Jamie Claros is a junior at Boston College, studying abroad in Madrid, Spain for the fall semester. As an Eagle in a foreign country, she wanted to share with us her birds-eye view of the Spanish culture. This series will chronicle her study abroad experience, detailing the food she tries, the people she meets, and the places she explores!
¡Hola mis fellow collegiettes™! With my final exams quickly approaching at the end of this week and that failure of a registration time of mine last week, school is the absolute last thing I want to think about. With that said, I think it’s only appropriate to write about the furthest thing from anything academic and stress related: partying. As mentioned in my previous post, Madrid nightlife is unlike any other. Every night has its own specialty, from one-euro drinks and sandwiches on Wednesdays to free club admission on Thursdays.
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Typical nights outs in Madrid usually begin with the purchase of a one-euro wine (two euros if you’re fancy, boxed wine if you’re a lightweight), some pregaming in your room, and about a one-hour discussion on where you’re actually going to go for the night. Though pregaming in your room isn’t exactly necessary, it’s definitely a plus if you’re heading to a club that night where one drink can range from 8-15 euros. Alternative options include tapas and drinks- El Tigre and Cien Montaditos are favorites, where you can either get a large drink and unlimited tapas for 6 euros or one drink and a small sandwich for 1 euro- or the infamous botellón.
Platter of tapas, or small appetizers, at El Tigre.
Unlike the ever so discreet water bottles filled with vodka on the Comm Ave bus, or the repurposed soda cans for mixed drinks, botellóning takes public drinking to a whole other level. On any given night after Wednesday, you can find hoards of people packed together in public places- parks, plazas, famous monuments, and any other space big enough- drinking beer, mixed drinks, or calimocho, a highly popular drink here that’s part red wine and part Coke. Though it’s a great way to drink and socialize before an actual bar or club, a lot of people actually spend their entire night botellóning, a fact that is obvious by the empty bottles and cups on the streets the next morning.
BotellĂłning in Madrid.
For a chiller night, there’s plenty of bars that are frequented by locals and international students alike. From bars built like caves where drinks are poured from the ceiling and there’s some light dancing, to Irish-style pubs where you can watch live sports games, you can definitely choose the mood and pace of your night. If you’re looking for a more Americanized experience, there are even a few bars that offer beer pong night, a night that I’m sure most Eagles would dominate at.
If you’re looking for more excitement, though, there are plenty of nightclubs, or discotecas, to go to, and all within relatively the same place. Spain’s big on house music- something that I was not too happy about the first few weeks- but there’s always a bunch of American hits and classics thrown in. Danza Kuduro or Spice Girls, anyone? If techno/house isn’t your thing, there’s always Latin clubs, jazz clubs, and dub step clubs for those with different preferences. I’ve even heard of one club that plays dub step reggae one day of the week, so I guess there really is something for everyone.  If you can’t make a decision, there’s always the 7-floored Kapital, where each floor has a different DJ and genre of music.
No matter where you end up going, the true mark of a great night is staying out until the metro restarts at 6 AM and grabbing a slice of pizza at the 24 hour pizza spot. Â
The perfect end to a long night.
And if you happen to fail the first night, there’s always the next day! In a city where weekends begin on Wednesdays and continue on until Monday morning, there’s really no excuse to not try it all!
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Photo Sources:
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http://slice.seriouseats.com/images/20090429-side-by-side-slice-showdown…