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Published: November 4th 2008
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Caixa Forum
A 24 meter high vertical garden, designed in collaboration with the botanist Patrick Blanc, takes up one wall of the square at the Caixa Forum Wandering down Gran Via towards Puerta del Sol I noticed the most extraordinary of sites. Even the icy wind could not prevent hundreds of Madrileños queuing for tickets in one of the richest lotteries in the world. "El gordo" - the fat one. To call it a national obsession would be a pretty accurate statement.
Apparently the prize pool is worth more than $1 billion and the jackpot is usually divided amongst thousands of winners. The lottery, broadcast live on TV started in 1812. I momentarily considered buying a ticket, however to wait in a queue as long as the street was not something I really wanted to do!
Walking past the queue in the Gran Via I headed down to Puerta del Sol and the Spanish shopping institution El Corte Ingles to buy a small English Spanish dictionary. I took my dictionary to the nearest cafe for much needed hot beverage. The weather this week has been unusually cold here in Madrid. It is still autumn and the average temperature is usually about 18c - today it felt like about 5c!
After coffee I went searching for a
parada (bus stop) for the 53 bus. I have
Caixa Forum Madrid- Defying gravity
The Caixa Forum Madrid is a new cultural center in the historical center of Madrid, near the renowned Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums. The architects lifted the building off the ground, in apparent defiance of the laws of gravity, to draw visitors inside.
been invited by Rafael Viñas from PwC for lunch. The PwC office moved this year to the outskirts of the city and although the idea of taking a 40 minute bus ride wasn’t very exciting, I could not reject Rafa's kind offer of lunch. Rafa spent three months in Australia this year working in the PwC Sydney office.
Before jumping on the bus to PwC I literally stumbled across the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Inside the academy is a museum which houses many great works of art by some of the most famous artists in the world including Picasso and Goya.
Having wandered through the
Academia for about an hour I then jumped on the bus to have lunch with Rafa and his team at PwC. From all accounts the move by PwC out of the city into the suburbs was not a popular one however the offices are fantastic. They have a canteen (that nobody eats in) and a massive terrace to relax on.
I didn’t want to spend any time in the office (I am on holidays after all!) so we went to lunch for some typical Spanish fare - tortillia,
Plaza Mayor Madrid
Perhaps Madrid's and Spain's most famous plaza - it along with Sol is the most popular meeting place in Madrid jamon, calamares fritos, queso and some beer and wine. We finished with coffee before we went our separate ways and I jumped back on the bus to the city. It was nice to have lunch with friendly faces in a foreign city. By the way, public transport in Madrid is very cheap. The 30 minute bus ride cost 1 euro.
Tomorrow night Real Madrid play Juventus in the European Champions League here in Madrid and there is an outside chance that I will get a ticket. Fingers crossed my next blog will be reporting on this very important match. Before the game, however, I will be taking a day trip to Segovia - a historical town about an hour outside of Madrid.
At this point I'd like to give a dishonourable mention to Meson las Descalzas- a restaurant where I had lunch yesterday (Monday). The menu of the day was pasta (first course) and chicken with potatoes as a second course.
The pasta (penne) seemed to be glued together and drowning in what tasted like canned tomato soup. And the second course? I don’t really need to travel all the way to Spain to have quarter of
Museo Reina Sofia
This picture is taken from the 4th floor of the Museum. It is one of the greatest and most modern art galleries in the world. a bbq'd chicken and chips! The service was non existent; the attitude of staff was dismissive and if you ever visit Madrid do not go to Meson las Descalzas!
My faith in Spanish food was restored in the evening with a visit to Mercado de la Reina on the Gran Via - the croquetas were delicious, the vibe was fantastic and the service (with a smile) was brilliant.
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