Mad Cool 2017 + Exploring Madrid

Madrid.

What can be said that hasn't already?  A beautiful capital made as the playground of young and old alike. My time there was made extra special by the fact we'd gone there to experience Mad Cool Festival too, a new indie festival with an incredible line up for a second year, and the chilled out atmosphere only mainland Europe can provide. More about that later though.

Before Mad Cool started we had 2 full days to explore and settle in Madrid. The first thing we noticed when we arrived was just how friendly the Madrilenians are. As we arrived we attempted to manoeuvre the Metro, a kind man gave us his tickets that had a day left on them, and when we went to try a Mahou - beer famous for being brewed in Madrid - the guy charged us a lower price for a larger cup. If it wasn't the kind people, then it was the cheap alcohol that already had me planning my next trip there. 

A random backstreet I feel fits the aesthetic

We stayed in a very central Airbnb, and found that getting to and from the centre was easy as a result of this. The first day we travelled to Sol, and decided to go bar hopping. We were sidetracked, though, by the Zara and affiliate shops whose deals were so good, as a Spanish owned company and the sales were on, meaning we couldn't resist. That evening we went for Paella at Rosi la loca, having been recommended by our host's room mate. The Paella was incredible, and the staff were amazing at responding to all our weird requests. I would recommend anyone to try it, only try not be exhausted from a 6am flight, when you do go, as I feel that tainted our enjoyment a little bit. That evening we decided to go on a walk to explore the area of our accommodation. We came across a small bar that was  open for another hour, ordered some more Mahou, and made friends with some locals again who recommended we checked out Retira Park, a little bit further up the street. And the following day, we did exactly that. 

The Paella and Sangria @ Rosi La Loca

In a bid to save money we began the day by going to the local markets and buying a tonne of Manchego, Vegetables and Alcohol to make a picnic for the park. We spent the rest of the day sunbathing, and when it got to hot and we couldn't find an outdoor pool nearby we (probably illegally) jumped into a fountain. As the day drew to a close I suggested we visit Circulo Des Bellas Artes, a viewing tower and museum that was said to have incredible views. We were impressed by the price to go up the tower (only €4) and the drinks at the top were cheaper than expected €4 for a glass of wine to €10 for a (strong) cocktail, although not he cheapest place to get drunk in Madrid, the comparison between this and other viewing tower prices, such as Montparnasse in Paris, was a huge difference. We chatted to other tourists, and as it began to thunder storm, which although cool to watch, was scary as hell, and so to our beds we went.

Evening view from Circulo Des Bellas Artes

Retira park's (now violated) fountain

Day 3 began slowly after the length of the two days prior, and we headed to 100 montaditos for a coffee and a bucket of beers. 100 montaditos is the spot for tourists who want to get drunk on the cheap, with buckets of beer on ice going for at least less than €15. At lunchtime we headed for tapas at a bar opposite Rosa li Loca, on one of the streets off Puerto del Sol. I forget the prices, probably because of the Caiprinhas and G&Ts we had there. 

That evening was the start of the festival, we took the metro to San Fermin, as we did every night which landed us only about a 10 minute walk from the venue, along the way were various shops and vendors selling cans of beer, that we bought and chugged along the way. The venue itself was beautiful and provided a beautiful back drop to the festival with palm trees on hills and the arenas themselves were well spaced out and organised with bars always near, and promotional and stands for all the festivals sponsors. That night we were lucky to see The Lumineers, Foals, Foo Fighters, a bit of Belle and Sebastian, Catfish, a bit of Trentemoller and Boys Noize. Need I go on? The acts were incredible and mimicked the Indie vibe but brought individuality to each of their sets, and as I'd never seen any of these acts perform before it was incredible.

With cloudy heads the following morning we decided to go out for breakfast, a quick google suggested 'Carmenitas', which was bloody amazing. The menu was relatively cheap for what you got, mimosas €1, and dishes between €7-11. I went for Huevos Rancheros, and it blew my tiny - very hungover - mind. It's a very popular brunch spot in Madrid so book ahead, we were lucky to get a space at the bar as walk-ins. A massive recommendation from me. That evening the festival continued and we arrived as Rancid's set began. They were amazing, and were followed incredibly by Alt-J, Green Day and Cage the Elephant. This was also the night that Pedro, the acrobatic performer lost his life. An act that happened between Green Day and Alt-J's performances. Whilst there were witnesses to the training , me and my company did not see it happen, and found out only later when we were waiting for a taxi. The festivals decision to carry on, was one I felt was not taken lightly, but done in good faith; and the tributes to him the next evening were heartfelt and respectful.

After one too many (well-priced) Aperol Spritz'

The Sunday was the night of Kings of Leon's performance. A clear favourite of many festival goers as it felt the arena was busier than the other night; but this could have something to do with the nicer weather, too. We arrived to see Manic Street Preachers performance, who were awesome performers, and I was able to show off to my Dad who was jealous I was seeing one of his favourite bands. The night transpired with sets from Kings of Leon (!!!), MIA, Foster the People, Moderat and SBTRKT. All of which were the perfect end to an awesome escape to Madrid for the 5 days.

Useful tips:

Bring trainers - I tried sandals for a day and my feet ached like hell. There's a lot of walking to be done, and trainers will be your best friend. I'd built up resistance on the soles of my feet so much by the third day I felt I could have gone barefoot running.

Eat at Carmenitas - Holy Fuck. A one stop shop for a heavenly hangover cure or just brunch, if you don't need the excuse.

Budget the right amount - This is dependent on what you want to do, I had about €50 a day,  which was perfect, even for a festival, despite the fact we did have to resort to drinking thunderbitch at the festival... just don't. Maybe budget more than €50.

Basic booking info: 

We booked the tickets through Festicket, a great website that offers it's own packages in conjunction with the festivals. We'd intially booked to camp, but the cost of bringig the camping equipment across, was just shy of what we paid for the airbnb, so we opted for a bed over a floor.

Our flights were booked with Ryanair from Manchester, hence the crazy costs for bringing an extra bag. The convenience and cheap price of the flight was helpful though, and helped keep the total costs of the holiday to a minimum.