IL Postcard

Cool Tips for a Hot Summer in Madrid

Date: 07/09/2007

Sporting enthusiasts are spoiled during the summer in Europe—first with the Roland Garros tennis tournament followed by Wimbledon, bull-running in Pamplona, Calcio Storico Fiorentino (a brutal football competition with costumed parade), and the Tour de France, which left from London on Saturday.

Personally, I’d rather relax when it’s hot, and this week our Spanish contact, Teba Orueta, shares her tips for staying out of the heat in that furnace that is Madrid in July. Read on to find out about buying property in Italy and which names to drop in France.

Enjoy,

Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European

P.S. For the best July 14 celebrations in Paris, try a Firemen’s Ball ( Bal des Pompiers)—each district’s main fire station holds a party with prize draws, often a live band, and dancing until the early hours. Check the website to find out if the party starts on July 13 or 14. In the countryside, most villages will organize some social event, be it a barbecue or méchoui, a firework display and concert, or a dance (and this is still the place where many countryfolk meet their future spouse).

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The Cooler Side of Madrid

by Teba Orueta

Back in 1989, a band called Los Refrescos were top of the Spanish charts with their song Aquí No Hay Playa (“There’s No Beach Here”), claiming that however cultural Madrid was, it could never make up for the lack of beaches. Not much can be done about geography, but if you’re in Madrid during July and August, there are ways to enjoy summer without perishing from heat-stroke. Here’s a quick guide to the cooler side of the city.

Afternoon thirst-quencher
Be sure to try the quintessentially Spanish refreshment horchata de chufa. Served ice cold, Horchata is produced by squeezing the sweet milky juice from the tubers of the tiger root or sedge plant (first introduced by the Egyptians more than 500 years ago). You can watch it being freshly made at La Fábrica de Horchata. If you are a diabetic or worried about your weight, try a sugar-free version at Horchatería La Alboraya. The best fresh version, however, is said to be found at El Kiosko de Miguel, running since the 1940’s. Miguel’s is the only such street-kiosk left in Madrid, and the horchata is served without cinnamon.

Creamy delights
Find a seat at Heladería Bruin’s terrace and cool down with scoops of vanilla ice cream as the sun sets over the trees of the Parque del Oeste. Or take the train over to Aravaca district’s Heladería Livorno. Opened more than 25 years ago by the grandson of Italians, this home-made ice cream haven offers traditional ice cream and healthy options for diabetics and lactose-intolerant customers—Spain’s Queen Sofia is known to have ordered the cherry ice cream here. And for home delivery of the latest gourmet ice cream, (try the mascarpone cheese with fruits of the forest) contact Heladería Giangrossi (contact details below).

Ice-cold indoors
For the ultimate chill factor, head out to the Madrid Xanadú shopping complex for the two artificial indoor ski and snowboarding slopes. These are the largest covered slopes in Spain—and Europe—open year-round until well past midnight so you can chill out, literally.

Splash out!
Despite the lack of a beach, Madrid has plenty of well-tended, outdoor swimming pools that cost little more than 4 euro a head. A lesser known (and less crowded) option is the Polideportivo Jose Maria Cagigal, which was once a private club. Set on fine green lawns with an extensive shaded area, this club boasts four pools, including one indoor lap-pool and an outdoor Olympic-sized pool, tennis courts, and a pleasant outdoor self-service café, terrace, and bar. A more popular alternative is the three-pool Piscina de la Casa de Campo, hidden in the heart of Madrid’s forest (one is Olympic-sized).

Cool addresses:
Fábrica de Horchata: calle Bustillo corner calle Villaamil, Tetuán district
Horchatería Alboraya: calle Alcalá corner calle Príncipe de Vergara
Kiosko de Miguel: calle Narváez corner Jorge Juan
Learn more about Horchata on www.tigerwhitedrinks.com
Heladería Giangrossi: Alberto Aguilera nº 1, calle Cava Baja (or corner of calle Hermosilla y calle Velázquez); freephone 900 555 009 for delivery or nearest retailer.
Heladería Bruin: Paseo Pintor Rosales corner calle Marqués de Urquijo, Metro Argüelles
Heladería Livorno: Plaza del rollo 2, 28023, Aravaca, Madrid; tel. +34 913-071-658
Madrid Xanadú indoor ski slope: Freeway A-5, Km 23.5, Left lane, Arroyomolinos, 28939 Madrid;tel. +34 902 361 309; website: www.madridsnowzone.com
Polideportivo JoseMaria Cagigal: calle Santa Pola (west Madrid beside Manzanares river); tel. 915-413-746 Bus route 75 or 46
Piscina Casa de Campo: Avenida del Angel (Metro: Lago); tel. 914-630-050

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What kind of home in Italy?

by Steenie Harvey

Italy has more than just farmhouses to offer. Say you’re looking for a simple village house in fairly good condition…but you don’t want to pay more than $150,000? You won’t find one on the shores of Lake Como at that price, but look to Apulia and you’ll be spoiled for choice. The point is that it’s usually necessary to venture beyond the fashionable destinations to find sensible prices.

What kind of home? Villas and villettas, farmhouses, towerhouses, village houses, medieval townhouses, chalets in the mountains, apartments in the city or at the seaside—it’s up to you. A palazzo if you wish… but if your heart is set on a medieval palace in Venice or Florence, you’ll need bottomless pockets.

Apartment living is the norm in cities and many ancient properties have been divided into separate households. Another quick point about the word palazzo. We don’t know why, but in modern Italy, this term is also sometimes used to describe new-built blocks of multi-story apartments.

An apartment in the heart of a medieval town will probably appeal to some romantics, but be aware that such properties can often be very dark—streets are sometimes so narrow and the buildings so tall that the light never reaches them. A property on a square (piazza) is always going to be more attractive to live in than a similar property down an alleyway—and they will be priced accordingly.

Size isn’t everything
Apartments are small compared to U.S. sizes—and bedrooms are particularly tiny. Even in Milan, where apartments tend to be more spacious than in other cities, these are the typical sizes:

One-bedroom apartment: 540 square feet to 750 square feet
Two-bedroom apartment: 970 square feet to 1,400 square feet
Three-bedroom apartment: 1,400 square feet to 2,150 square feet
Four-bedroom apartment: 1,940 square feet to 2,690 square feet

Elsewhere in Italy, particularly in older residences, you’ll often get even less space. We’ve seen properties advertised as “one-bedroom apartments” with less than 300 square feet of living space. Not all listings indicate the amount of floor space.

The cheapest area for property in Italy is currently Calabria, although property in the center of Tropea is no longer cheap, and a sea view and proximity to the beach will increase the price. The most expensive region, on average, is Tuscany, but some southern parts around Grosseto, and the northern Garfagnana and Lunigiana areas still have approachable property prices—although nothing like the prices in Calabria.

Sample properties in Calabria:

--Situated in a complex with pool and football pitch in San Nicola Arcella, near Scalea, this 1,023-square-foot two-bedroom home (see the photo) has a small garden front and back and comes with a view of the Isle of Dino. Price: 150,000 euro ($201,600).

-- A small single-story villa in a residential holiday complex in Tropea, less than 5 minutes' drive from downtown. The one-bedroom 530-square-foot property has a bathroom, open plan lounge with cooking area, and a patio. Price: 55,000 euro ($74,000).

Sample properties in Tuscany:

--Apartment in a restored farmhouse in San Vincenzo, set in a park of 5 hectares, with
three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open plan lounge with cooking area, garden, and use of a communal swimming pool. Price 400,000 euro ($538,000). Properties found via The Property Organiser, tel +44 (0) 870-411-0031; Fax 0870-411-0032; website: www.propertyorganiser.co.uk .

[Editor’s note: This article is an extract from Italy: The Owner’s Manual.]

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The 10 French names you must know

by Leigh Fergus

Apart from the obvious politicians: Ségo, Sarko, Bayrou, Chirac, Le Pen, and Arlette Laguiller, here are the French names in the news or in conversations that most citoyens will be familiar with:

1. Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, aka PPDA, is so much more than just a news presenter: He’s a successful author with his brother, as well as the heartthrob of many a French woman of a certain age.

2. Zineddine Zidane, or Zizou, hardly needs an introduction—hero of the World Cup in 1998 and voted several times best player of the year. He was a role model for many inner-city youngsters, even after being sent off for head-butting an Italian player in his last match.

3. Singer—Johnny Hallyday has been a fixture on the Frenchrockscene since the 1960s (despite his Belgian origins) and has proved to be a competent actor as well. While his music hasn’t changed much since he started, his fan base now spans several generations.

4. Actor Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of the gravel-voiced chain-smoking Serge Gainsbourg, is making a name for herself as a singer and a respected young actress with unaffected smart-casual good looks, a million miles from the made-up glamour of time-honored stars like Catherine Deneuve. She has starred in three successful movies in the past 12 months already.

5. Djamel Debbouze, an impudent comedian from the inner city who lost an arm in a train accident, has charmed France with his stand-up routines and his acting. He appears in Amélie, and won an award last year for his role in Les Indigènes, a film about the North African soldiers who were abandoned by France after WWII and have been fighting for a pension ever since.

6. Jeanne Calmant—for many years she was the oldest woman in the world, thriving on a daily glass of port and the odd cigarette, until she died at the venerable age of 122.

7. Laure Manaudou came away with seven medals (including four gold) at the recent European swimming championships, and has captured the French public’s attention by moving to Italy to be with her Italian boyfriend, also a champion swimmer.

8. José Bové is the French stance against globalization personified. This is the man who famously helped dismantle a McDonald’s fast food outlet in the south of France and who has led the anti-GMC movement. He recently ran in the presidential elections with the slogan “Osez Bové” –dare (to vote for) Bové.

9. Abbé Pierre—one of France’s best-loved figures since the post-war period, this diminutive man of the cloth devoted his life to helping the homeless. He campaigned for decent housing for all after a young woman and her child died of cold during the winter of 1954. He set up the Emmaüs association in 1985 to train the homeless and unskilled in repairing and reselling household goods and furniture via a network of thrift shops throughout the country. He died in January this year at the age of 95.

10. Michel Gérard Colucci, otherwise known as Coluche—a well-loved comedian whose popular and bawdy humor often masked biting criticism of modern society. He set up a chain of soup kitchens for the needy, Les Restaus du Coeur, that was supported by the celebrities of the day in 1985—and was killed in a road accident the following year aged 41. His name is a byword for scatological humor from the inner cities.

And your bonus personality is a rarity: Anne-Sophie Pic. She is the only female chef to currently hold the prestigious three Michelin toques (chef’s hats—or stars) in France, and only the fourth woman since 1933 with this distinction. Her restaurant is La Maison Pic in Valence, where she continues her father’s and grandfather’s tradition—both men won the coveted three-star distinction.