Justicia

No, I don’t mean justice in the sense of law, I mean the neighbourhood of Justicia, a swanky area northeast of Sol, home to Chueca, the gay area full of nightclubs and hip and quirky shops. Technically, the house I’m in is on the Chueca side of Fuencarral, and across the street is the other cool neighbourhood of Malasaña. But Malasaña wasn’t what I explored today, Justicia was.

The route was predetermined by my need to go and pick up my brand-new Polish passport at the Polish consulate office just off Plaza de Colón. You may remember I spent a little time here back in March when I came to apply for my replacement passport. This time around, however, the sun was shining brightly and the trees were nice and green finally. The massive Spanish flag was still massive, too — I just can’t get over the size of it and have way too many photos of it now.

My passport was ready (if, at first, not where the nice guy helping me could find it) and I was in and out of there very quickly. As I checked Google to see where to go next, I noticed that there was an IKEA store just up the street so, of course, I had to go check it out. Knowing that buildings in Spanish cities tend to be labyrinthian and extend far beyond the façade, I was intrigued by the possibility of a Tardis-like IKEA. Unfortunately, this one was comprised of three, rather standard floors, two of which was basically a mini-version of the Marketplace with a few pieces of furniture thrown in for good measure. The lower floor was a kitchen/closet design office where people can go get their dreams made into reality. It is also a delivery pick-up place so those without cars (and that is a large proportion of the population) can get their purchases from the real store delivered to the centre of the city. For you IKEA-lovers out there, Madrid has three, soon to be four regular-sized IKEAs conveniently on the “corners” of the city (NE, SE, SW, and soon NW) and this baby IKEA is right in the middle. I sense good ol’ Scandinavian thinking at work here …

I didn’t buy anything, of course, and turned my attention to the local markets. My fascination with public markets has not abated so, seeing one fairly close on the map, I decided to head in its direction. Mercado San Antón sells itself as “3 levels of gourmet & everyday groceries with food stations, cooking demos & a terrace bar” but really, it’s just an upscale (and a bit pretentious) collection of foodie-oriented stalls and a number of bars selling pricey fruit drinks. To be honest, it reminded me a little of the Hudson Market in Victoria minus the cheap eats: a place you walk through but don’t really feel any urge to stop and buy anything because everything looks way overpriced. I guess I have been forever spoiled by Mercats Central, Russafa, and Cabanyal in Valencia. Oh no! I’ve become a market snob 🤦‍♀️.

Slightly disappointed I continued wondering through the Justicia neighbourhood, admiring the local neoclassical architecture, and hoping to find a spot to have some lunch. I had gone out to do some grocery shopping the day before but wasn’t in the mood for cooking just yet. Fortunately, Calle de Fuencarral is full of places to eat and I treated myself to a nice, spicy ramen and some relatively decent sushi at the Japanese place next door:

This whole area is quite lovely, vibrant, and colourful. Noisy, as well, but the noise doesn’t seem to penetrate the inner part of the building my room is in so sometimes I feel like I’m in a quiet suburb somewhere. It’s always such an auditory shock when I leave the house and rejoin civilization; no wonder I sleep so well here.