Planeta Madrid 2011 - by Theo

One of our favourite events of San Isidro celebrations past has been the Planeta Madrid Concert. Previously this free world music event has been held in a bare, muddy lot in Legazpi, but this year it was thankfully moved to Parque Enrique Tierno Galvin near Mendez Alvaro, where we first lived when we came to Madrid.

It's a gorgeous shady park, with a purpose-built amphitheatre offering great sight-lines and acoustics; the only question was why they didn't hold the concert there the previous two years!

Another welcome change, for us at least, was the 12pm start time (the finish stayed the same - midnight). Great for us, as it meant we could get there after Rosie's first nap, have a picnic and stay for a good four hours or so, rather than the 45 minutes we managed last year! Not so great for the performers though, as most Spaniards just haven't got the hang of early starts and many would still be in bed at that hour. There were barely a hundred people there when the first act, Kucha Mala, a lively Spanish-Russian collaboration got under way and numbers didn't swell much during the afternoon, with the audience mostly restricted to fitness fanatics out for a run or families with young children (and thus no chance of a lie-in!) Crazy really, but there is a sad apathy among Madrileños for local events (one of my Madrid-born-and-raised friends didn't believe me when I told him there was a carnival in Madrid), although it might also be to do with the fact that the park is possibly one of Madrid's best kept secrets, being hard to access due to railway lines on two sides and being in a relatively new barrio.

Still, we managed to persuade a couple of Madrileños to join us. Belen and Cesar and their five year old nephew Hugo made it at the positively early hour of 1.30, bearing tortilla and cheese, and just in time for Toom Pak, a sort of Spanish version of stomp with added flames and angle-grinders, who managed to get what little crowd there was involved.

Any hopes the organisers might have had of the event picking up later in the day and attracting the numbers it had in previous years were truly scotched by the weather. The cloudless blue skies that greeted us as we left our house gave way to impressive anvil clouds that bubbled up from the sierra to the north. In the end, even Cesar's positive thinking couldn't keep away the thunderstorm the weather forecast had predicted, and we made it to the car just as a vicious wind heralded the first drops of rain. Not such a shame for us, as by then it was 4pm and we would have had to go within the hour in any case, but such as shame for the show. Hopefully Madrileños will start waking up, literally and take advantage of the amazing events on their doorstep.

still sightseeing - by Theo

It's always great having friends to stay. Aside from the chance to catch up, it means we generally make the effort to get out and take advantage of this wonderful capital city we're living in - we may have been here for over 2 years now, but there are still sights we've yet to see. So, with our friends Sam and Stu taking advantage of the long weekend in the UK by paying us a flying visit, we thought we'd head over to the newly opened Manzanares park area in the west of the city.
With rain and thunderstorms forecast we decided to drive to allow for a speedy getaway and a place to dump the coats and umbrellas. Parking with surprising ease just below the cathedral, we walked past the Royal Palace and Plaza de España to one of Madrid's more unexpected monuments, the Templo de Debod. This 4th century BC Egyptian temple was given to the Spanish state in recognition of the role Spanish engineers had played in the construction of the Aswan dam (which flooded the original location of the temple). It's a rather bizarre moment, arriving at the top of the hill in the Parc del Oeste to see an Egyptian temple perfectly laid out with commanding views over the Casa del Campo.

We got Rosie out of her buggy for a walk about (with assistance), but she was more interested in climbing and descending the steps outside the Temple than actually going inside. Oh well. Meanwhile Stu kindly took what he described as the best photo of us that we'll ever see - we're inclined to agree.


Navigating our way down through the park past a rose garden, the Teleferico terminal (cable car), the school of ceramics and the railway line out of Principe Pio, we found our way to the tiny Ermita de San Antonio de Florida. Rather unassuming from the outside, this tiny building, which is next to an equally tiny and unassuming church, is decorated inside with some stunning frescoes painted by the Spanish master, Goya. There was a Spanish school party inside, but it didn't spoil our enjoyment. Well worth the trip.

By now it was getting on for two o'clock and I had to go back and move the car. Leaving the others in a promising-looking restaurant I hot-footed it up to the cathedral through the lovely Campo de Moro park, then drove back to temporarily abandon the car in some dodgy unofficial car park being supervised by two beer-swilling Romanians. Kate, Stu, Sam and Rosie had relocated to the terrace of the neighbouring bar, which was much more reasonably priced and we promptly stuffed ourselves (Rosie included, which was gratifying).

It now being Rosie's nap-time and the rain still not having materialised, a post-lunch riverside stroll was proposed and duly executed. Not much is made of Madrid's river, the Manzanares, which is often barely more than a stream in summer. However, it being springtime, the river was fairly full and flowing swiftly through a much trumpeted new riverside park.

We discovered a rather excellent rope walk play area, which gave us all a chance to release the inner child. The lack of shade offered by the young trees, meanwhile, led us boys to swiftly regret our choice of clothing and footwear (well, we'd thought it was going to rain) but it was still very pleasant to stroll in Madrid's newest green area, with its gorgeous views back up the hill to the palace and cathedral.

After a coffee back on the terrace we all piled into the car, tired and hot but well satisfied. The trip back to our flat gave us the excuse to take a short tour of the sights along Gran Via and Calle del Alcala, which was then followed by an evening of wine and cards and no rain! Que bien lo paso!

Aranjuez - by Theo

A hour south of Madrid, surrounded by arid plains, lies the royal retreat of Aranjuez. It was here, among the fields of asparagus and strawberries on the banks of the river Tajo, that the Bourbon monarchs built their Spring residence in imitation of Versailles. So, while it wasn't the season to taste the produce Aranjuez is famous for, we decided to use the visit of my parents as a reason to take the car for a run and get out of the city for a day.After coffee and croissants on a cafe terraza (much to the surprise of the waitress "pero, que frio, no?") we strolled first in the beautiful and huge Jardines del Principe, the trees looking gorgeous in their autumn colours, admiring fountains and follies while Rosie snoozed in the pram. We chanced the menu in El Rana Verde (the green frog) where we managed to find enough veggie options for Kate and I. My parents weren't up for trying the house specialty - frog's legs - sticking with the relatively safe option of steak.Much fun was had during desert by offering Rosie, who had chowed down her puree and yoghurt, a slice of lemon. She masticated away enthusiastically, before pulling a priceless face, then going back for more. Learning takes a while.

More parks followed to walk off lunch, this time in the Jardin de la Isla, an artificial island behind the Royal palace, created by building a weir on the Tajo and diverting a channel. Rosie got a ride in the sling to enjoy a better view of the galleries, aviaries and fountains. A beautiful walk on what had become a warm and sunny autumn day.

Time was getting on and Rosie needed her next nap (in the car this time), so we never actually made it inside the palace. A good excuse for a second visit, then.

Ballet in the Park

It being another beautiful Saturday here in Madrid, we decided to go for a walk in the massive Parque de Buen Retiro, the former Royal Retreat that became public property in 1868. It's essentially an outdoor art gallery, recreation ground, picnic site, tourist trap and arboretum rolled into one.
We strolled about the walk ways around pools and ponds, admiring fountains and terrapins, the trees still largely bare, but there were a few flowers and sunbathers out. In one of the pavilions was a small contemporary art display - Espacio para un Universo Isla by Josiah McElheny - of hanging silver chandeliers representing galaxies strung out in space. Really rather beautiful.
Finally, after an ice cream each, we decided to settle by the boating lake to play backgammon (old habits die hard) where we caught a rather excellent and novel busking display. They love their street theatre here in Madrid, and we've seen some excellent hammer-piano, flamenco, magic, music shows, but ballet was a first for us. A lovely finish to the afternoon.