Living in Madrid rather than the US, or the UK, means that you save a fortune in tips. I have just come back from NYC and felt robbed with the 20% tip culture (said as a true Brit)! In Europe, waiters and bar tenders get paid reasonably and so the overall set up is slightly different.
Spain does not have a tipping culture so here are a few recommendations:
When you drink at a bar, you don’t need to tip. However a euro or two is a nice gesture if the person has been friendly and/or you’ve been propping the bar up for a while
If you have table service, you should leave a small tip of a couple of euros
For light meals and menu del dia then leave a couple of euros up to
For a large meal in a reastaurnt leave about 10% if the service is good
I was excited to find Salsa in Madrid, through a friend of ours from IE. I have wanted to learn one of the latin dances for three years now, but something always came up with work, life etc. Now, though we don’t have as many obligations while my husband is in school, so we figured this was the perfect opportunity to learn.
Its called Salsea los Miercoles or Salsa on Wednesdays at a club called Shabay. (near metro Ruben Dario, within walking distance of IE) For eight euros you receive a group lesson, and one copa or drink or two non-alcoholic drinks. There is an intermediate lesson from 8:45-9:15pm and the beginner’s lesson is from 9:15pm-10:00pm. (with the entrance fee you can take both classes) Then, there is a social dance after wards until 3am.
The group class is great for beginner’s, like my husband and I who haven’t danced since our wedding eleven years ago. This is a great opportunity if you want to learn Salsa, because the regulars who come are here to dance, learn, or teach salsa, period. I also noticed that the bar doesn’t seem to make too much money on this night since its tough to be spinning around while you’re holding a glass in your hand, same thing goes for smoking. Be forewarned, ladies if you stay for the social dance after the lesson, other local Spanish men or madrileño will ask you to dance whether you came with a partner or not. I figure this just gives you a little extra practice. Check it out, its a lot of fun, and great way to work off those tapas! Check out their website www.salsea.net for what the salsa subculture is up to in Madrid from contests to classes to conventions.
Salsea los Miercoles Shabay, Calle Miguel Angel, 3 Madrid, España (metro, Ruben Dario or 10min walk from Iglesia)
I have just come back from a visit to the US and one of the first things I noticed, even before I got through customs at the the airport, was the smoke. And as I was walking into my apartment building at 7:30am, a gentleman opened the door, with cigarette in the other hand. In Madrid, it’s publically accepted to smoke.
I admit it, I am an ex-smoker so may be more liable to notice than some others. As the weather is so good for much of the year, smoking isn’t much of an issue as most people are outside. In winter or rainy days, you should know that smoking is allowed in most places. So if you smoke, this is a great city to be in.
Most of Europe has now banned smoking in public buildings so why has Spain not followed? Apparently a few years ago the Government insisted that bars and restaurants over a certian capacity should install ventilators to decrease the second hand smoke. When the Government then announced that smoking would be banned, the bars and restaurants rallied together to sue the government: either they should be re-imbursed for the ventilators, or they should be allowed to choose. Let’s face it, they knew business was decrease heavily and weren’t about to take the investment that they had made lightly.
I have heard verious rumous about when smoking will be banned but there doesn’t appear to be an official line on it just yet. Many restaurants now have non-smoking areas and it is possible to avoid smoky places but it’s something you should be aware of in advance.
And if you are a smoker, well, this is a great city for you. In large buildings (such as the afore mentioned airport) there is a smoking area almost as soon as you come off the plane.
A friend who is living in Madrid had heard of La Venecia so one night we decided to venture into the central Madrid streets to sample their sherry.
There is something about the atmosphere (not just the stale cigarette smoke) that makes you feel like you are stepping back one hundred years into a bona-fide local sherry bar. Old posters advertising sherry festivals around the world throughout the 1900′s. Behind half the bar are rows and rows of dusty sherry bottles. To the right of these are several large wooden casks with small taps that are used to fill the bottles that are ordered. The bar lady is young but has the air of a 60-year-old sour who has been in the trade too long with a sour expression and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She wouldn’t have looked amiss in a saloon in the wild west. But there again neither would the black cat jumping over the barrels and onto the bar.
You choose the sherry from a menu, deciding on a glass, half bottle or full bottle. prices start from under 2euros and we took a mid priced sherry at 12euros for the bottle. An empty bottle, that would be used in Paris as a carafe d’eau is then pulled from the shelf and filled from the appropriate cask. I love this place for the atmosphere as well as the sherry and will certainly be going back.
La Venecia: Calle de Echegaray 7, 28014 Madrid. +34 91 429 73 13
For a fairly decent portion of the world, the FIFA World Cup is anticipated for four years each time. Its a month of pure adrenaline and thrills.
This particular world cup has been a unique and very exciting experience for the Guiri Guide team. With partners who attend arguably the most diverse MBA program in the world, you can imagine the commotion and camaraderie around each game played. And then you can’t ignore the fact that we live in psychotic-for-football Spain, who’s team has a [very good] fighting chance to pull through and win it all.
We, as in Guiri Guide, have had our own thrills to combat as we gathered to watch USA go head to head with the England…and DRAW!! Perhaps for the sake of our partnership, its the best thing. Of course we’d all like to see our teams make it all the way through. Go USA! Go England!
As a reminder, if you have not yet found that perfect place to catch the World Cup games, this might assist you in selecting your favorite sports bar venue. One additional pub to add to this list, the Causeway, where we watched the England vs. USA match. It is a spacious pub with two floors in Chamberi a few blocks up from Castellana.
Today is the first game played by La Furia Rioja (The Spanish National team). The game is being played in Durban at 16:00 against Switzerland. My advice is get to a bar early to grab a prime viewing spot. ¡A POR ELLOS, OÉ!
If you can get your hands on it, grab the World Cup Special Edition of InMadrid off the shelves, so that you too can follow the tournament like a fanatic.
