23 de enero de 2008

Hello everyone....So, i'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting this week's travel log,i can imagine thousands of travellers frantically clicking though the esmadrid web page...i have an active imagination, it's part of my charm, or my despair...confessions aside, if you're new to this space let me explain the kinds of journeys we'll take together.
This is about discovering Madrid through me, please put all non requested sketchy thoughts aside...i mean, i, ikena carreira,esmadrid tv host, will be your compass through a day in Madrid...

so this week i thought it would be nice to dedicate a day in the style of one of my favorite poets,Pablo Neruda…here is an ode to my best friends...books. We'll call this day "oda a los libros" i know people come to Madrid looking for late nights and laughter,and i've had a few those. But one of my favorite things about this city is the presence of the written word. In the barrio de las letras,a favorite hang out of witers such as Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Góngora, and Quevedo,you can follow different quotes written on the pavement. On the paseo de recoletos,cross street Villanueva, there is a small little statue
of two children reading, the plate underneath reads: "a los libros y a sus autores"

without being to melancholy, i can´t explain how often books have been there to console,heal,nurture, and tickle me…so in gratitude, let me tell you my favorite places to purchase books in Madrid:

La Casa del libro, Gran via 29, probably madrid’s biggest bookstore…you’ll be surprised by everything you can find.

Fnac, preciados 28, the thing about the fnac is that it has a little bit of everything in every language…

Antonio Machado, Fernando VI,17, for intellectuals with a poetic streak…

8 y medio, martin de los heros, 23 A bookstore that specialises in cinema, television and AV. They also sell script-books in original languages, or translated versions.

Booksellers, José Abascal 48…books in english, great young adult selection, even some books in Portuguese,quem gostar de ler os livros das telenovelas brazileiras tem aquí o seu lugar

Librería Italiana
C/ Modesto Lafuente, 47…io amo parlare italiano

Librería Bohindra
c/ de la Paz, 15…use a little help finding the buddhist in you

Leonor Alasraki- Librería Esotérica- Centro de Estudios
C/Pelayo 5…what can i say,i like to believe in magic…this is the new age

Paisajes, C/Génova…i love this bookstore, because i can show off my linguistic skills buying books in French and English…

And finally my absolute favorite:
El bandido doblemente armado, calle apodaca 3…more than a bookstore, this quaint café hosts concerts, poetry readings, dj sessions…sip a coffee while reading Susan Sontang or Javier Marias…Diego Pita, the deliciously irresistable owner (sorry girls,he’s married), named the bookstore café after his mother’s famous novel…Pick up a copy of Diego´s latest collection of short stories, and ask him to sign it…the experience will make your day…

And as this century’s street poets say “Word up”