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Friday, February 25, 2011

Viva Las Palmas

I must have done something right in this life because my friend Marija has kindly invited me to stay with her in the Canaries. I only realised how much I needed this break after I jumped in the ocean. Sun, sea and fresh air is everyone's best friend. Las Palmas is a port city so it may not be as picturesque as expected but it's nothing to sneeze at, and the beach as well as the inactive volcano crater in the mountains are gorgeous. The nightlife is fun, the locals are extremely friendly and the restaurants are exceedingly good.

On Thursday we were told the newest and hottest night club in town is Kopa. On our way there we were followed by whistles and "Bienvenidos a Gran Canaria!" yells from some MUCH too friendly locals. As two rubias (blondes) we quickly realised it was a good thing we dressed down. We arrived around 9:30pm to snoop out the scene and found this open air bar/club empty with the exception of a few stylish people having a chilled out drink. Between the two of us we questioned the barman in Spanglish about nightlife and found out that Friday and Saturday the place is filled with about 3000 people. "Don't you mean 300?" I asked. "No, 3000" he repeated. I guess they count on the door how many people come through the velvet ropes in one night, although I find it hard to believe there's even 3000 people in this entire island based on what I've seen so far (it's actually around 400,000). He then proceeded to tell us we should not arrive before 11pm and that this is the only place in town worth visiting for the likes of us because the rest of the bars in Las Palmas are filled with tourists drunk on cheap alcohol which makes you feel sick. At which point he brought us a couple of Cuba Libres' which he made doubles at no extra charge. We were told this place was extremely expensive, so we were expecting to cringe when he brought us the bill but were pleasantly shocked to discover that our ginormous cocktails only cost 6 each. That's about three times less than in London. We stayed for another drink which our amigo poured de la casa after showing us that he's using legitimate local rum...stamp and everything. It was well after midnight when we headed back and there were still only a few people at Kopa.

Friday, back at Kopa we arrived at 1am and found the place lively and only getting really full around 3am. There was a good mix of locals and visitors, male to female ratio and dress code. Some were dressed up, most were comfortable...I guess is a good word. Kopa is definitely the place to be in Las Palmas and the atmosphere is very relaxing and fun so it's a definite must.

If you're into bargain shopping it's really enjoyable in Gran Canaria with brands like Mango selling rebajas (sale items) at �3-6 and whole stores of shoes at ridiculously low prices like �3 a pair...however it's been a while since I've seen designs this horrifying. Ones that come to mind is a very "sexy" court shoe with a massive chicken toy-like feature on the toe.  Primark has also made its way here and so has H&M and you must visit El Corte Ingles just because it's there.

Saturday we had lunch at a wonderful seafood restaurant, a favourite with the likes of Gerard Depardieu, La Marinera, situated right on the pier. It may look more like a dive bar from outside but when you get closer the place is actually very nice. The staff get excited at every special request and any attempt at conversation with them about their venue. The minute I whipped out a professional camera I was almost pummeled by the camareros showing me their live lobsters, shrimp the size of bananas and various local fish. We ordered small baked potatoes with mojo sauce "papas arrugadas", fried small green peppers "pimientos de padron", which are traditional local treats, and some prawns and other seafood. The food was wonderful, as was the wine.

At night we headed to the south of the island where we ended up at a Japanese restaurant Sakura, which I was skeptic about. After having so many disappointments in London I thought I would hardly find a decent sushi place here. Besides it had blinding fluorescent lighting and was situated near some creepy place called Cita Park, which I can only assume is some gaming centre, but what kind of game park has barb wire? I assume it's to stop the clown from getting out at night when it comes alive. Pictured is one of the scariest clowns I've ever seen in my life hanging over our parking space...making me not want to leave the car even for hamachi. However, I quickly discovered that in Gran Canaria you can never judge a restaurant by its clown....I mean cover. The sushi was great and they are really generous with the portions, but what I liked the most is the private room where you have to sit at the short table with your legs folded and your shoes off.

Our next port of call was Pacha, a club which exists in many cities all over the world. It was easy to get in even though there was a long line, which ended up moving quickly, and the fact that SOME of us were wearing sweatshirts and trainers for which we were very POLITELY told off...unlike in other cities. The entrance fee was about �10 and bought you a free drink...now that's what I call "cover charge". Although it was fun, it was not at all what I was used to in London, LA, Moscow or Kiev. I felt like I was in an episode of Jersey Shore. In fact I definitely saw a Snookie.

On Sunday we had lunch at another sushi restaurant which left me wanting to stay in Las Palmas forever. The minute I entered Kyoto I knew I was going to have a good meal. The place is perfectly authentic and the sashimi was incredibly fresh. From what I could comprender in Spanish the philosophy of the restaurant on the menu said "Japanese cuisine is like a symphony. The simple is difficult to perfect. Each ingredient deserves respect...etc." Their portions were beyond satisfying, which in most places is hard to achieve with sushi and they had wonderfully interesting deserts, although personally I didn't like the slight taste of lemon flavour in our vanilla ice cream tempura "helado frito". I saw Japanese bulgogi on the menu and had to order it because I was sure it was going to be amazing in a place like this, especially after they asked me if I wanted it medium rare or rare. Alas, it was a mistake. Authentic Korean BBQ bulgogi is definitely the only way to go. But it's a sushi place and the sushi, as well as other things, was fantastic. The menu also offered tuna steak tartare with a raw egg center which I didn't get to try this time. The address is Calle Barcelona 13 tel: 928 24 7260. Don't delay to make a reservation way in advance as they run out of tables faster than you can imagine in a place like this.

Even though it was Valentine's Day, which I "lovingly" call VD (for Venereal Disease), another very cool open air place we went to was surprisingly empty as it was a Monday. Lagar Canario at Las Arenas shopping center is another good option for going out apart from Kopa, and I'm thinking the only other option if you don't want to mingle with broachas (drunk) tourists, judging from the information we extracted from all over the island. 

Don't...
...swim out far. The currents are strong and leave you a little panicked.
...bother dressing up...for once and for your own safety if you're a rubia.
...forget your running shoes, the hottest people are the ones sprinting on the beach.
...go topless...many here do but raising the risk of breast cancer is just stupid.

Do...
...unleash your inner Borat and wear a banana hammock. Here it's a norm and you'll avoid an Oreo tan.
...try the local wine. Es estupendo!
...practice Espanol before you go, you'll need it.
...stay out all night and have a siesta instead of sleep.

A few good words to memorize:
hombre = dude (for males, females, children, animals...whoever and whatever)
yo aguerdo = I agree (when someone is telling you something you agree with, not when you agree to do something)
estoy bromeando = I'm joking

Apparently people don't speak proper Espanol here so your best bet is to have a drink, let your inhibitions go and habla blah blah blah away making up words as you go along if you have to. They'll get it. 
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