The ultimate escape in Madrid is underground. More precisely, at Medina Mayrit. At these fantasy baths inspired by Madrid’s brief Arab influence, warm, hot, and cold pools are housed in underground caverns illuminated by flickering candles and ambient music. Even the carefully decorated changing rooms get into the act, and in the relaxation room there is sweet mint tea on tap. The baths are a soothing indulgence for both mind and body; even though I love Madrid, once in Medina Mayrit I forget that I’m in Madrid at all and not somewhere far, far away.
Medina Mayrit
Calle Atocha, 14
Metro: Sol
Madrid, Spain
(Photo: Medina Mayrit)
Forget pole dancing. The most recent phenomenon in dance comes from India’s movie industry of over-the-top musicals. As seen on the big screen, Bollywood dance is a mix of classical Indian styles like Bharatanatyam and Kathak with hip hop and modern dance. The result is a fun combination taught in dance studios like Madrid’s Centro Club Masala. Where Spain meets Mumbai.
There posters of richly dressed Indian stars line the blood red walls. Ubiquitous bindis and intricate cholis, along with other Indian clothing and jewelry for sale, are set out on display. Exotic-looking lamps, pillows, and a precarious silver staircase further set the stage of the dance center’s entryway.
Downstairs the Saturday workshop in the small studio begins with a short introduction to the concept and a bindi placed over the third eye of each of the nine participants. “To get us in the right mood,” explains the teacher, her forearms covered in bangles and each ankle with a band of small bells.
Over the course of the class we laugh and sweat and learn dance moves that have us screwing in light bulbs, picking fruit, grinding, threshing, putting on makeup, sewing clothes, and removing the evil eye, along with hip gyrating and a couple woe-is-me and how-lovestruck-am-I poses. The music is pure Bollywood and ranges from fast and furious to verses ideal for dramatic meandering, but the effect is highly addictive.
Centro Club Masala
Calle Ponciano, 4
Metro: Plaza de España
Madrid, Spain
There’s nothing secret about La Mallorquina. It’s stood in the Puerta del Sol – the dead center of the city and Madrid’s busiest confluence of streets – since the late 1800’s. It isn’t fancy and you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a 1950’s time warp, but damn do they have good chocolate croissants.
Any day of the week there’s a crowd waiting to order at the glass counters: mature women buying for their afternoon merienda, tourists following their nose or their guidebooks, and madrileños of all stripes stopping in for a sweet snack. And since they’re accustomed to the influx, the shop assistants are rather efficient at getting you out the door with your hands full of pastry.
Then as the seasons change, La Mallorquina offers traditional treats the way they’ve done for years without seeming to change at all: there are festive Roscón de Reyes cakes filled with cream, sweet French toast torrijas dripping with sugar syrup, the curiously-named “saints’ bones” made with marzipan…
Though the pastry shop’s wares seem to disappear in the blink of an eye, La Mallorquina is one Madrid institution destined to withstand the test of time.
La Mallorquina
Puerta del Sol, 8
Metro: Sol
Madrid, Spain
