24?07?2008

Summertime and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high
Oh your daddy’s rich and your ma is good lookin’
So hush little baby, don’t you cry
-George Gershwin

Summertime and the living is easy, unless of course, you are melting somewhere in Madrid without airconditioning. These are the days of our nightmares about global warming, when even the shortest of skirts feels like too many layers and every step you take in life seems everything but breezy. Spanish summers are famous for the sizzling heat that makes emotional thermometers burst in the shade. And still, summer is my favorite time in the city. Schools are out for vacation, traffic is lighter, and there are barely any cues at the movies. After years of being a hot child in the city, I have developed some foolproof techniques to cool down surfing the heat waves. So if you're in town these days, allow me to share with you my favorite ways to cool off in Madrid.

1. Take a morning trip to the Retiro Park, or to the Casa de Campo. Everyone knows it is always a few degrees cooler where there are trees. Both parks have a lake, but be sure to resist the temptation to throw yourself in. Ducks and security guards won't find it amusing.

2. Aquopolis. The web page intro perfectly describes it. "When summer arrives, nothing better than the combination of water, sun, fresh air and fun to be found at water parks. Water is the main ingredient of these exciting, unpredictable attractions, including the classic, covered slides with bends, drops and steep slopes." I know some of us think we're too cool for school, but let me tell you, nothing better than revisiting your childhood in a wave pool when it is 37 degrees celsius in the shade.
There are two to pick from:

Aquopolis, Villanueva de la Cañada

Avda. de la Dehesa, s/n
Villanueva de la Cañada 28691 Madrid
Tel.: (+34) 91 815 69 33

Aquopolis, San Fernando de Henares
Address (San Fernando de Henares)
N II road, KP. 15.5
San Fernando de Henares 28830 Madrid
Tel.: (+ 34) 91 673 10 13

www.aquopolis.es

3. If you're sporty you can practice wakeboard at the Cerro Alarcón, only 30 minutes from Madrid center. Since I fall in the lazy category, all I can do is provide you with a web page for more information:
www.esquinautico.net

4.Now, if you're an urbanite, there are plenty of places to swim in Madrid. There are many public swimming pools you can check out. One of the cool spots to see and be seen is the La Latina quarter pool, since it is a trendy neighborhood.

Centro Deportivo Municipal La Latina
Plaza Cebada, 16
Tlf: 91 365 80 31 - 91 365 92 03

5.For a posh version of the option above check out my favorite hotel swimming pool:

Hotel Emperador

The swimming pool on the roof of the Hotel Emperador is open to non-guests. It is expensive, but divine, with great views and has its own snack bar.

Gran Vía, 53; Tel: 91 547 28 00; Mon-Fri: €25, Sat-Sun: €35; www.emperadorhotel.com

6.Sleep the siesta. Shutting the blinds between two and five p.m. is an old Spanish trick for keeping the heatsanity at bay.

7. You know where you can walk around for hours in Madrid, and never notice the heat? Galleries and Museums! Oh, the air conditioned rooms, and what a better excuse to stay still than contemplating a work of art..

Check out the rest of the Esmadrid web page for a list of all the museums and galleries you can visit.

8.Another place to enjoy airconditioned entertainment is the Fnac. What? yes, the Fnac. Pick a book, head towards it's reading lounge, and just sit there in the cool quiet reading. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.

Fnac Callao
C/ Preciados 28
28013 Madrid
915 956 200

9.Outdoor film sessions. The wonderful thing about Madrid is that it cools down on its own at night. A lovely breeze flies in from who knows where, and so, sitting outside at night is, hey there is no better word for it, just lovely. Check out fantastic outdoor cult European film classics at the Casa Encedida. Can you think of a better way to cool down that watching Luis Buñuel's The Discrete Charm of the Bourgoisie?

www.lacasaencendida.es

10...And finally some food for thought:
You know the old saying, when you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen? I disagree, I think sometimes we just have to learn to breathe and find the 'cool' within. Some people get very testy when the heat outside, or the pressure in their lives, gets tough. The french say "c'est chaud" when a situation seems too difficult to resolve. To those people I say, in a Miles Davis sort of way, just chill out man. Maybe it is not exterior hydration, but interior hydration that you need. So probably the number one tip to stay cool in Madrid would be: drink water. But if you're not a fan of water, here are some alternative beverages for you to try:

Horchata: typical Spanish drink, once used for medicinal purposes, now just to cool down, made of water, sugar, and chufas...Just try it. Non dairy milkshake type of thing, an acquired taste, once acquired, addictive...

Té con Hierbabuena: The Moroccan mint tea, ask for it "con hielo"

Sangría: You know, wine, fruit juice, and fruits...So refreshing, until you try to stand up....

So remember, just be cool...And when the heat gets on your nerves, and you just can't say something nice, take another sip of your drink....