I asked about this last week before we left for Madrid, and no one replied, so I booked it any way, and it was great. We took a food/wine tour with Andres Jarabo of walksofspain.com. It was better than we imagined. Andres chooses the wines and takes them to a restaurant and a tavern.

We went to the Tavern Paco for cheese and the first wine. He gave a short talk with pictures about historical taverns in Madrid. Then we went the 3 or 4 hundred year old building that houses Estella Damm Restaurant where we had selected hams with matching wine, calamri with another wine, beef that we cooked at the table with a great 17 year old wine, and we finished with chocolate figs and dessert wine. During one course, we compared a new wine with one a few years old to see the differences. He gave us a handout and short information about each wine.

He is very serious about his wines--so much so that he brought his own glasses for the very old wine that were the right shape to enjoy the aroma and taste. Andres is charming and friendly, the wines were good, and the restaurants were in a nice old section of the historical part of Spain where few tourists venture. It was a very fine evening, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Thanks for this suggestion, Marty. I will be in Madrid in early June on my own after 2.5 weeks in Italy with a group of friends. I will be spending some time with a friend there, but am looking for things to do solo during the week. This sounds right up my alley. Besides the two college girls, what was your group like?

I've been to Madrid several times but not for many years, so any other tips from your last trip would be appreciated.
Thanks
Annabelle

We were a group of 8, so the two girls were the only other ones in our tour. He takes no more than ten, because the table in the restaurant only seats 10. It was one of the highlights of our trip. We really like El Rastro flea market on Sunday morning, but I had just been there in August, so I sort of "knew" how the manage it. It is huge and very, very crowded. I took the group the the "normal" sight seeing things like the Prado, the Palace, etc. We never found Ermita de la Florida where Goya is buried, but we tried hard. We did a lot of shopping on the streets between the Gran Via and Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor. We really loved just being there and taking in the easy life style. We were there to have dinner with some Spaniards that I met at Vaughan Village last summer, and that was so much fun that everything else was just extra!!

Thanks Marty. I think I will try to do the food/wine tour. Re: Rastro -- I still have an antique cross that I bought there years ago, so maybe will re-visit. My friend can hang with me on the weekends and most evenings, so will probably hit museums/shopping/day trips/just wander in the days. Thanks for the suggestions.

Funny you mention Vaughn Village, I was interested in their program. How was it? I've checked out their website, but it would be nice to get firsthand feedback.
Thanks!

A friend and I went last August, and we both loved it. It is hard work to talk that much, but they provided many, many fun activities along with all the talking. We made great Spanish and Anglo friends and have stayed in touch with many of them.

Another American from in our group was in Madrid Easter week and had dinner with some of the Spaniards. We were there and had dinner with them last week. One of the Spaniards is coming to our state to take a course at the university this summer and another is just coming for a visit here with us. It was a great experience, and I will do it again. Some of our group have already been back for another week. Other questions about it?

RE: Vaughn Village -- Yes, I do have another question. I checked out their website a couple of months ago, and it seemed to stress that they didn't want experienced teachers. Well, my profession is teaching ESL (college level) but I am not a rigid grammar nazi like the website seems to imply that all english teachers are. On the contrary, most programs in this day and age stress communication and content. But I just kind of came to a halt with the application because I couldn't tell if they really won't hire experienced teachers or if they were simply encouraging applicants from various backgrounds. What was your impression? It sounds like the kind of language situation that I love! (Now, if I could find this kind of program for learning Spanish...)

Thanks for the tips.

It wasn't about teaching at all; it was just conversation all week. The idea is to allow the Spaniards to be able to understand "real" English as opposed to "teacher" English. The only time we corrected grammar was if they asked, and they did, or if a word was constantly confused, like she and he. It was very much about no Spanish being spoken. The week I was there, they even put out a box, and if any Spanish was heard, the person had to put money in the box of drinks! They don't stress so much that they don't won't teachers (there were plenty of them there--several who had just come from Prague taking the TEFL training), just that it is not a teaching situation. I remember that the application stated they wanted non-Spanish speakers.

marty, how do you book this evening and how much does it cost?

duh, ok, I found "walkofspain.com" <hidden> in your post. LOL. I guess you can book on there, and I'll check to see if it has prices.

Thanks, marty. It (vaughn village)sounds like a great experience. I'll follow up on it.
Patrick, thanks for tips on Ischia on another post, by the way. When are you going to be in Spain? I'll be there in early June, right after Italy.

Call me an advance planner -- I plan to be there in June of 2006.

Well, Patrick, if I am able to do the food/wine tour this May, which I hope will work out, I will give you a report (although from Marty's feedback, it sounds like a sure thing).

Nothing wrong with advance planning. I know from reading so many of your posts, Patrick, that your planning pays off in some great-sounding trips.

Patrick: It was 39 Euros. I just emailed Andres and set everything up. He was very easy to work with. He looks constantly for good wines, and just before we left, he emailed to say that he had upgraded our wines. We were able to compare a new wine with the same one that had aged 27 years. He is very knowledgeable, and just seems to love wine. He has his own small collection that he is adding to when his research finds something good.

I contacted Andres Jarabo at walksofspain.com

His Madrid cuisine/culture tour sounds fascinating.

He needs two more people to form a group for May 4, an evening I told him I would be available for his Madrid tour.

If anyone is interested in that night, you can contact him at [email protected]

I contacted Andres Jarabo at walksofspain.com

His Madrid cuisine/culture tour, which was profiled by Marty in the general interest section of this site, sounds fascinating.

Andres needs two more people to form a group for May 4, an evening I told him I would be available for his Madrid tour.

If anyone is interested in that night, you can contact him at [email protected]