“Allá donde se cruzan los caminos, donde el mar no se puede concebir, donde regresa siempre el fugitivo, pongamos que hablo de Madrid” J.S.
This is my favourite line about Madrid, written by someone who truly understands the city, by someone that truly understands you: Joaquín Sabina.
If you’re going to stay in Madrid, allow me to give you a small piece of advice: live it without boundaries, embrace the culture and love it without fear. Oh yes, it will break your heart when you decide to go separate ways, but it will be the love of your live, the one you always come back to.
Madrid is a vibrant city that moves at the rhythm of flamenco claps. Trains, buses, people, laughter and cries. Everything is so intense and moves so fast, like the clock at the Atocha train station and the voices at Plaza del Sol.
Embrace a positive attitude and say a loud YES to every challenge: sales at the city centre, Sunday afternoons at La Latina that end at midnight, celebrating at Cibeles (oops –maybe Neptuno someday), get lost in Lavapiés or sing to Alaska while you’re stuck in the traffic just trying go for a swim in the city outskirts.
Get tired, get a full schedule, rush around! That’s the only way you’ll start to understand Madrid and its people and, ultimately, understand that even if there are still some gatos around, no matter where you’re from, Madrid will welcome you and love you for who you are, truly, fondly and with no limits.
Marta Romão 