We met up with a couple of her friends once we got to Lavapiés (Madrid's answer to Brick Lane) to have, what this Londoner was craving, chicken tikka masala. The trick with Indian restaurants in Lavapiés is just to go to whichever one looks the most popular in spite of any offers the guys outside their restaurants are hassling you with - in the end they are all cheap. We had a menú fijo for eight euros including a drink.
Well on the way to this restaurant, on Calle Embajadores, we walked past a place Lara wanted to show us. It is this enormous old tobacco factory called La Tabacalera which they have turned into a social centre for culture libre.
The place is a maze of rooms filled with seemingly abandoned art and they host every type of event you can think of. When we were there, there was a mini concert and various stalls to raise awareness for el día internacional del inmigrante. One of the things that shocked me the most was how empty it was, even though it was a Saturday. In Madrid there is so much to visit just off the beaten track which the guide books don't even mention (hence why I write this blog).
Enjoy some of the weird and wonderful things I saw:
A random garden out the back, with an area for fixing your own bike.
A motorbike shell made out old car and computer parts.
In the basement there are these graffiti lined passageways - which were a little creepy at the darker ends. The first of these photos was an accident but I think the fact that the frightening smiles seem to laugh makes it all the more menacing.
Down there we found giant origami.
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