In the city of Madrid, capital of Spain

 Madrid is a city that, with its style and flair, absorbs and holds those who live here or know it well. Madrileños (people from Madrid) have a reputation for being quite attached to their city; in the words of a local proverb, “From Madrid to heaven, and in heaven a little window from which to see it.”

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(in the capital of Spain) A traditional nickname for the Madrileños is gatos (“cats”), originally coined in the Middle Ages as a reference to the ability of local troops to scale castle walls. It would be no less apt as a reference to the local lifestyle and the late hours kept by the city’s inhabitants. People eat late, theaters and cinemas begin performances late as a matter of course, and the siesta is by no means dead. Although the city offers a wealth of cultural events and entertainment; Madrid also has taken on a cosmopolitan character with the influx of immigrants, not only from Latin America but also from Asia, elsewhere in Europe, and North Africa. Not many cities, however, can boast an artistic pedigree quite as pure as Madrid’s: for centuries, Spanish royals showered praise and riches upon the finest artists of the day, from home-grown talents such as Goya and Velázquez to Flemish and Italian greats. Masterpieces by these and other Spanish painters such as Picasso, Dalí and Miró now adorn the walls of the city’s world-class galleries. Meanwhile, Madrid continues to evolve into one of the richest culinary capitals of Europe. From tapas in sleek temples to all that’s new to sit-down meals beneath centuries-old vaulted ceilings, eating in Madrid is a genuine pleasure. Madrid nights are still the stuff of legend, and the perfect complement to the more sedate charms of fine arts and fine dining. The city may have more bars than any other city on earth – but that only goes partway to explaining the appeal of after-dark Madrid. Step out into the night-time streets of many barrios and you’ll find yourself swept along on a tide of people, accompanied by a happy crowd intent on dancing until dawn.
+ Standing in the middle of Puerta del Sol, is the statue of a cuddly bear reaching up to the branches of a tree. These two emblematic figures represent the official Coat of Arms of Madrid. Apparently, the bear, also adorned with the seven stars of the zodiac sign Ursa-Mayor (the Great Bear), had represented the council of Madrid since the year 1212. The tree was added ten years later as the symbol of a treaty, which settled the ongoing dispute between the clergymen and the council over the use of the local fields and forests. It does seem, however, that the use of a strawberry "tree," of all trees, may have had less to do with historical accuracy, and more with the fact that its Spanish botanical name, madroño, sounds a lot like Madrid and madrileño … or so I've been told.