遇见马德里生活(3)

遇见马德里生活

PEOPLE MET IN MADRID LIFE NEEDS DESIGN

Before my planned meeting with Paco Roncero， owner of the second star restaurant by Michelins guide， many newly-acquainted friends in Madrid exhibited expression of envy. With sense of curiosity， I downloaded his profile from Google， a dashing Spanish guy.

When I met Paco in person， I was immediately drawn by his charm. To these glittering titles like Director of food and beverage of Casino de Madrid， Kitchen Manager and software developer， this gastronomic leading figure reacted blandly， “Its an ordinary peoples life as quite as water， and what I am chasing after is the brightness of water under the glare of sunshine.” The ubiquitous design zeal made me fall in love with the dinning environment instantaneously when stepping into Gastro bar “Estado Puro”. Blonds in vintage bikini， wearing white hollowed-out peineta， were busy greeting customers. The dinning room ceiling features hanging peinetas that match the Spanish girls in the Mural. Design feeling makes its way to the Spanish gastronomic delights， as Paco Roncero has transformed conventional tapas into fashionable bons vivant pleasure. “I am food judge for Hong Kongs View 62 restaurant， which is also the way of delivering essence of Spanish cuisine to China.”

BLESSED WITH ALL SATISFACTION

At the lobby of Hotel Ritz Madrid， I came across tall Marcelo R. Moscheni. In well-tailored suit and striped pants， he looked trendy. We introduced ourselves to begin with. An Argentine native， Marcelo lived in different countries thanks to his career in hospitality industry. Up to now， Madrid was his most favored city， and his family members attached special feeling to this place. After touring the classical and upscale Ritz hotel， we sat on wooden chair over 50 years old sipping afternoon tea， best pastime of almost all guests. When touching the topic of life in Madrid， Marcelo was so talkative as if opening the floodgate. “Madrid has the best weather， and the whole city is covered with vegetation like a green lung. Its why people here always like sit in open-air drinking coffee while chatting， or jogging and exercising in the leafy parks.” He continued， “Madrid is pampered by sunshine year-round， and winter temperature ranges between 8 and 10 Celsius. At the same time， Madrid has slow pace， safe and aloof from other world troubles. Hotel Ritz and my living place are in small downtown area， and I commute between them each day on foot.”

EL CORTE INGLéS （DEPARTMENT STORE GROUP）

If you plan to hunt for brands in Madrid， you to shop at El Corte Ingles flagship store at central business district， or a more familiar name of Royal Palace of Madrid. Its the only department store open at weekends in entire Spain， as well as the shopping mecca in Madrid. Local residents flock here hunting for the best deal， where foreign tourists are still rarely spotted. Of course， Chinese tourists are visible among the crowds， even Chinese students studying in Spain snapping up LV handbags as purchasing agents. You perhaps have witnessed similar scene， but the presence of Chinese shoppers still bring benefit. At the tax return service center located at Floor B1， hospitable Landy explained to me key points of using VIP discount card （10% discount） while accompanying me to tour the maze-like shopping complex.