to me, and for the 1st time in Spain, I had to take a siesta! I am starting to live like a Spanish!
El Respiro
This must be a really popular place, as was brought here 2 nights in a row!
The place was equally packed as from the previous night, and I reckon the big draw of this place is because they serve complimentary tapas (no where as good as the one I had for lunch though!) when you order a drink.
Not a good place to be in if you are looking to chat, as you will have to shout at the top of your voice just to be heard by your companions.
Beer Station
An Irish pub located near Opera metro, this is the place to go if you would like to be with people who speak English.
Apparently it is widely publicise as a multilingual language exchange, as locals come here to practice their English with English speakers who have chosen Madrid as their temporary or permanent homes.
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