Ola mi amigos y amigas =)
On our 3rd evening in Madrid, which was after a long day of skyline sightseeing on a bus, cafe terracing and some serious shopping, we went back to our cosy hotel room, a bit tired from the day’s activities. A quick late afternoon nappy time is in order. We need to recharge a bit before hitting Madrid nightlife =)
Our plan for the evening was to go to Plaza Santa Ana, visit a Tablao and watch a Flamenco show while perhaps having dinner. It is our last night in Madrid so we thought an enjoyable, fun and local entertainment would be great for proper culmination.
We actually saw Plaza Santa Ana square on our first night in the city, but we didn’t stay here longer, but, we promised ourselves to come back another night and have light dinner at the square. Plaza Santa Ana is probably the liveliest square in Madrid. I just love the lights, the vibe of the place, the noise and the whole ambience. This square is definitely a must place to visit; great to hang out for drinks and food during the day and night.
So after our quick very-much-needed nap, we dressed up for the night. We have both decided to wear the sexy high heels we bought earlier and off we strutted the direction of Plaza Santa Ana, just a block away from our hotel. We already knew where to go. There is this cool looking establishment on the corner of the square offering flamenco shows, the Tablao Flamenco Villa Rosa.
As we were approaching the corner street from the restaurant, this is the Calle Nunez de Arce, we were suddenly mobbed by a deluge of ‘proppers’ aka touts. They were all over our faces and hair and my new sexy high heels. It was not normal at all. We felt harassed? Somewhat vilified? We have no words but thought only of ESCAPE.
Proppers aka touts are people, usually younger ones, hired by restaurant and entertainment establishments to get people in. They are very popular in warm holiday destination countries (e.g,, Spain, Greece, Portugal). If there is one thing I utterly dislike whilst on holiday, that would be aggressive touts. Get out of my way.
Needless to say, we were mad. We could not even walk half a meter forward without being harassed by these people. Some of the male touts were not only aggressive, they were even flipping sexual innuendos to us. Feeling macho, eh? We were so turned off that we decided to leave that corner of the street straight to the main terrace on the square.
I was a bit sad because we really wanted to see a flamenco dance show during dinner, but helaas, our mood have been dampened and my sanity challenged that we just want to get out there and go somewhere else.
It was, still, a good decision because the terraces on Plaza Santa Ana welcomed us well with the lovely vibe and ambience.
The square was very busy and it was a task to find an available table. Luckily, after waiting for just a few minutes, we saw a couple just leaving and so we immediately grabbed their table before anyone else would.
We were really not that hungry so we ordered something to share between the two of us. A plate of Spanish chorizos, some pickled gherkins and silver onions and a bit of bread to go with our Rioja. This evening turned out to be a very nice and relaxing evening with lots of happy and warm conversations about the trip. The atmosphere was really lovely. We even managed to forget the tout encounter we had earlier.
I remember an ex-colleague from Spain who refused to be called Spanish because she is from Catalonia, told me that she finds it funny when tourists visiting Madrid watch flamenco shows. She insisted that flamencos do not really exist in Madrid, they are shows for the gullible tourists. To see the real flamenco, one has to go south to Andalucia.
Hmm, we might have just done the right thing!
And so we people watched, enjoyed the lights of Teatro Espanol and the buildings surrounding the plaza, sipped our Riojas and nibbled on our Spanish chorizos. We’ve got this covered. Just right for our last night in town.
Travel Period: June 2011
Destination: Madrid, Spain
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)