amsdon - you are very welcome!!

La Negra Tomasa
Address: Calle Espoz y Mina, 9, Madrid 28012, Spain
Phone: +34 915326844

We had info (must have been old info) that live Cuban jazz music starts at 9 PM. When we actually got there, found out they only start at 11:30 PM and since we had an early morning the next day leaving for home we could not stay.

The food was not good at all. Maybe one should forgo the kitchen there and just come late at night for a drink and the music. The place itself WAS indeed very cute and nicely decorated.

Oh yes, I did forget to mention the taxi scam. As I wrote at the beginning of this report, I was very pleased with the Aerocity shuttle transport from the airport to our hotel. On our return leg, I was not quick enough with the e-mail to Aerocity requesting a shuttle back to the airport, or their mail was not working or whatever. In any case I did not get a response from them and was left to asking the hotel staff to arrange for a private regular taxi to the airport.

The taxi came to pick us up already with the meter at 6.70 Euros (I knew this was NOT OK since the few times we used taxis before the meter was started at 2. something Euros). I did not say anything. The ride to the airport seemed to be longer than the way coming in, and there was NO traffic at all, on a weekday at 7:30 AM. He took a LOOOOOOONG tunnel which we had not taken on the way in so I don't know whether this was OK or not. I am not familiar with Madrid but I know it was a different route. Anyone can elucidate on this particular part? Maribel?

Anyway, the hotel staff had said that a taxi should cost between 30-35 Euros to the airport. When we got there, the meter said 36.70 and he DID NOT STOP the meter, as we were getting out, as he was taking out suitcases, etc. This also was new to me. I asked him to stop the meter and he pretended not to understand. He then tacked on around 5 Euros as supplement, this I knew because I had been told about it from the hotel staff. And THEN he rounded it up to the nearest Euro so we ended up at 42 Euros. Wow. Almost twice that of Aerocity. Lesson learned and it unfortunately left me with a bad taste at the end of a good holiday.

I wrote to the hotel upon my return thinking they may work with a regular taxi company maybe and can find out what happened. They were very apologetic and sweet in their reply but it was clear to me that they do not work with such a company and it was just a random taxi that came.

I am beginning to feel like I am jinked with taxis wherever I go. Oh well.......

Flame123 - sorry to hear about the scam. Perhaps you can copy and paste this to my recent thread on "Scams while Traveling"
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ur-stories.cfm

Other Fodorites in that thread suggested threatening the taxi driver that you would take down his license/badge # and call the police ... In any case, if you read the thread I linked above, you'll find that you're not the only one here who has been scammed by taxi drivers.

yk - thanks for the sympathy. Of course I KNOW I am surely not the only one scammed by taxi drivers. It is just that it leaves such a bad feeling in one's mouth (and pocketbook!) at the end of an otherwise great visit in a foreign country, and as the hotel staff also wrote back and I quote :

"That´s very strange that you mentioned, is not normal.The rate to the airport it depends on the traffic but is between 30-35 euros. Sometimes happen that there are no very polite taxidrivers and they try to get more money . Anyway it´s not a good publicity for any country or city."

Amen to that!!

I think the tunnel is one way going out.. I am not sure but there are two tunnels I know of that would eventually go out to the airport. They pass under very congested intersections and have been a great improvement in traffic.

The only part here that does not seem normal is the not turning off the meter when you stopped.

The 6.70 is because from where he originated to get to your hotel ( as he was called and not flagged down).

I, too, get fed up with taxistas, as now I am so suspicious of most of them it takes away any pleasure of taking them.

BTW, I really have enjoyed your report!

<i>The 6.70 is because from where he originated to get to your hotel ( as he was called and not flagged down).</i>

I took a taxi from the same hotel in August, called by the hotel front desk, and had no such charge. The fare was 30&euro; I believe, and there was no roundabout route either. Unfortunately flame got a scam artist. I was lucky that I did not.

hi Flame123,
I'm not sure which tunnel he used since I don't know what route he would have taken from the Preciados.

I'm on a one woman mission to keep visitors from experiencing taxi fraud in Madrid, and I see I have a great deal more work to do!

I was disappointed to find that for '09 the Tourist Board has eliminated that handy colored 3-page (tríptico) fold out brochure which detailed the various modes of transportation from airport to the city and gave estimated taxi fares to various spots.

They also eliminated that important page in the thick Madrid airport guide that provided tourists with approximate taxi rates to Sol, Atocha, Gran Vía, Colón, Plaza de España, Chamartín, etc..
Without those helpful guides, visitors are in the dark as to how much to expect in taxi fare.

I asked the Aena employees at the info desks at Barajas why both had been eliminated, and they said that the supplements are continually changing (well, once a year...) and they don't want to have to reprint constantly their materials.

What I still advise is to announce to the taxi driver upon departure: "Necesito un recibo oficial, por favor". It just helps to keep him honest. And the various supplements are posted on both windows of the back passenger seats, so one can snap a photo-

to/from the airport: 5.50
from airport to IFEMA congress center: 2.95
extra supplement on Xmas Eve and New Year's Eve between 10 pm-6 am: 6.50

The initial charge on the meter should be 2.05
except from 10 pm-6 am, Mon.-Fri. when it starts at 2.20,
and on Sat,/Sun./holidays from 10 pm-6 am it starts at 3.10.

But if you have your hotel order a taxi, the meter starts running from the minute he answers the call, which may explain part of the extra charge.
Nonetheless, as lin says, it's inexcusable for him not to have turned off the meter when you arrived at Barajas.

We were very lucky. We hailed a taxi outside our hotel on Calle del Prado on a weekday morning at 9:16 am and arrived at T1, Barajas at 9:38. A ride of 22 minutes.
And the fare, with supplement, was only 23.95.
This is the way a taxi ride to the airport *should* work! Unfortunately, for many folks, it does not. :-[ Grrrr.

Maribel, you were responsible for my avoiding a taxi fraud on the way to the Madrid airport. The driver asked for a supplement for the bags, but I had read your instructions and told him no. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "No? OK." Like you can't blame a guy for trying. No tip for him.

Hi Nikki,
LOL!
"No? OK?"
Nope, can't blame a guy for trying. But no tip for him!

I hate it when they try to pull that "surcharge for each bag" scheme.
Another one I hate is when they try to put on a supplement TO a train/bus station. There's NO supplement TO any train/bus station, just FROM one. Another grrr.

And the maximum number of different supplements they can charge is TWO-with the exception of that Xmas Eve/NYE supplement of 6.70 between 10 pm-6 am. which must be added on.

So, Nikki, I'm so glad at least I've helped at least one Fodorite from getting taken by an unscrupulous driver! I'll continue, then, on my mission!

I am now quite suspicious that my taxi driver thought it must be Xmas Eve/NYE since that is the EXACT charge he started with, i.e. 6.70. Grrrrrrr is right!!

We did have to pay a supplement from the train station one time that we took it and my husband gave me a look but I knew that this was OK.

It is indeed awful, that in order to make a few extra Euros, we are not talking about 50 or 100 Euros here now for goodness sake, these unscrupulous drivers can "take a tourist for a ride" and risk having these bad feeling left with them.

On the other hand, I learned my lesson and I was VERY VERY pleased with Aerocity. Too bad I was not fast enough with my return request with them, could have saved a bundle.

Hi Flame,

I also enjoyed your report very much. My family and I were in Madrid just before you were. Unfortunately, we were also scammed by our taxi diver who was also called by our hotel. My first mistake was to have the hotel call it. While we were waiting for the cab they called 2 other taxis went by and stopped when they saw our lugagge. His meter also had 6+ euros when he got to our hotel.
When we got to Barajas he added 8+ Euros, which he claimed was for supplement plus lugagge. I chellenged him in Spanish but to no avail. Had there been a policeman nearby I would have summoned him!

Like you say, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth!

Maribel, this is what I found googling: a "Taxi Fare Calculator"
www.worldtaximeter.com/madrid

Revulgo - interesting site, thanks. When I put in my hotel address to the airport at the a.m. time we left, it comes out to 34.49 Euros, and it includes a 3 Euro wait in traffic which we really did not have. So really and truly, I was taken for a ride!!!

As I always say: if you doubt or disagree with what you are charged, ask for a bill, detailing everything including ID of vehicle. Then you can follow up on the web with our authorities. If driver refuses to bill, write down plate and taxi number (written on outsides of doors) and follow up or tell the first policeman you see.

Hi Revulgo,
Thanks for reminding me of that worldtaximeter site; I had bookmarked it but completely forgot.
I just did the calculation for our above-mentioned fare. The estimate came out about 2 euros more than we actually paid, but we didn't have as much waiting in traffic time as worldtaximeter estimated.

We didn't have our hotel call a taxi because with 15,000 taxis in the Madrid metro area, and our hotel being on "hotel row", we knew we would have only a very short wait. Indeed, we walked out to the curb and several came along. But we're veterans of this.

I actually remarked to my husband that our driver was very professional and honest-when we arrived at the terminal, he even made sure that we got a cart for our heavy duffle since there were only a few left.
So honorable taxi drivers in Madrid do exist and should be noted as well.

Here is a site listing the official initial meter charges and all supplements for '09 in Madrid (this does change each year).
It's from Munimadrid and in Spanish, but vou can print it out and hand the copy to your driver if any supplement he charges appears to be suspicious.
http://tinyurl.com/c39byh



Count on the fare to T4 to be about 5-7 euros more than to T1 because of the extra distance.

The breakfast fritas were probably "leche frita". The way you described them .. they are a sweet thick white sauce, that is chilled, then cut in squares ( sometimes) egged and breaded and fried, making a lovely soft-in-the-middle french toasty type yummy, fattening snack.

They might have sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on them.

Maribel - we indeed went to T4 so maybe the price I paid was not ALL THAT exaggerated?

Lincasanova - sounds JUST like what we had. Thanks for the info!!

Yep, I'll bet that's exactly what you had, "leche frita". Good call, lin. Love the stuff! Our hostess at our casa rural on our Nov. Navarra trip made the best, creamiest version I've ever had.

Penelope Casas has an easy recipe for Leche Frita, which she translates as "fried custard squares", in her classic Foods & Wines of Spain.

Just got her recipe off internet and will do them for my son this summer. If I try them now again I will eat the whole tray myself.

This stuff is decadent.

I have tried to make these myself but to no avail. They were OK but never as good as I had eaten out.

I was using flour and no egg yolks, according to an old recipe from an obviously horrible cookbook!

Thanks for the Penelope tip!

Hi lin,
One of the reasons, I think, our Navarran hostress produced one of the best versions I've ever tasted was because the milk came from the Baztán valley, the land of superb milk, cuajada and kaiku makers.

I've sometimes had leche frita served with blackberry jam on the side, but our hostess served ours with her homemade wild mushroom marmalade. Very interesting stuff she makes during wild mushroom season.

While Penelope uses egg yolks and cornstarch, Janet Mendel's recipe from Traditional Spanish Cooking uses whole eggs and cornflour.

The recipe from Culinaria: Spain says to add a vanilla bean to the milk, lemon rind and cinnamon stick mixture that you bring to a simmer and cook for 10 min., then strain.

Have fun perfecting your own version!

YUMMMM! (-:

Leche frita!! yummm! Let's see a pic:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2362/...d622cb.jpg?v=0

I'm going to Madrid and Barcelona this week and Flame, your report has been very helpful!

I had two questions off of this --
1. I'm meeting my sister at the Madrid airport because we are flying in from different places. I was thinking of just going through customs and meeting her after I exit everything before I leave the actual airport (where you would meet an arriving passenger). Flame says the airport is really confusing. Is meeting her there a bad idea?

2. We were thinking of taking a cab the first time back from the airport to make life simpler (versus the Aerocity bus). Is that a bad idea with the taxi scams that seem so prevalent? Is it worth taking a cab over the Aerocity bus? Do we need to pre-reserve the bus?

Thanks!

goingtoitaly - glad my report was helpful to you. Re the airport I cannot give you advice, more seasoned Madrid/Spain Fodorites may be able to help you there. As for the Aerocity bus I would MOST DEFINITELY recommend since I have experience with both them and the rip-off taxi which took us back to the airport at the back end of our trip. Kept kicking myself for not using Aerocity both ways. And yes you need to reserve but they have a very easy and user-friendly web site and I suggest you look at it.
Have a great time.

Flame- just out of curiosity, which Lateral restaurant did you guys dine at? It looks like there are four of them in Madrid per their website. I like the looks of it, and the Santa Ana location is really close to where we decided to stay, so we'll probably give it a try. Thanks for the rec!

Really enjoyed this! A friend of mine said "her" flamenco dancer was sooooo sexy, she almost fainted on the spot!

It really is too bad about the taxi. It does leave a sour taste.

Will certainly call this one up when we go next year!

Kyliebaby3,
The Lateral restaurant is the new one directly on Plaza Santa Ana.


goingtoitaly,

About question 1,
Will you and your sister be flying into the same terminal? That detail is extremely important.
One World Alliance flights (Iberia, American, British Air) arrive at T 4 while Continental, US Air, Delta, Ryan Air, Air Europa, Spanair....fly into the old terminal, T 1-2-3, which are 4 km. apart and connected by free shuttle bus.

See all the info regarding Barajas airport at www.aena.es

Oh great! According to Google Maps, it's like 0.5 KM away from us, so that's perfect :)

Oh I'll keep Lateral in mind, we're staying right near Santa Ana!

Maribel -- I'm flying in from the US -- Iberia/American, while my sister is on Ryan Air. I assumed because we were both flying internationally that we would arrive in the same terminal but I guess that is wrong! Oh dear....I arrive 2 hrs before her so I can trek to her terminal. Is there some place there that I can tell her I will meet her?

Flame, thanks for posting a great report. You really took me back to my trip almost exactly a year before yours. We also used Maribel's recommendations for restaurants in Madrid and Barcelona. We enjoyed Le Sede for dinner one evening too.

You could meet her in T1 in the downstairs international arrivals area at the Medas cafeteria. That way you can have something to eat or drink while waiting and watch the monitors in case her flight arrives late.

misty_in_stl - you are welcome!! Yes, Maribel is quite the wonderful source of information, great tips and ideas. Hip hip hooray Maribel (yet again!!).

Which reminds me Maribel - have you ever gotten the chance to check out that restaurant (Cornucopia I think was the name?) where I wrote about how dirty the waiters clothes were?

Hi Flame,
Good memory!
I'm headed there tomorrow! If I don't like what I see, bad, bad bad!! Off my list, forever!

thanks so much Maribel! I'm leaving this afternoon so hopefully all goes well!

Will be looking out for your opinions after tomorrow Maribel!!!!

Just read your report as I am hoping to spend a week in 2010 possibly split between Madrid and Barcelona. Sounds like you had a fabulous time. I will follow many of your suggestions.

Madrid is one of my top five places in this planet!!! I am going back to Spain in December on my way to a Med Cruise!! can't wait!!

Flame123/ Mirabela-

Where can I find Mirabela's guide/ advice, please? Your trip report is fantastic. I am printing off for reference for our trip. Would love to see Mirabela's info.

Thank you!

http://www.maribelsguides.com/

This is the best guide ever!

jerseysusan / parisinspring

glad you enjoyed and can use some of the information. Agree with amsdon that Maribel's guides and her wonderful information and advice given on this forum was invaluable. Have a great vacation !!