Maine: That 10-10 number is just what I am looking for! Many thanks!

B: The agency (Spain Select) seems to be adamant that I call them after arriving, hence this barrage of questions!! It would be so simple if I could just give them the flight info and show up at the apt, or meet the rep someplace neaarby! But I can always try to borrow the phone of some kind soul at the airport, and worry about the SIM the next day.

Oh yes, Spain Select does demand that. Hopefully you will not be made to cool your heels outside the apartment building for close to an hour until their agent shows up. We were lucky it was a nice day.

Cruise: That is worrisome!

I hope that the rep from Spain Select will be more courteous this time!

I gave my parents a phone I thought would work in Italy and it didnt. They needed to call the agency as well - but they just availed themselves to someone for help who offered to call for them...not guaranteed, but perhaps an option :)

Cant wait for the trip report!

Where is your apartment?

The apt is east of Retiro. Let me know what you think....I know that the area is not central, but it is not too far from a few good restaurants, and we like to walk.


http://www.spain-select.com/en_US/re...ts/anunciacion

I'm very familiar with the location of your apartment. You'll be just down the avenue from some of our favorite restaurants and pintxos bars, most of which are listed in Maribel's Guide to Dining in Madrid. They include Carlos Tartiere & Couzapín, Taberna La Catapa (in its new location, where Laredo was), Taberna Laredo (in its new location) and Arzábal, to name a few.

What is the link to Maribel's Guide to Dining in Madrid, please ? Used to have it but ... Thanks.

The good eating in Retiro is one of the reasons that I chose that particular apartment.

In addition to those you mention, we like Rafa, for seafood. Traditional place with courtly service and prime quality seafood prepared simply. Although the prices are on the high side, verging on very expensive if you order shellfish, I consider it to be a good value.

Robert: Do you happen to know if Taberna Laredo can be booked online, via any of the third party booking sites? (Unlike the excellent DestinationBCN agency I rented from in Barcelona, Spain Select will not make restaurant bookings for clients)

Bedar: Here is the link:

http://maribelsguides.com/mg_madriddining.pdf

I don't know if you can book in online, and it makes it even more difficult since they have not put up their new webpage. It was supposed to be up this summer. You can call, or stop by and make a reservation like we did.

Maribel's list is extensive. Enjoyed the photo from Casa Rafa for angulas, but, my God, the price - 90€ - for a tapa ! Outrageous. We remember them for 100 pts. Guess we'll have to stick to more mundane food.

Angulas are hardly "tapas" fare. They are the most expensive food I've ever encountered. €90 for what appears to be around 100 grams isn't that bad since they are currently going for around it €1,000/kilo wholesale.

Well, angulas were tapas or a first course way back when. In any case, most of them nowadays come from N. Africa, Morocco, which is why they are so expensive. Difficult to obtain in Spain.

True angulas, the ones with the tiny black eyes, are baby eels, come only from the Basque country, the mouth of the Orio River, and are only available when the eels are running. Anything else is a knock off, a fake, and most notably surimi, which can be found everywhere and have been around since the 80s, which is probably what you remember having. The price has gone up the last few years because of several reasons, demand and EU regulations being two.

No, that is not what we remember. We have been in Spain since the early 60s. My husband since 1960; I since 1964. You must remember that prices were very different then, in the whole of Europe, the world, for that matter. And, Madrid was super cheap. That's why it became Party Central for young people like us. For example, a meal at Casa Paco consisting of a racion of angulas, or of cigalas, the steak, potatoes, salad, dessert, and plenty of wine was less than $8 or 500 pesetas. You could go to the Whisky Jazz Club and pay $.41 for a mixed drink. The restaurants we frequented did not serve "knock offs" which, BTW, are called sucedaneos in Spanish. Don't remember seeing any, of any foodstuff, till about 1980. As someone said, Spain is no longer cheap and cheerful. The Spanish National Tourist Office's motto used to be "Spain Is Different.". It no longer is very different, but that can be a good thing, too. It certainly doesn't prevent newcomers from enjoying themselves.

I bought a sim card (voice only) from a Best Buy type of store in Granada for 10 euros. It worked initially, but when I got back to Madrid about 10 days later it would not work and seemed to expire. I did not get alot of info because of the language barrier. The person that sold it to me said that it was 7 cents a minute for and I had the whole 10 euros available. I only made 2 calls of less than a minute each to test it and it worked. I tried a call to a hotel in Ronda and I either had the wrong number or it would not work. I would find out if it was good in all of spain and if it had any expiration date. I needed my passport to get it. We traveled to Turkey 2 years ago and the sim cards there expired after 2 weeks.

Wow, beautiful apartment! I've been to Carlos Tartiere restaurant on Maribel's recommendation, really liked it.

A few weeks ago I bought a 6 euro Movistar sim in terminal 4 at the Madrid airport. They sold them and installed it in my phone at the post office on the lower level. Most planes do not arrive at terminal 4. I flew aa and they use terminal 4, which is a distance away from the other terminals. We used the phone a few times in a rual area and it worked great.

Thanks, everyone, for all the information you've provided.

In the event that, for one reason or another, I do not buy the SIM card at the airport, and have to use a pay phone to call the rental agency, can someone (Robert?) tell me, please, exactly which sequence of numbers I need to dial on the pay phone to reach a phone number in Madrid?

For example, if I need to reach: 0034-648-555-555, what do I dial on the pay phone?

And if calling from a cell phone, to the same number, what do I dial?

Muchas gracias!!

IF CALLING FROM A SPANISH PHONE LINE, WHETHER CELL OR LANDLINE OR PHONE BOOTH, DROP THE INTERNATIONAL CODE AND COUNTRY CODE ( OO34). sorry about the caps.

That number you wrote is a cell phone number. You will need to put 2-3 euros in the phone, I believe, to make a quick call.