A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT MADRID’S CAFES OF OLD »
All that is most typical of Madrid is fast disappearing and only a few powerless die-hard madrileños seem to care. Among the fatalities are the old-time cafés, those congenial meeting-places where you could go, meet friends, talk art and politics and pleasantly idle away the hours sipping black coffee and cognac.
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT:”The Strawberry Line,” 12 July 1985 »
Ten a.m. at Madrid’s Estación de las Delicias: a goods train, the Strawberry Train, is about to set off. In the 1850’s the train was the subject of much talk and excitement, described and romanticised by chronicles, poets and journalists. It carried the Royalty and their guests on hunting trips from Atocha station right up to the portals of the Royal Palace in Aranjuez. On their return to Madrid the local borough would present them with asparagus and strawberries and in commemoration of this tradition the hostesses today pass around baskets of strawberries to the tourists on the Tren de la Fresa
