Before I left for Madrid back in 2001, NYU sent a dossier with a bunch of apartments in it. I remember calling a friend who lived in Málaga to ask him which were the best areas, etc. He called a friend who lived in Madrid and he informed me of the best zonas (areas). I ticked my three choices and sent the dossier back to NYU.
I soon received my soon-to-be address in the mail, calle Doctor Esquerdo. Cool! Couldn’t wait – I can’t remember if it was my first choice or not but I knew that I was going to be living with 3 other Americans and that the apartment building was relatively new. NYU had suggested that we spend the first semester in the housing that they have agreements with the dueños (owners).
I landed in Madrid and my friend from Málaga met me in the airport. He told me we should take the metro as it was cheapest. He had already been to see my future apartment and knew the way. It was great to see him but seeing him somehow made me feel like I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach. I left NYC wanting a change and I wanted a smaller city, I also wanted to learn, feel and discover Madrid on my own.
Finally, we arrived at the apartment. It was lovely! The building was brick and brand new, very common in this neighborhood. As I was one of the first ones there and as I was going to be the mother hen, I decided that I needed to pick my room and to have my own bathroom. No one seemed to argue! After we shifted roommates – there were originally 2 grads and 2 undergrads in the apartment which NYU undoubtedly should know that undergrads and graduate students don’t always mix, especially not in a city that never sleeps where agendas would clash, ie, partying all night vs. being a ratón de la bibilioteca (a book worm). With that settled, we were 4 grad students living together on calle Doctor Esquerdo, metro stop Conde de Casal on the circular, gray line, had to figure out how to get to the Instituto Internacional on calle Miguel Angel. After trying to figure out the metro map, to travel to school everyday, we had to take the circular gray line 6 and then change to the green line 4, to finally arrive to the metro stop, Rubén Dario. If you have read a previous blog, you would know I absolutely can not stand either of those lines even though I did get to see the Pink Fairy on the circular.
So, my first apartment in Madrid on calle Doctor Esquerdo is located in the Zona Retiro, Barrio Estrella. This is quite a posh neighborhood as there are lots of trees, it is right near the Parque Retiro, there are lots of schools, there is a mix of old and new buildings, lots of women pushing baby stollers, there is no noise, but for a foreigner looking for adventure, the neighborhood really doesn’t offer much more, ie, there are no bars, cafés, not much movement, etc. I loved the apartment, I love my roommates who are still my dear friends, I loved living near the park, I loved that there was a supermarket and a gas station where I could buy Doritos and Magnum Dobles at 5:00 AM but not only was there nothing else, it had the most inconvenient metro line – no matter where you went, you had to get on the circular, gray metro line.
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| Instituto Internacional |
Us roommies knew that we were going to move out in December so my next task was to find a new apartment that didn’t involve the circular, gray metro line and was close to the Instituto Internacional, a lovely building that used to house the majority of the US universities and it is also the where I worked for ACCENT. Luck bestowed me and a NYU doctoral candidate told me I should take over her room when she headed back to NYC. WHOOPIE! I was going to move to calle Miguel Angel, right next to the Instituto Internacional where NYU is located and live with 2 gay Colombians, Juanca and Marino.
This barrio in Madrid is called Chamberí, it is also very posh. It is where a lot of wealthy people live, it is right near many government buildings, the British Institute, Museo Sorolla, the Paseo de Castellana (a long road that goes through the center of Madrid), the plaza de Chamberí and it is very quiet. The houses are old with beautiful windows, there are nice restaurants and a one night club in the area but it was VERY quiet area and on Sundays, it was almost impossible to have a coffee at a café without having to walk 15-20 minutes.
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| Plaza de Chamberi |
My roommates slept all day as they worked as waiters in restaurants in the night, so there was never any clashing. Marino never learned my name and always called me “Chiqui”, “Chiqui” is better than being called Sandra, but that is beside the point. Shortly after I moved in “Antoni” moved in, a gay American from “Iowa, not to be confused with Idaho, the potato state as Iowa is the corn state”.
I liked this apartment but I wasn’t terribly convinced about the neighborhood despite the fact that the neighborhood was charming and filled with beautiful old buildings, I wanted to see people, Madrileños and hear noise. Yes, living there was great, I literally walked a block and a half to classes and the library, which was very convenient, and to top it off, I didn’t have to take the circular gray line. My roommates were always cleaning and listening to great music. I, admittedly, spent a lot of time at Ismael’s apartment when he was working in Madrid (he lived in Rome when I met him) and Antoni will tell you that I was barely there, except to study during the day, take a siesta, do laundry, shower, have a chupito of limoncello with Antoni (I kept a bottle I had bought in Rome in the freezer) and clean my room. Antoni never understood why I cleaned it when there was really never anything to clean.
After I finished the first part of my masters, luck bestowed me again as after I was finished with classes and summer was over, Ismael was getting transferred to Israel and said I could live in his bachelor pad where we continue to live today. His bachelor pad has still not undergone a woman’s transformation but I have never been much into interior decorating as I like to be en la calle as they say in Spain, which my translation would be out and about. I remember when I lived on calle Doctor Esquerdo which is about a 15 minute walk to Ismael’s apartment and he asked me to go to Ikea with him. Ikea?, sure why not. I have only been back there 3 times since I don’t really like my furniture coming from a box and then you have to laboriously sweat your guts out to put it together.
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| View of all of Madrid from the Boobie Park in Vallecas |
Vallecas, even today, still considers itself a town. It is conveniently located on Metro line 1, just like the 1 indicates, was the first metro line in Madrid built under the reign of King Alfonso XIII and it opened in 1919. The original metro line didn’t extend down to Vallecas till 1923. Despite the fact that Vallecas is conveniently located on the blue line 1, not many madrileños will venture there. Better for the vallecanos.
Vicente, a neighbor who takes great pride in the fact that he lives in the only red building in Vallekas, says that his mom used to say that she was going to the city when she had to buy something in the center.
Vallecas, according to Boss 1, has had the highest increase in real estate prices out of any other neighborhood in Madrid, he says that most houses have gone up in value by 20-50%. I believe this is the case due to be the fact that Vallecas keeps improving. I remember when I moved to Vallecas back in 2002 or 2003, the neighborhood was a total dump, quite dodgy and every year it improves; more policemen patrol the area, entire buildings are constantly being demolished and reconstructed, and Madrid keeps expanding, making Vallecas part of the heart of Madrid.
For the most part, I don’t mind living in the ghetto. The people are generally very friendly and they are very Spanish and what I love most is that they have great pride in themselves and Vallecas. One of the oldest bars with vermut on tap is just around the corner, there is an old fashioned market right nearby, about 3 supermarkets, a post office almost in front of our apartment, la Cervecera where we celebrated our wedding, a gym and a posh pub with European beers and ciders that we have been going to for years. We have made friends with people from all necks of the woods. We are friends with politicians, doctors, the original drummer from Ska-P and his darling girl friend, funcionarios (civil servents), one of which is one of the first female metro conductors, IT specialists, importers, exporters, electricians, etc. I think it is the one place in the world where the postman actually sings me happy birthday every year, in Spanglish!
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| Aldomovar's Carmen |
With living in Vallecas comes Carmen who attributes to a big part of the noise. The building that houses Ismael’s apartment is a new construction; they tore down the old and built up the new. Ismael’s apartment is on the first floor and right next to Carmen. Carmen is the heart of the building; she is your typical Spanish lady, one that you would find in Pedro Aldomovar’s Volver.
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| Our corrala, aka the plaza de toros |
The building is built in a 15th century Spanish architectural style called corrala. A corrala is a building that has a big open space in the middle that typically no taller than 3 stories high. Back in the old days they would put on zarzuelas (Spanish operettas) or have a market. When a zarzuela preformed, it was for the people, some would even hang out their windows or over the balconies to see it. I love zarzuelas but not when it is a modern day saga of the neighbors shouting from one balcony to the next. I refer to the open space a plaza de toros. I see it as useless space as the neighbors won’t allow for tables, chairs, a bbq or anything of the sort but only the clothes lines. I would also state that the corrala allows for Carmen to let her grandkids run loose and make more noise than she does. The corrala also allows for all of the neighbors to gossip from one floor to the next, more noise. Most of the time, I can tell you who has achy joints, who is eating what for lunch, the temperature as the weather is a big conversation and if somebody needs garlic. I actually think that Carmen needs a hearing aid as unfortunately, she is ALWAYS the loudest. I can hear her talking through the walls. Carmen is so loud that I actually had a minor dispute with her. Carmen, despite her uncontrollable loudness, has a heart of gold. One day when I was sick, she noticed that I had gone into the apartment and hadn’t left for a couple of days. She knocks on the door and asks me if everything is ok. I was extremely sick and had lost my voice. She offered to make me food and said if I needed anything, I knew where to find her. Those were her quietest days ever. Not one peep! BUT once I was up and running, the volume went back to normal!
It is funny because I now have all of the noise and all of that people watching that I was craving for when I was a grad student but now I don’t want it. Madrid has a ton of zonas, barrios, and all have their charm. I love going to La Latina on Sundays but I would never want to live there. I love going out in Malasanya but I would never want to live there. I must say that I have grown found of Vallekas but I would give my ears to live in one of the quiet neighborhoods I resided in before but then again, perhaps in a quiet neighborhood nobody would sing me happy birthday or knock on my door when I am sick. Whatever the hood, Madrid is a fascinating city.
