Madrid Welcomes First Nap Bar in Spain

Madrid Welcomes First Nap Bar in Spain

Does the new nap are have any legs ? 

Spain treated the world to the siesta, and the world responded with the soul-crushing 9-5 office life. Spanish workers were forced to burn out in a strip-lit open office where they can’t even rest their eyes without having someone look down on them.

The siesta hasn’t died off just yet – especially in the more rural regions of Spain – but it has become more difficult for Spaniards to find the time for one. No doubt these Spaniards are going to embrace the new nap bar opening in Madrid to cater to those looking for that blessed mid-afternoon nap.

The Siesta and Go bar is inspired by similar concepts that can be found in Tokyo, Dubai, and London; three places where everyone understands the value of a well-rested worker. 

Patrons at the bar can enjoy going an hour’s sleep for as little as €12-14 per head, with both single and double rooms on offer. Of course, these establishments might be enjoyed by patrons looking to move their office flirtations into the next level, but these nap bars are primarily intended to be used as a place for tired workers to rest and recharge their batteries. 

The 19-room Siesta and Go is located in Azca; the financial heart of Madrid. Workers are able to walk in and ask for vacancies or book a stay in advance. The rooms at the bar are similar to hotel rooms in that they are regularly cleaned with fresh bedding. Staff are ready and willing to wake you up if you have trouble getting up on time as well. 

Siesta and Go also features a lounge filled with comfortable chairs, coffee, and newspapers, allowing customers to just walk in and get awayfrom the Spanish sun when it gets unbearable.

Survey Names Madrid Finest European City for Expats

Survey Names Madrid Finest European City for Expats

 The capital of Spain is friendly and affordable and it comes with great weather. Madrid, the capital of Spain, has come first out of the cities of Europe in the latest poll looking at cities loved by expats around the world.

its no wonder that Madrid has been named

the finest European city

Over 14,000 took part in the latest InterNations poll. InterNations is the largest expats networking service and these results saw Melbourne in Australia come out as the global number one but Spain still did well with Barcelona and Madrid showing up in the top 17.

The survey in question was the InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey and it’s thought to be the largest and most extensive study looking at how expats live; so the results are likely to treated as gospel by those looking to move somewhere new.

The expats who took part were asked how they would rate several different elements of living overseas including their career prospects, their work-life balance, the weather, their quality of life, and how the local population behave.

Second place came as a surprise because it was taken by Houston in the USA. Madrid came in third with Dusseldorf in Germany taking fourth and Singapore coming in fifth.

Madrid scored well as expats felt that locals in the city would make every effort to make expats feel at home. Throw in the weather and the cost of living and it’s not hard to see why Madrid came in third.

Barcelona came in 11^th overall and received praise for the leisure, social activities, low cost of living and solid prospects on offer.

The rest of the list was taken up by the usual suspects; Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Toronto, Geneva and Sydney. Perhaps the most interesting result is that there were no British cities in the top 20. Britain was let down by the high cost of living and the poor weather that pushed British cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and London off of the list.

London came in 27^th place overall out of 35 cities. London ranked low because of the quality of life in the city and the perceived lack of safety.

Zara Boss Buys Madrid Skyscraper for €490 million

Zara Boss Buys Madrid Skyscraper for €490 million

Zara is the flagship brand, and supremely profitable

One of the most iconic skyscrapers making up the modern skyline of Madrid is the Cespa Tower. The richest man in Europe, Amancia Ortega knows something about making smart investments. Ortega founded the global fashion group Inditex, the company behind the shopping brand Zara, and he became the richest man in Europe through his business sense and ability to find a great deal.

This week the Spanish real estate sector saw him scoop up another good deal as he got his hands on the Cespa Tower for €490 million.

The Cespa Tower is one of the four towers that make up the Madrid skyline. Before Ortega bought it the skyscraper used to belong to Khadem al-Qubasi; an oil tycoon from Abu Dhabi.

Ortega has been growing his property portfolio and added the Cespa Tower to it after making arrangements for holding company Pontegadea Immobiliaria to make the purchase through Spanish lender Bankia.

The Cespa Tower is just the latest building in Ortega’s portfolio of impressive real estate in impressive locations. Ortega also owns property on Oxford Street and Mayfair in London, along with prime real estate in Seoul and New York.

Ortega is quite sly in that he actually rents out some of his properties to one of his rivals in H&M. Currently no one knows for sure what he plans to do with the Cespa tower.

The Cuatro Torres complex located in downtown Madrid is made up of a myriad of hotels, office and retail space, along with some private residences. There’s no need for any rental tenants to be worried though. They’re clearly in good hands with a landlord like Ortega.

Catalonia to Push for Secession Without Approval from Madrid

Catalonia to Push for Secession Without Approval from Madrid

Catalonia have been pushing for independence

for a long time

Many Catalans have been eager to get their independence but it looks like they’ve been held back at every turn, especially from a political standpoint.

The government of Catalonia has said that they will continue their attempts to break away from Spain even if they can’t secure the approval of the Spanish government.

The debates are becoming as heated as ever as is evidenced by Catalonia defying the Spanish constitutional court by talking about their own sovereignty in this manner. The parliament of Catalan put together a resolution to become an independent state nine months ago but their requests were never answered by those in Madrid.

Raül Romeva, the Catalonian minster of foreign affairs, has said that the Spanish state has left Catalonians feeling like they don’t have an alternative anymore. Their goal was to try and do what Scotland did when they sought independence; they wished to negotiate with the Spanish government and hold a democratic referendum. They are trying to talk to Madrid but they hear nothing in response.

Madrid would like to avoid seeing Spain break up and are even more apprehsensive following the recent Brexit decision and the idea that Scotland will once again call for a referendum for independence from the UK; a referendum that may very well pass this time.

Romeva has almost given Madrid an ultimatum, saying that the Spanish national government can continue to deny reality and believe that they can use their courts and legal processes to stop it, or they can accept reality and prepare for the inevitable Catalan independence.

A recent poll suggests that many Catalonian voters support the idea of an independent Catalonia and the current incumbent Catalonian government has already drawn up plans to come up with workable departments for collecting taxes, social security apparatus and a foreign affairs department ready for when they gain independence and need such things.

Romera believes that the independence referendum will be called within a year and believes that Madrid must accept what the Catalonian people want.

The stance of Madrid is really quite simple to understand; as Catalonia is not currently a nation any referendum they hold will not be legally binding in a Spanish or EU court. This is an impasse that Catalonia is determined to get past.

Romeva said that Catalonia would obviously be an ally ofSpain because of markets and infrastructure and other cultural and linguistic reasons. He also believes that Europe wouldn’t want to lose the socially and economically dynamic reality. As such any claim that an independent Catalonia would have no place in the EU is false.

Michelle Obama Uses Madrid Trip to Promote Girls Education

Michelle Obama Uses Madrid Trip to Promote Girls Education.

Michelle Obama, First Lady of the USA, took a trip to Madrid recently to discuss the girls education as part of her “Let Girls Learn” initiative.

Her daughters Malia and Sasha made the trip with Michelle, along with her mother Marian Robinson. They came into Madrid from Morocco as they are on a three-leg tour of the area.

The First Lady gave a speech in Madrid where she talked about how proud she was that the USA is on the verge of electing their first ever female president, and took the chance to encourage the Spanish girls in the crowd to embrace all the educational opportunities presented to them and reach as far as they could.

Michelle said that she was proud that the US could elect their first female president in reference to Senator Hilary Clinton, the current forerunner for Democratic nominee for president. Clinton is likely to face Republican nominee Donald Trump in the fight for the White House.

Michelle began her “Let Girls Learn” School initiative in March of 2015. The focus of the initiative is to provide a quality education to girls around the world. Michelle spoke of her sadness that over 62 million girls would be unable to reach their potential because they are blocked from accessing an education.

She encouraged listeners to imagine how it must feel to be ready and willing to get an education only to be told that you can’t learn anything else because you are a girl. These girls will be unable to live their dreams and will instead be forced to marry a man twice their age and start a family.

Michelle also took time to meet with Queen Letizia, who she describes as a dear friend. The younger Obama girls took a shopping trip around Gran Via while their mother gave her address.

President Barack Obama himself is due to visit Spain  for a three-day long official visit.