29.07.16 — Travel

Izzy in Madrid

Just as my time here in the beautiful city of Madrid comes to an end it was time for one last visit, and so after a tiny disaster with a pair of British and Danish phone numbers in the middle of Spain, I was reunited with Izzy!

Reunion calls for cocktails

First up we paid the studio a visit, and then it was time to head to my flat so Iz could dump her stuff, after having flown in from visiting Luisa in Berlin – we’ve become a right globetrotting bunch recently! Once cooled off in the air conditioning, we headed back into the heat of the town and some tinto de verano, tapas, and then an early night.

Snacktime in the studio

The next day I had to head back to work and so Iz headed out on a couple of tours of the city, after which we headed straight home so she could cool off after a day on her feet in 37° heat. Later on we headed out into my new local area and found a lovely square of bars, where we grabbed the cocktails you can see above. Once again we spent the whole evening lounging around and catching up – really embracing the Spanish speed of life!

My new local

During the weekend we explored the city a little more, stopping as often as possible to tapear (have tapas) and munch on the local food. We ended up visiting a few shops such as my favorite little bookshop Panta Rhei, where I saw that the latest edition of the Matador magazine, Matador Olímpico, that I worked on was on display!

Matador in all it's huge golden glory

On Saturday morning we headed to a little colorful bar in my new neighborhood of Malasaña, where we discovered the amazing brunch menu and the hidden beach that they had downstairs. Naturally we both grabbed a slap-up meal to keep us on our toes throughout the day, and then went out exploring once more…

Brunch in Malasaña
Beach, anyone?

To explore a little of Madrid’s design scene, we hopped on the Metro down to the Matadero, and paid the design centre and a new art exhibition a visit. Before a snoop around the Type Director’s Club exhibition, we paused for a while in the (selfi) exhibition, an eerily dark room which was once the cold store room of the slaughterhouse – and naturally took a selfie in a spotlight placed before a huge mirror.

Selfie in the slaughterhouse

After another lovely evening having a few beers and some seafood near my flat, it was somehow Sunday and Izzy’s final day in the city. We headed into the city and had a relaxed stroll around before the real heat hit, and then wound up in La Central, a lovely book and coffee shop, where we stopped for a while and had one of the biggest and most delicious brunches I have ever had!

All too soon though it was time to head back to the airport with Iz, but before we headed off there was time for one last stop to grab a bunch of churros with chocolate – a Madrid staple if ever there was one!

Churros!

With Iz gone and my flat sorted into four piles of stuff (take home, bin, leave in flat, and leave at work), I write this on my last day of working here in the marvelous Erretres Studio. It feels like only yesterday that I got the news, and then got all excited and packing up to move out here, and the half a year I have spent gallivanting around the Spanish capital have been second to none. Flying back to Manchester tomorrow will be very much bittersweet – I am heartbroken to be leaving this beautiful city and amazing set of people behind, but I’m also looking forward to seeing everyone back at home, uni, and work again.

I will be back next week to bring updates of the adjustment back to English life – goodbye 4pm siesta – and so until then I bid you all and this beautiful place a hearty hasta luego