la noche en blanco.

Every year, Madrid organizes La Noche en Blanco (The White Night/Night in White). It’s a giant cultural festivital and there are events located all over the city. The museums stay open, the Metro is open late, and there are people EVERYWHERE.

The girls at the beginning of La Noche en Blanco

We had planned on seeing a man tightrope walk between two buildings, but unfortunately he postponed his performance. The weather was awful – cold and windy – and I’m sure he was nervous a gust of wind would blow him over. Once we realized that it would be a while before he tried again, we decided to change locations and see something else.

After spending a LONG TIME searching for bathrooms for people, we end up walking to Chueca. Chueca is the trendy gay neighborhood in Madrid, and is also home to Madrid’s best tapas bar, El Tigre. Although the bar was packed, we managed to get some drinks and tapas. The drinks at El Tigre are enormous, and the plates of tapas are even bigger. For €6 I got a copa (large glass) of sangria and a big plate of potatoes and croquetas. I was starving, so it was perfect.

In large groups of people, like we were traveling with that night, people start to get antsy to leave and see something else. We head out of the bar and run into The Sun in the middle of the plaza.

The Sun in Chueca

The Sun was a collection of heat lamps. I’m sure there was some purpose to it, and the sun kept “rising and setting”, but on a cold night we couldn’t have cared less. We huddled in front of them like we were at the beach.

Lauren, Tara, and Jen in front of The Sun

There were people camped out in front of The Sun on lawn chairs, just having a beer and enjoying the warmth. While we were hanging out in the plaza, another group of Syracuse Madrid students met up with us, making us a group of about 20 Americans. You can imagine what that would have looked like when we all busted out singing along to some Journey.

Jim rocking out to some Don't Stop Believing

By this time, it was nearly 4:30 am. People started to get cranky and cold, and no one could decide where to go. Some people split up to go to an outdoor techno concert, and some people headed indoors to a bar. Jen and I chose to head home, which ended up being quite the adventure since there were NO AVAILABLE CABS. I think the general consensus of the evening was that it was fun, but we didn’t feel the need to do it again. I think it’s one of those events that you need to have 2 friends with you and a plan of action. All in all, I’m glad I went. It’s no secret that Madrid has quite the nightlife and I’ve definitely been out until 5 am before (and later), but it was crazy to see the city FULL of people at that hour!

La Noche en Blanco