Monocle and Madrid

In Madrid airport I popped into the newsagents intending to buy Cosmo or some other trashy magazine to keep me company on the flight home. My eyes alighted on Monocle ("a briefing on global affairs, business, culture & design"). At E11 I thought it an expensive purchase but splashed out! And what value for money! The magazine or briefing kept me occupied for an hour or so before the flight, two and a half hours or more on the plane and for another while in bed that night. And I still have more to read. It was intelligent, amusing, enlightening if somewhat faddy. The july/august edition focussed on urban living and had a survey of the world's top 20 most liveable cities (Munich topped the list). I was thrilled to hear many of the contributors citing the importance of water in the urban environment. I live near a canal but development of the walkway alongside it is at a standstill, I know some of the canal-side is not in the safest of areas but surely good design could inhibit certain activities?

I don't have much to write about Madrid. My next holiday will *not* be in a city! After a while they all have a certain sameness and offer similar experiences. We did enjoy very much the huge choice of small bars off Calle Fuencarral.

I visited the Prado museum with its great collection of art. Especially fantastic were Hieronymous Bosch's pieces.

And the reason we went to Madrid - the summercase festival - was a great experience. The music was super! Arcade Fire, Kaiser Chiefs, The Gossip, Air, 2ManyDJs, Chemical Brothers, The Whitest Boy Alive, Scissor sisters, Jarvis Cocker, !!!, PJ Harvey, James, Belle & Sebastian DJs...