Dawn

Dawn

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Thoughts from Madrid: 15.1.19

Advice for drivers in Madrid:-
1. Your satnav/GPS won't work once you get into the M30 tunnel. As there are numerous exits/offshoots, best to know your exact route in advance.
2. If you park in a very central carpark, this could well cost you more than your lodging. I paid 35 euros for less than 24 hours.
3. According to El País, these are the requirements for driving in the heart of the city:-
1. Your car should be a 300,000 euro Tesla, with all the extras.
2. You have to put 5ko of fresh vegetables in the boot.
3. The car must be on the electoral list of Ahora Madrid.
4. Your car has to be completely empty. No driver or passengers, with the autopilot activated.
5. Your car must display the ECO_67.U label and 2 fotos of the national football team on the windscreen.

A correction: I did clock 4 beanies among the hundreds of passing heads on the way back from my coffee yesterday morning. And my daughter's partner tells me he has 3, of different colours.

Last night I was able to do something I hadn't enjoyed for more than 3 months - pop into a bar for a reasonably priced glass of wine. And a free tapa. It felt very good.

The room in which my daughter now resides with her beautiful baby is excellent. And the restaurant of the (public) hospital offers a very decent menu del dia for only 7 euros 50. But, as is too often the case in Spain, the toilets let the place down.

Finally . . . I've mentioned a couple of times, at least, how much Oporto has changed in the 20 years I've been visiting it. Here's a very apt article, sent to me by a friend who also knows the city well.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/marta-vidal/gentrification-in-porto-will-city-turn-into-hotel

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