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A letter to my friend going to Madrid for the first time

Amigo mío,

So, maybe it’s bad to start with the negative things, but try to avoid la Puerta del Sol which is the most central place in the city full of all the crazy stuff you can only imagine: gold sellers-buyers, mimos, prostitutes, gypsies, strikes. There you can see the symbol of Madrid – el oso y el madroño (the bear with the wild strawberry tree), so just go there to take a look around and just run away as quick as you can from that place! It’s the worst place in Madrid, for sure.

Enjoy the walks by Gran Via, and once you are there (sic! a secret tip!) find Hotel Vincci, near the Cinema Capitol (where the vagabond lives in a box at the entrance), enter the lift and go up to the ninth floor. There, on the right you’ll see a transparent door, enter it and enjoy the beautiful view. But don't tell anybody about our little secret.

Don’t forget to visit the museum Reina Sofia, it has a huge collection of the surrealist works of the 20th century (Dali, Miro, etc.) and don’t miss Guernica – the famous picture by Picasso. You also can go to Prado, but for me Reina Sofia is much better. Yesterday I went to the Sea Museum (Museo Naval) with my dad and it was magnificent as well. It’s near Plaza de Cibeles (metro Banco de España), where the council is situated.

Frankly speaking, you are going to Madrid in a really hard time, because it’s not easy to resist the heat of Madrid in summer. The only place we could escape was the park Retiro, there you can enjoy the calmness and the nature, sitting under one of the huge trees and having some cold water and fruits.

It’s obligatory to go to Mercado San-Miguel (it’s situated pretty next to the Plaza Mayor – another touristic place in Madrid that you have to see once and just go away running). It’s always full of people, especially tourists, but it’s an absolute “must”. Just go there, take some Vermut del grifo with the olives del Campo Real and you will taste Madrid as I feel it. There you can also try different tapas that are all truly delicious.

When it’s evening (not too late but when it’s getting dark) and you are in a mood to take a walk, go by Palacio Real and Sta Almudena Church, enter the Sabatini gardens (that are all close to each other) and then go to Templo de Debod to enjoy the beautiful panoramic view on the night city. There you will probably see a lot of young people sitting on the ground and drinking – it’s called botellón and it’s very typical for Madrid (and Spain), maybe, you could even join them, why not!? Also, a typical place for botellón in Madrid is Plaza de España.

One of my favorite places in Madrid is Calle Fuencarral where the gay part of the city (Chueca) begins, there you will see a lot of nice bars and shops. On a hot day as soon as you see a yougurtery “llaollao” try Sanum with three fruits and chocolate topping, it’s just awesome and very refreshing!

If you would like to try some good mexican food, go to the mexican restaurant “La barriga llena” or “Panza es el primero” and don’t miss your chance to try delicious margaritas they serve there. It’s situated in Chueca near Mercado San-Anton (which is another must see, you just have to go up to the roof and have a drink by there).

And when you are in Madrid, try the awesome gin tonics, served in the bars in Chueca and Malasaña.

I will really miss all that cool things I’ve describred. Hope you will have a nice time in Madrid as I did.

Un beso,

Lilit.

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What I've learned by my 24?

Every moment is to be lived and enjoyed. Every dream is to be fulfiled. No tomorrows. No next years. Now, right now. Use all the chances and believe in what you do.

No regrets, no plans for the past.

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One can resist the invasion of an army but one cannot resist the invasion of ideas. Victor Hugo

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Are we to paint what's on the face, what's inside the face, or what's behind it? Pablo Picasso

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Rome has not seen a modern building in more than half a century. It is a city frozen in time. Richard Meier

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I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am. 

Gustave Eiffel

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In Paris, one is always reminded of being a foreigner. If you park your car wrong, it is not the fact that it's on the sidewalk that matters, but the fact that you speak with an accent. Roman Polanski

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I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street. W. H. Auden

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We need enormous pockets, pockets big enough for our families and our friends, and even the people who aren't on our lists, people we've never met but still want to protect. We need pockets for boroughs and for cities, a pocket that could hold the universe.” Jonathan Safran Foer

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The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot. Salvador Dali

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And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. William Shakespeare

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I'm happy to report that my inner child is still ageless. James Broughton

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There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton

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In a gentle way, you can shake the world. 

Mahatma Gandhi

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Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.

Tim Duncan

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Earth laughs in flowers. 

David LaChapelle

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Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway. Mary Kay Ash