Cañas, tapas, and... more tapas

Needless to say, I slept in today. After waking up at 11, Justine and I decided to go walking around, with the goal of deciding which neighborhood I want to live in. Her roommate's sister Cristina invited us to go for apertivos with her and her friends at around 2 PM, so clearly we said yes. As a newcomer to Madrid, any time I have the opportunity to hang out with someone who knows what they're doing, I'm in. Fast forward to 2 PM, bar #1, party of 5. We sat around a keg where we put our little cervezas (literally miniature Amstels) and Cristina's friend's boyfriend paid for the round. Bar etiquette seems to be top notch in that respect, but of course I already knew the 'buying in rounds' system from Barcelona. Gotta love it, and not only because it causes you to drink more in general. 

We met up with 2 more of their friends (another couple) in the street, and rushed on over to bar #2, because apparently we were already late for our meeting with 2 more friends. We walk into a newly refurbished mercado that had a rooftop lounge, but unfortunately there was a line, and Spaniards seem less inclined to wait for something like that than we do. On to the next! We're suddenly using a pick-them-as-you-see-them strategy for bar choosing, and that's A-okay with me. We go to bars #3 and #4 over the next couple of hours, party of 9, cerveza a-flowin'. And tapas. So many tapas. Calamari, croquetas, patatas, russian salad (?), chips, bread, chorizo, and (clearly) an array of jamón to munch on. Split between 9 it wasn't as much as it sounds, but still. 

It's been four hours, and although it's clear the party was going to continue, Justine and I left to go see some pisos I had arranged for. They were awful. When I say awful, I mean it. They were in Malasaña, which is a neighborhood I'd want to live in, but that was about the only good thing. The rooms were literally crawl spaces 3 or 4 feet tall, built above the living room and only accessible via some rickety ladder-like stairs. Not right. And no window. Even if I was short, that's gotta be a fire hazard. At the very least it's a claustrophobia hazard.

Justine and I later went to Isla de Tesoro, or "Treasure Island" restaurant, una 'cocina sana'. Vegetarian! Surprisingly not as unheard of as you'd think. Highlights were an awesome salad with tomato, goat (supposedly) cheese, onions and dates, AND the starter they gave us which was hot chick peas basically with aioli sauce on it and wheat bread. I would use this blog to talk about food. 

Hasta ahora, amigos.