Pinta en Copas

Pinta en Copas is a pottery establishment, a place to decorate all type of utensils such as cups, plates, tiles and little figurines. Not only is a good way to have fun or be with friends, but it is a place where you can also create a nice handmade present for a good price. It is great to see how this shop keeps going though the years because it is unique.

This morning we took the metro and went to Tribunal, the nearest station to the shop, which is one of the oldest stations in Madrid. You could easily notice it. It isn't the best looking metro station that you may have seen, it is like a maze. After going up 5 levels of stairs, we got to the wonderful Malasaña hood; a place full of different people, a modern crowd.  

After a two-minute-walk wearrived at the shop. We were surprised by the place itself, but above all, by the decoration,it was sick. All the tiles surrounding the mirrors had been done by hand, and there were some  hard-worked designs. We were attended by the lady who carries the business, who explained us the process. It looked simple - you get your cup and paint it - but is not that simple. She gave us very particular explanations about all the working of the brushes and the tools. Just then, I thought that such a good ellaborated shop would be very popular, but she said that my thinking was wrong, and that the place was usually packed only about three days a year (rainy winter Saturdays).

This is a problem. Lots of little shops like this one are having trouble to pay the shop itself, and the economic crisis is being very harmful to this type of business. We should have in mind that the best way of getting out of this situation is the opposite to what we are doing right now. We should spend and invest in our commerce. If not, we aren't going anywhere. However this may be something we can't ask everyone to do given the situation we are.

All in all, the experience was excellent. We felt comfortable during the entire visit and it wasn't hard at all to design the cups. We were also served a cup of cofee while we were working on our projects, and the results were great, however now we are waiting for the oven to get them even better. It was a great visit if you are trying to have a good time or to make a good present or souvenir.

                                                                                             By J.M.

Pinta en Copas
How to get there
  

Tourists in Madrid

Last Wednesday we went to the Royal Palace to ask some questions to foreigner that were visiting Madrid.

At first it was a little shameful, but after a few questions it was great.We ask them about 10 things that make Spain very popular (5 of them were related with food and the other 5 were Spanish traditions). They had to say how much they like these things by rating them from 1 to 5, being 1 the worst and 5 the best. 

We interviewed 15 people of  diferents countries.

                                                
                                               British       (2)

                                               French       (1)

                                               Argentina  (2)

                                               Usa            (2)

                                               Philipines  (1)

                                               Brazil        (1)

                                               Australia   (1)

                                               S.Corea     (1)

                                               China        (4)

They all had different opinions but the majority of them had in common that Spain has a lot of good things like the beaches, the wine... But they also shared that most of them didn't like bullfigths.

When we came back to class we put all the data in common. We ordered the information and compared the results.

Beaches are the favourite place for tourists visiting Spain because they like the Spannish sun. All the people from all the countries like the beach. They  think  that is one of the best thing things. That is the reason because a lot of people from other countries come to spain.

Terrazas are another place foreigners love. They are favourites for French, Argentina, USA, Brazil, South Korea and China.

Tapas is greatly appreciated by tourists with a total of points of 4 (1-5). The people that like tapas the most come from Argentina, Philipines, Brazil and Australia; and those who like it the least come from France and South Korea.

Tortilla has also obtained 4 out of 5 points. The highest score comes from France, Philipines, Brazil and Australia. And the lowest score comes from Argentina, with 2 points out of 5.

Paella is an example of Spanish meal for the world but it doesn't look very appreciated.

Some people thought that it is salty. In our list of ten traditions and food in Spain it obtained the fifth best mark with an average puntuation of 4.2 out of 5. But it's because of our neighbours the Europe why it doesn't have a higher score. British punctuated it with a 3.5 and French with 2 out of 5. Countries that liked it the best were USA, Argentina, Brazil and Australia.

Jamon Serrano is the nicest one in our list but it obtained the 7th place with a total mark of 3.6. As Spanish we think it should be more valorated but it is because Americans and French that it has obtained this low mark. 

Bullfighting is a popular activity in Spain but people that visit the country don't like it too much. Out of ten things or traditions of Spanish culture, it was the least liked however there are some countries that really like it such asAustralia and South Korea. People think that it is a cruel activity because not only the bull is killed but also tortured, however they don't also know the good life bulls have before going into the bullfighting ring. 

To finish our interviews, we asked about wine. Tourists consider it a very popular drink. It is ranked in the third place but there are some people that don't  like it such as French people.

 

By S.Z.

How to get there

Lavapies

Today we started the day early and head to Lavapies neighbourhood at 9:30am. The first impression that we had was that it seemed like we were in a different country. There were lots of restaurants with Indian and Arabic food, and also some stores with Arabic names.

Lavapies was a neighborhood were Jewish people lived before they were kicked out of Spain in 1492. It seems that the name of Lavapies could come from a fountain in the square, which was the ritual washing of the feet before going to the temple. After the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, the church of San Lorenzo was built in place of the old synagogue. From that moment, and until the eighties / nineties, Lavapies became an extremely popular neighborhood for workers,  quite decadent. It revived precisely when a new generation of immigrants and artists began to occupy the old abandoned houses to make new apartments Madrid. A new impulse of life quickly perked up this part of town, turning it into a young center of nightlife, surely with a very authentic taste of street life.

After seeing the square, we head to San Fernando Market which is located where the "Escuelas Pías" used to be. Years ago it was a traditional market but like many others sales began to fall. In 2005 the city hall proposed a method of remodeling that ultimately was not carried out until 2007. 

In the past years the market has opened may shops and it looks like it's doing financially fine. Locals do their grocery shopping here but some shops have also attracted a different target of people. There is a particular shop that is very rare. It's called Tripe Of Books (Casquería in Spanish). But here you can't buy tripe but books. The second thing that will catch your eye is that books are priced by their weight. They use a scale to see how heavy the book you like is, and then do a simple mathematical equation: ten euros per kilo.  

The only let down is that you won't find many current titles since all the books are second hand, and that for children and teenagers there aren't many books, however they are all in very good condition.

 

After our visit to the market, where we enjoyed our morning snack, we went to the School Of Pious Church. This church is characterized by currently being used as a library, where people can study, check books or use the computers located at the entrance. The tabernacle area is a favourite for university students when preparing for exams. 

After enjoying the comfortable silence of the library, we went up to the rooftop to have a coke and enjoy the beautiful views of Lavapies, and especially the building that's located right in front of the library, a typical corrala that is divided by the middle so people can have an idea of what apartments were like in the past.

By M.B.

San Fernando Market
Gau Café
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The Irish Rover

Today was the last day for some of our classmates so we decided to have a little celebration and we went to the Irish Rover.

The Irish Rover is a cafe bar with the theme of an Irish bar. Inside can find all kinds of games, from darts to pool tables.

It also has a nice terrace outside with tables and chairs, and a peculiar view of Madrid's finantial district. Every Friday night, they have live music and parties.

Inside, there is also a small lounge where you can read, play cards and more. We took advantage and played Parcheesi and chess, ordered some nachos with cheese and cokes... We had a fun time!!!!!!

           
  Food at the Irish Rover

In the belly is where you will first love Tex-Mex cuisine. It's full of flavors, colors and smells, and the dishes are always very creative. Come and enjoy a delicious meal in a great atmosphere. We only tasted the nachos, but they were incredible!!!!

               

By M.B.

The Irish Rover

How to get there

Salvador Dali

Our group of students found the visit to Reina Sofia Museum quite likeable. We were first impressed by the dimension of the museum- which is a great architectural piece- as well as the modernity of the construction. We weren’t actually having high spectations about the museum (because of the fact that we are teenagers and it’s not a very attractive option) but the way it’s focussed on visitors made us change our point of view.

As we got in the museum, we could see quite a lot of turists but not a long queue. How could this be possible? Just then, we saw a desk with 8 workers ready to get the tickets. This fact, joined with the good organization of the museum, was quite impresive. The beggining of the visit was giving us quite high spectations, but we hadn’t seen yet the main reason we came here, Dali’s collection.

And my first question as I got in the room was: How could I be so stupid to think this was going to be boring? I entered and I was astonished. Not just by the room, which can be similar to any other museum one, but by the exhbition. What a fantastic artist Dali was. Even his smallest paintings had something special. We also apreciated that in every single room there was a film talking about him and his life. His wide range of stules made us think that this excellent exhibition was never going to finish. And that’s maybe the worst thing. It can get a bit long and there aren't any benches to sit and admire the pieces.

But the best moment was when we got to his most famous painting, The Persitance of Memory. There was a security woman only for that small painting. We didn’t have much time to observe it, but the little time we had, was absolutely well worth it. What a nice painting he created.

As a result of all this, we can say that Dali’s exhibition with its 5 rooms, is one of the best entertaiment events we have in Madrid now-a-days. We were really delighted with the visit and we recommend everyone to see it as well. 

                                                                                                             
  By J.M.

Reina Sofia Museum

How to get there

Essential Madrid

Today we went to visit the center of Madrid. To get there we caught the metro from Nuevos Ministerios to Sol. It took us a little more time than we expected because Line 1 was under construction, so we had to walk very fast to make it on time. At noon we arrived to the Main Square (Plaza Mayor) and there was the guide. He gave us headphones to listen to him and not miss a word he said about "Madrid de los Austrias" and "La Latina" neighbourhoods.

 

We walked down "Ciudad Rodrigo" door, where the guide pointed at a bar whose façade was made of wood. He said that all the bars and restaurants that we saw like that one and were painted of a red color, meant that wine was sold inside. After it we stopped at Sant Michael's Market (Mercado de San Miguel). It was built in 1916 to resemble Les Halles Market of Paris, first building made of iron and glass at the Universal Exhibition held in France. 

After that we continued our walk towards "Plaza de Oriente" but we made a short stop at Ramales. It is a square where the famous painter Velazquez was thought to be burried. However after the demolition of the church, his remains are missing. To conmemorate the place, there is a statue with his name on it. 

A few steps more and we made it to the Royal Palace. A building that resembles another European building: The Palace of the Austrias. On top of the main entrance there are statues of some of the first kings of Spain. The rest of them were located in a boulevard in front of it, surrounding the statue of Philip IV riding a horse. This statue is very famous because it was the first statue of a horse with the front legs up in the air. It was done after a painting done by Velazquez.   

 

After that we continued with our fieldtrip. We saw the Cathedral of Almudena, made in a neogothic style except for the façade, which was a copy of the building in front of it. This particular cathedral took 100 years to be built because of the several wars that took place in Spain at that time. 

Then we crossed Segovia's bridge and enjoyed some traditional Spanish music "chotis", and learnt that it actually comes from the Bohemian region. 

After resting for a bit we headed into La Latina neighbourhood and visited Saint Andrews' Chucrh and Saint Peter the Old Church. They are both famous for different reasons. The first one is where Saint Isidro did one of his 400 miracles, and the second one is the home of one of the most followed images of Jesus in Madrid, "Jesus the Poor".

And finally we went to Villa Square, where the city hall was located for many years before it was moved to Cibeles Palace in 2007.

It was a rich morning walking down the streets of Madrid!                   

By S. Z

How to get there

Essential Madrid

Cibeles Palace

Today we visited Cibeles Palace, better known as the old Communications Palace or the main post office.

To get there we took the metro in Nuevos Ministerios and got off at Banco de España. Usually when we go to places like this we have to buy tickets, but today the entrance to the building was free. We only waited for 15 minutes at the main hall and then took the elevator up to the 6th floor. But that wasn't all. There we had to take the stairs for another three floors. 

Up in the rooftop we took lots of pictures and then returned to the inside waiting area because it was really sunny and hot. 

When we went downstairs, we interviewed some tourists that were passing by the square. At first it was a little hard so we paired up and tried to aproach people by asking them if we could help them or just introducing ourselves. We asked them about the purpose of their trip, what they liked about Madrid, where they came from... Here you can see some of my classmates taking with an Englishman.

And when each of us talked with at least two people, we took the metro and went back to school. 

By R.M.

Cibeles Palace
 How to get there