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As you step through the portals into this plaza, you can't help but be impressed by the symmetry and ordered design of the square. Built in the 17th century, the slate spires and painted window frames make for a very cool 360º view. It gets my vote for the nicest plaza in Mardrid, but the drinks at the outdoor tables are pretty outrageous at around 500 Pesetas ($3.50). This is one place that you definitely "pay" for the location, but worth it. Nights are also a good time to hang out here as the "characters and oddballs" will keep you entertained as they cadge change and harrass the waiters. Bar El Pulpito at the southwest corner of the square (behind me in this shot) is a small, cozy bar w/good beer and tapas.

No.2 - Cava San Miguel

This small street that empties out from the Plaza del Sol is where we landed for a few days in Madrid. Not that the Hostal La Macarena wasn't cheap, but as the name implies, it ain't quiet. The proprieters were nice enough, but since people come in from boozing all night at 6:00 a.m., and it *is* in an old area, the sounds carried like a handball court. Working Madrid at it's finest. Can't beat the mesones and bars that are up and down the street though. We could have spent the entire 3 days popping up and down this narrow street and never been more than a stone's throw from the room. There are more good tapas bars (and an exceptionally good Irish pub) at the end of San Miguel (down the street behind me in the picture) toward Barrio La Latina.

We wandered into this bar around 2 p.m. by chance, but once inside, realized that this was a place touted in the travel book. It's not too large, but has about 4 different rooms all lined with hand-painted tableaux and tiles created by Spanish Sherry (jerez) companies in the late 1800s. Each room had a different scene on each wall. I'm actually glad that we came by in the afternoon, since later on it was choking with smoke and packed with Spanish Yuppies.

No.3 - Another room at
Los Gabrieles, Barrio Santa Ana

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