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

It’s that time of year again and Marcha Zombi Madrid 2010 (MZM’10) is just around the corner.

What: A horde of hungry zombies will take to the streets of downtown Madrid before ending the ferocious, yet orderly, parade for some old-fashioned Goth clubbing.
When: Febuary 27, 2010.
Where: The march will start at 19:00 at the Zombie Tree at Avenida Felipe II, 24-26 (Metro Goya) and will end at 21:00 at Plaza del Carmen (Metro Gran Vía or Sol). 666 Gothic Club (at Sala Wind) will then be invaded by zombies from 21:00 to 1:00.

Prepare to be infected!

More info (in Spanish)

There’s something undeniably attractive about gathering with a bunch of strangers who are in on the same secret as you in order to pummel each other with bed pillows in a highly public place until you’re too tired to go on swinging or you’ve simply taken one too many shots to the face. Nothing says I love you, or phooey on Valentine’s Day, I suppose, like a good Pillow Fight Club on the 14th of February.

Though the participants in this year’s Madrid edition dutifully concealed their pillows in shopping bags, backpacks, or even a winter coat for a Quasimodo effect, there was nothing sly about this group. Gleeful was the word I’d choose. But hell, this was Carnival weekend still, after all.

While some Retiro Park goers delighted in a pleasure row on the small lake, the children’s entertainers, or a traditional Sunday walk, about a hundred people (I’d estimate) showed up for the mass melee at the foot of the Statue of the Fallen Angel – a Romantic rendering of the Devil. The pillow fighters – me included – went about their business with child-like enthusiasm and single-minded determination while surrounded by an outer ring of camera wielders and amused passers-by.

When I had had enough and walked away, I could hear the delighted shrieks for a good distance still.

How’s that for love in the air?

Madrid, Spain

Who said classic had to be outdated? At Olé Lola the sophistication of a chic chillout bar is firmly wedded to time-honored Spanish fare and symbolism.

Portraits inspired by traditional Spanish iconography line the walls but sport a decidedly modern turn: bullfighters with tattoos, picaresque female mourners in black lace mantillas, and other inhabitants of this John Galliano-in-Spain aesthetic stare down at you like family portraits gone deliciously wrong.

An extensive cocktails list is served alongside tapas as traditional as scrambled eggs with mushrooms or as contemporary as prawns marinated with ginger and raspberry liqueur. And since we are in Madrid, one of the desserts features madroño fruit (as in the bear and the madroño shrub from Madrid’s city seal).

The place is dimly lit, bathed in shadows, and I think a good place to bring a date, though most people seem to bring their friends for a relaxed cocktail. I would say Olé Lola’s statement of intentions – ‘Tasca & Chill’ – altogether hits the mark. Olé!

Calle San Mateo, 28
Metro: Tribunal
Madrid, Spain

I find that no matter how much of a city person you are, an occasional weekend getaway for nothing but rest and relaxation can be just what the doctor ordered.

With the old town enclosed by medieval stone walls, surrounded by a small river and a forested valley, Buitrago del Lozoya is less than a couple hours’ drive from Madrid, but it feels like a whole world away.

The castle is closed and one section of the old walls is being restored, but you can sit on the rocks by the river and listen to the water, traipse along the other part of the old walls, sit in the main square and watch the town go by, or enjoy your hotel.

As I soon found, La Beltraneja Hotel Rural doesn’t skimp on the charm. Each room has been decorated according to a different theme and elegantly appointed with lots of extras. We gleefully evaluated each room before deciding on the Arab-inspired room, Al Rabad. But we had to make a concerted effort to drag ourselves out of the hotel; otherwise we would have happily spent the entire battery-recharging trip lying in a nest of pillows, in the shower, or eating.

Now back to Madrid!

Buitrago del Lozoya
Buses from Madrid to Buitrago del Lozoya leave from Plaza de Castilla

La Beltraneja Hotel Rural
Calle del Arco, 10
28730 Buitrago del Lozoya (Madrid), Spain

A short stroll around the Mercado de San Miguel is a veritable buffet of ‘food porn’ – in an historic 1916 market with ironwork in the style of Les Halles in Paris. After the market got a facelift and reopened in 2009 with a new lease on life as a foodie destination in central Madrid, this market (practically hidden in plain sight, I’m sure you’d agree) has regained relevance once again.

There you can find fresh cheeses, olives, herbs, bread, and cakes, among other delectables. Buy fish and fruit. Participate in wine tastings. Savor hot and cold tapas. Or even Peruvian Pisco sours, fruit lassis, and fresh pasta. A place where it seems food is as much art as it is an occasion.

Many of Spain’s markets de toda la vida are in poor health as today’s supermarkets offer such convenience, but transforming itself into a destination for food entertainment as well as quality sustenance seems to be a winning combination for this market.

Mercado de San Miguel
Plaza de San Miguel (near Calle Mayor west of the Puerta del Sol and just outside the Plaza Mayor)
Metro: Sol
Madrid, Spain