Local customs, Madrid

This is a classic beautiful and historical church of madrid just behind the museum of Prado by the puerta de Jeronimos of the museum you will see the church.

a bit of history
By order of the Catholic King/Queen early in the 16C the work was completed. Gothic style bythe year 1505, along its history the spiritual retirement of many kings of Spain. After the war of independance (from Napoleon's France) it was left in ruins only the walls ,the cover, and the cloister was left in some state of repairs. It was rebuilt thanks to queen Isabel II,that kept the tradition of celebrating religious acts of the royal house there. Here the celebration took the kingdom court duties, swearing of the Princes of Asturias, from Felipe II to Isabel II, here ,king Alfonso XIII was married,the stair done given to street or calle Ruiz de Alarcón, was done in 1906 for the wedding of the king to give more monumentality to the access to the throne, and the exaltation to the throne of Spain of king Juan Carlos I in 1975.

Need I said more! pure precious Madrid and the history of Spain, why not take some time from the Prado and visit the church up the stairs in the back thru the door of jeronimos for those already witht tickets tothe museum.

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church built in 1631, it the church was the old convent of San Dámaso, of the carmelites order, founded in January 17 1575 on the street or calle del Carmen. The convent was better known as Carmen Calzado, and it was built with donations from king Felipe II, princess doña Juana de Austria,and the city of Madrid. It was excloister and dismantle in 1836 but continue to work as a church occupy by the congregatión of the fideles of our lady of Carmen or Nuestra Señora del Carmen. It was the temporary church to house the parrish of Santa Cruz, that reach parrish rank in 1891. In 1910, it merged with the parrish of San Luis Obispo . During the civil war theh San Luis Opispo was totally destroyed,and the name become definitive as that of Nuestra Señora del Carmen,to this days.

Very nice church in a nice area to walk and admire.

another interesting church in a nice street of mine Alcala between metro banco de Españ and Sol.
It is known today at the church de las Calatravas ,it is the surviving part of the old convent of the Concepción Real, of the sisters of the order of Calatrava. It is directly connected to the Military Order of Calatrava, founded in the 12C to defend the Christian possessions in the south of the peninsula from muslims attacks in the period of the Reconquest.

Great history inside in a nice area of Madrid for a walk and a visit.

very beautiful church in the Madrid of the Austrias area;It is a catholic church under the saint Ginés de Arles ,a martyr notary and house the parrish of San Ginés of the city of Madrid. Its sides gives to the streets of Calle del Arenal, 13 (north side), Calle de Bordadores,8 (west), Plazuela de San Ginés (south),and Pasadizo de San Ginés (west). The church was built in the middle 17C.

It has 10 chapels, with many important paintings such as El Greco, "La purificación del templo" OR purification of the temple, done around 1610–1614.

It is in a nice area near chocolateria san ginés off calle mayor.

This was another favorite of my family when we lived here, we come often now, me and my new family,the grandchildrens and son. This was the teatro Alcazar now call Cofidis. It is a marvelof architecture and full of history of Madrid. It is at Calle Alcalá 20, near metro Sol or Sevilla.

The initial teatro Alcázar was built in 1921. Early on still it was known as the Palacio de los Recreos (palace of entertainment). It was call Alkàzar until 1940 when the dictatorship then prohibate the foreign names so it was change to Alcazar.The architecture is sublime renovated in 2004. It has 800 seats with mobility impaired seating as well.From 2012 it was renamed the Cofidis for a financial company that sponsored it now.

several theaters in Madrid, including this one, this is the information site in Spanish
http://www.gruposmedia.com/teatros/
the new work at Cofidis is DESEO, great story, very humorous of the DESIRE in us ::)

a grand cafe where in the first half of the 20 th century the intellectuals of Madrid gathered. There is still a touch of the lively coziness visible as there come many of the literati over there.the pub is popular for its interior. but its an expensive one

I am more than sure that you will find these two small places located very close to plaza Mayor... They sell bocadillos con calamares, sounds kind of weird to combine bread with fish, o more precisely squid... but they are good. Oh... the photo is taken outside these two food joints, on a february night. Yes, pretty crowded.

I was walking down Calle Mayor on a Thursday morning, when suddenly appeared some old-fashioned knights and carriages... I asked a policeman what was that, and he told me it was the Ambassadors' Parade: that day, Ambassadors go to Royal Palace and greet the King.

Iba caminando por la Calle Mayor una mañana de jueves, cuando súbitamente aparecieron varios jinetes vestidos a la antigua usanza, y carruajes... Le pregunté a un policía de qué se trataba, y me dijo que era el Desfile de los Embajadores: ese día los Embajadores van al Palacio Real y presentan sus repetos al Rey.

Bullfighting

Each bullfight comprises six bulls and three matadors, each of whom fights two bulls. The bulls are specially bred fighting
bulls, usually from the same bloodline and are not less than four years old with a weight somewhere between 500 and
800 kilos. They must never have faced a man on foot before they enter the bullring. The reason being that if this is the
case, they may charge the man, instead of the cape. The selection of bulls is determined by drawing lots on the morning
of the corrida. The toreros perform in order of seniority with the senior matador going first and fourth, the
second-ranked matador second and fifth and the least experienced fighting third and sixth. If a matador is gored and
unable to continue, the senior matador must take his place and complete the fight. Each bullfight is divided into three
stages of thirds and lasts for around 20 minutes. A corrida starts with a parade of all the contestants and bailiffs
dressed in 17th century costume, who salute the president of the fight. The president is an important official who
controls the fight and can award trophies to a matador who performs well. A trumpet is blown to announce the first fight
when the matador and his team enter the ring, and to signal the end of each stage. The bailiffs receive the key to the
gate which is thrown to them by the president of the bullfight, through which the bulls enter the ring. The president
then waves a white handkerchief to signal the entrance of the first bull into the ring.

Not really 'Off the Beaten Path' but a tip none the less. Try to visit at festival time. We were lucky enough the visit during San Isidro, when, in addition to lots of music and dancing, you will see many Madrillenos in their traditional casitzo costumes. San Isidro is May 8-15.