Chinchon before the storm and arriving at an interesting restaurant

I have written about Chinchon already once here shortly on the blog. If you are looking for a couple of hours escape from the buzz of Madrid this is the place for you. There is a nice square in the village centrum with a fountain on one side of it. There are restaurants and pastry shops and some grandmas sitting on benches on the squares.

You can stroll the streets alone, with friends or your date, climb up the streets and enjoy the view of the Castilian landscape and the village from above after climbing the hill. 

When we arrived there was a storm coming and we were also hungry so we rushed into the nearest restaurant which was on the right side of the street just behind the fountain. I have to say that it was one of the best lunches of my life. For 9 euros I had a starter, a main course, desert, coffee and a glass of wine. The glass of wine was in reality a whole bottle of wine put on the table and you could pour from it as much as you wanted. You can see the main course on the photo above. The interior design of the restaurant displayed the "dark side" of the history of Chinchon which is with two words: bull fights.

Notice: sensitive content

I was a bit intimidated when I saw the two bull heads on the wall looking at me after I sat down. On the other hand I accepted it as a part of the local culture and I got used to them during lunch. Bull fights are a very conflicting topic even within Spain. On one hand you have animal rights and the notion of animal cruelty, on the other hand a tradition deeply rooted in the culture of Southern Spain. A habit what might symbolize the victory of man over the powers of nature and a moment of immortality with all its brutality and formalities. Toreadors go by first name only and are celebrated local heroes. Liking it or not the restaurant is there and the food is good so I would recommend a visit here. But if you despise the topic a lot you can still visit Chinchon without having to stumble to it.

You can go for a walk on the hillside, enjoy the view from there, take photos, drink a good glass of wine or a coffee in one of the pastry shops and go back to Madrid in the afternoon.

As we finished our lunch the storm went away and we went for a walk too. I will publish some of those photos in the next writing.

PHOTOS AND WRITING BY MONIKA CSAPO