Country Article / Postcards

Breakfast in Madrid

Date: 10/15/2003

Dear International Living Reader,

I'm in north Madrid in the Tryp Centro Norte apartments. At 57 euro ($66) per night, this accommodation option seemed a screaming bargain for a European capital (see below for contact details).

Although not central, the apartments aren't off the beaten track--two Metro stations (Chamartin and Plaza de Castilla) are within easy walking distance. Plus, we can use the swimming pool of the hotel beside the apartments...and there's a wonderful view of the leaning Torres Puerta Europa on Paseo de la Castellana. Symbolizing a gateway to Europe, these high modern towers have a gravity-defying 15-degree tilt and look like they're about to fall over.

But...I can't make coffee. For some reason the apartment's kitchen area is blocked off...and according to the receptionist, it's the same with the rest, too. Very strange.

No matter. Three minutes walk away on Calle Agustin de Foxa, Carmen Lazcano has become our early-morning local. Packed with people on their way to work, this pastelaria (a cafe and cake shop) serves cafe con leche (milky coffee) and an over-sized croissant or sticky doughnut for 1.70 euro ($2) apiece. A big glass of freshly squeezed orange juice costs an additional 1.50 euro ($1.75).

Payment procedure is odd. As you walk in, you pick up a square black plastic card with a number on it. You give your order to the guy behind the counter--he does something with the card, and then returns it with your desayuno (breakfast). When you've finished, you hand over the card at the till, and the amount you owe comes up.

You can have a similar breakfast in bars, but even by 8 a.m., they're usually knee-deep in dropped serviettes and cigarette ends. (Spain is not California--even in pastelarias, there's usually a cigarette machine beside the door.) But this pastelaria is spotlessly clean--and customers use ashtrays instead of the floor.

Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro-editor, International Living

P.S. For unrepentant smokers like me, Spain is a joy. You can puff away just about everywhere. But I've yet to develop a taste for Spanish tobacco. Although Ducados (a Spanish brand) only cost 1.95 euro ($2.30) per pack, they're foul. A pack of Marlboro costs 2.75 euro ($3.20)--if you enjoy those, I'd recommend trying the German brand HB, which only cost 2.15 euro ($2.50) here.