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In Retiro Park
Plaza Major, Madrid, December 2002
House where Cervantes is believed to have lived
Cathedral de la Almudena
Hi everyone,
We are looking to rent an apartment in Madrid for a few days through www.homelidays.com. They gave us a specific rate for 4 nights. After a number of emails with them, they finally added that we ALSO need to put down a deposit of 120 eurose (then pay the full amount for the 4 nights upon arrival). The 120 euros will be given back to us at the end of the trip. Is this typical? I was surprised that they didn't mention the deposit up front.
Thanks.
Every rented apartment I've stayed in has charged a deposit. 120E doesn't seem unusual.
Yes - but usually the deposit comes out of the total that is due. Then you pay the rest that is due when you leave. In this case, they are charging an additional 120 euros, and that seems unusual to me.
Hi
The 120 euro is not a deposit - it is a bond. This is held to cover possible tenant damage, cleaning fees etc. Have they advised you how much the cleaning fee is? The bond and cleaning fee issues are quite normal for rental accommodation. Have fun in awesome Madrid!
The 120 euro is not a deposit - it is a bond.>
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Differing terminology. A "bond" paid on arrival is normally termed a deposit in these parts. A booking deposit is just that, and deducted from the total price. It would not, in my experience, be normal to deduct a cleaning fee from a deposit (or bond) unless you had left the premises in a mess. A cleaning fee, if compulsory, would usually be a separate charge.
We have lived in Spain for ten years now. We are living in Llanes (Asturias) now, but we are travelling all the time in different parts of Spain.
Usually they do not ask for a deposit. Once they did, and we are still trying to get it back.
We hired a house for three months, and the owner said, that they must paint the house because of smoking... Well, we do not smoke!
This happened in Calpe (Alicante) and our lawyer is still working on the case.
A few points:
- They should inform you about the deposit right away.
- You should get a receipt.
- Do not give the keys back, unless you have the money paid back.
Take a look at El Museo del Prado , if you like paintings. They are interesting!!!
But it´s more interesting to go for a walk over Paseo del Prado which is the main avenue in Madrid, connecting straight the north to the south of Madrid. It´s very full of cars but near the Museum you may find the Botanical Garden. Quite beautiful one.
Form a circle of friends, about five at least is more fun.
Try and set it up girl/guy/girl/guy... and so on.
With a piece of paper (business card consistency seemed to work best), suck air in with your mouth: to keep paper/card stuck to your mouth.
But when it's your turn to pass paper/card to person next to you, you need to stop sucking air in so that the card is then placed AND released on the next one's mouth and he can then suck and pass it along.
The trick is to try and not drop the card/see who can suck air best ;o) or something like that.
Beware... tricky guys will purposely drop card just before you get to their mouth to "receive it".
Spaniards, Spaniards!
I guess we could say that Aranjuez is to Madrid what Versailles is to Paris: back in the 16th century, King Felipe II selected this little town as the new seat of the royal family's country residence. Construction of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez began in 1561 following the design of Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera, the same architects who were to work on the royal palace and monastery of El Escorial. Along with the palace came the royal gardens and the "Jardin del Principe", a large English-style park.
The Royal Palace of Aranjuez is now open to the public. I have to admit that the first few rooms are not very impressive, but keep going because it does get better! As much as possible, the rooms have not been altered since the days when Queen Isabel II lived in the palace (mid-19th century). It is possible to walk through the royal family's private appartments and the royal chapel, and a section of the palace is also dedicated to illustrating the daily life of the royal family. Something I thought was really interesting was the collection of wedding dresses that were worn by the present royal family's daughters and daughters-in-law.
After you're done visiting the palace, it's worth going for a walk around town and perhaps stopping at a restaurant to enjoy the town specialty: strawberries! Of course, one shouldn't leave without walking through the royal gardens, which are open to the public free of charge. The "Jardin del Principe" is very large, but I must admit that I preferred the "Jardin de la Isla" (the one located right next to the palace), with its numerous fountains and french-style gardens and walking paths.
To get to Aranjuez, you can catch a train leaving from Atocha station every 30 minutes, from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the train station to the palace. The palace is open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm every day (closed on Mondays). General admission: 5 Euros.
Books in Spanish are a rare commodity in Quebec City so shopping for books was pretty high on my list of things to do while in Madrid. Since books are rather expensive in Spain, I was looking for a good second-hand bookstore and I quickly realized that there aren't that many of those in the city. I did however find a nice little one in the Barrio de las Letras. Rey Samsa is a small store, but they've got a good selection of used books that are sold at a very decent price. The owner was muy simpatico, with a real passion for books. I doubt you'll leave this place empty handed! Paperbacks were about 5 Euros each...
Madrid is a city that never sleeps!!.You can find here very good clubs,Discos,Cinemas,and Theatres,the best Theatres are:Lope de Vega,located in Gran Via.Alcazar in Alcala street.Calderón,in Jacinto Benavente street.Teatro Nacional María Guerrero.Albéniz.Bellas Artes.Español.Olimpia.La Latina.and in this picture you can see the Alfil Theatre,in Pez street 11.
Discos: KAPITAL, JOE SLAVA,UNIVERSAL.
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Address: Hortaleza, 78, 3ºpiso, Madrid, 28004, Spain
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