Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Today was another transition day so it was, from a bar-hopping perspective, pretty slow. I didn’t really have the time, nor inclination, to have a drink before heading to the train and the trains station here, unlike the one in Madrid, didn’t really have much to offer in the way of drinking establishments. I figured I would just wait until my trip was over.

874) Canas Y Tapas



This place was pretty close to our hotel in Madrid and one of the few in the neighborhood I hadn’t been to yet. The name sounded familiar though and I did see where I had been to another by the same name. That, and the similar interiors, leads me to the conclusion that it is part of a chain of some sort. Maybe a Spanish version of TGIF’s.

There is a long white marble topped bar with a few zigs and zags to it. The front is dark wood panels with fairly ornate designs on them. There are silver foot rails and just plain wooden bar chairs. Two beer stations on the bar, one at each end. They each have three spigots and have that enclosure with the plastic front around them that holds the beer glasses. The globe lights with black plate-like shades are mounted on those pulley-like devices and hang at varying heights. I guess a lot of people, like Bar Man, like to play with them to make sure they really work. The bar back is dark wood wit distressed mirrors and chalkboards mounted on it. The chalkboards list the tapas selection as well as their wines. The mirrors have glass shelves mounted in front of them and they hold the wine and liquor and a display of their bottled beer.

There are three (the other place only had two) of those huge beer containers hanging from the ceiling. I can’t even imagine how much beer they must hold but it certainly makes you wonder how fresh the stuff you are drinking must be. The floor is large dark red and small white tiles. A marble staircase heads up somewhere and there are a lot of little tables with white marble tops and wooden chairs and stools filling up the downstairs area. Photos of old Madrid and miniature bull fighting posters hang on the wall along with a framed collection of colorful ticket stubs from bull fights.

I had a glass of San Miguel and a plate of olives and cocktail onions (I am definitely back in Madrid).

Only one bar today. It was a bit of a long day and after we got done with dinner the Mysterious Chinese Woman was a bit off her feed. She didn’t even feel like poofing so we ended up taking a cab back to the hotel. Well, I still have hit 874 so far this year leaving 126 to go. Making 875 before leaving Spain is going to be a slam dunk.

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