If you are in Madrid and you have done the Red Bus Tour, visited all the Art Galleries including The Prado, walked the City ‘till your feet are killing you and have now run out of ideas of where to go next, well, I have a suggestion. Terminal 4 and 4s of Madrid Airport! A very worthy piece of competition for Heathrow’s T5 I would well imagine.  It has been open since 2006 with very little fuss at its beginning and worth a visit if only to be amazed at the genius of its architectural achievements.

It is the latest addition to Madrid’s Barajos Airport, situated 13K north east of Madrid and was opened on 5^th February 2006.  The original airport is now some 50 years old and its terminals 1, 2 and 3, though having been updated during those years, couldn’t cope with the vast increase in volume of traffic beginning to operate from those original buildings.

The new terminals were designed by architects Richard Rogers (now Lord Rogers) and Anthony Lamela,  the UK Structural Consultants TPS (Carillion) and the Spanish firm Inetec, the latter having the legal powers to sign off the drawings.  The building construction was carried out by a joint venture between FCC, ACS, Ferrovial, Necso and Sacyr.  It was project managed by Parsons Brinkhoff, with a 28.9m euro order for baggage equipment going to FKI Logistex Crisplanta.  T4 has an area of 470.261m2, with a north to south orientation of 1142m long and one of 39m east to west wide. The main entrance is 57 m wide. It was built at a cost of 2.91bn euros.  T4s (a satellite) covers an area of 287.384m2 with each terminal having its own runway and the two terminals are connected by an underground train.  Thus making it one of the largest buildings in Europe and one of the world’s major airports. The terminal buildings incorporate many eco-friendly consumption reducing installations consisting of an efficient cooling system, shading to facades, roof and zonal lighting and glass paneling instead of solid walls and numerous domed structures in the roof to allow natural light through.

Sunlight was the key feature in the design of these terminals and this is demonstrated within large courtyards of lights, making a very dramatic use of its imposing space – a feature shared by both the departures and arrivals sections.  The whole area of both terminals is colour coded on flight information, area separation pillars, information sites and passenger gates.  One of the main features of T4 is that 200.000m2 of Bamboo plywood (used in 5 layered strips) has been incorporated into the roof structure.

The site overall includes a covered four storey car park containing 9000 spaces, 2 runways, new access motorways and roads, shops (including Zara and Mango), entertainment and massage facilities, plus cafes and bars and over a year deals with some 35 million passengers, with 10.000 of these passing through during peak hours.

T4 itself consists of 39 aircraft stands adjacent to the terminal building, which itself is made up of 3 modules on 6 levels.  The first module deals with check-ins (via 174 check-in desks).  The second is security and has 26 control points and the third module is for the boarding of domestic flights and those flights departing to Schengen countries.  It also has 20 conveyor belts for baggage claiming for returning passengers.  There are also shops and cafes in the satellite.

The distance between T4 and its satellite is 2K and is serviced by part of the terminals Automated Passenger Transport System.  A subterranean train covers the distance in 3 minutes and operates over a 24 hour period at a maximum speed of 60K per hour .  At peak times this train can transport over 13.000 travelers, who leave this train via a 100m long platform.  The train is an automatic, driverless vehicle which runs beneath the two runways.

The smooth running of these two terminals is achieved via 38 boarding gates, 28 movable ramps, 76 lifts, 22 escalators, an Automatic People Mover covering 2.00m – all of which operate 34 hours per day.  And there is a workforce of 20.000 on site every day.

This new terminal is a 10 minute journey from terminals 1, 2 and 3 and is via a free shuttle bus.  There is also a free shuttle bus service from a very good long stay car park.

To facilitate travelers coming to the newly extended Madrid Airport a new motorway, the M12 (running north to south) has been built, plus links between the M14 and M13 (east to west) have been added.  Also, from the city of Madrid itself, and improved and extended Metro system has been added.  Plus taxis to and from the City to the airport are priced at 20 euros.

You will probably have guessed I am a huge fan of T4 and T4s!  When you first arrive you stand there in total amazement, open mouthed and ‘gob smacked’ at its sheer vastness, amazing architectural drama and unique use of unusual features.  You can see everything from just about everywhere. Plus you are under cover from the moment you step through its entrance. It is large, efficient, spotless, well staffed and generally….smashing!

The only complaints I would have would be that it is a bit confusing as to where you collect your baggage from though it is signed! This is because you normally collect it in the building you arrive in. This time you arrive at T4s, travel on the train to T4 and do the Passport Control bit and collect the baggage from here. Plus the baggage collection time could be a bit slow but you are informed of this on the screens above each belt.

And why was I at T4 and T4s?  This time we drove direct to the airport and didn’t do the cultural bits as we were catching a flight to Israel….but that will be another tale

FERIA DE LOS PUEBLOS…….weekend of April 4^th 2008

As mentioned in an earlier article, I LOVE MALAGA, so was it anything of a surprise for me to be there again on the morning of Sunday 6^th of April? Not really!

This time I was visiting the Feria de los Pueblos being held in The Trade Fair and Congress Center – yes, that’s the strange building made of glass and steel you pass on route to the Airport from the east (that’s right – the one your visitors ask you ‘Whatever is that?’)

This very modern building was designed by the Spanish architect Angel Asenjo.  It took four years to build and is the largest Trade and Congress Center in Southern Spain.  It has been described as looking like a fish in the waves of an ocean and it covers an area of 60,000square meters (the NEC in Birmingham covers an area of 200.000 square meters), offering a wide range of possibilities for commercial activities.  Its structure makes it suitable for all purposes; it is modern, functional and is an ideal location for many events.  It consists of a 7,400 square meters semi-opened designed patio area, which takes you through to two exhibition pavilions covering 17,000 and 6,000 square meters respectively, which can be used either individually or jointly.  There are also two auditoriums with a joint capacity of 1500 people, offering very advanced technology such as broad band Internet connections, a simultaneous translations system and video conference facilities.  Two conference rooms complete the building with a capacity for seating 450 people each.  The most eye-catching feature of the Trade Center is the vast canopy on one of the exterior walls.  With a length of 130 meters and a width of 20 meters it provides effective sun protection.  The grounds outside the Center are quite spacious with lots of seating where you could enjoy a packed lunch in the fresh air.

It is rapidly becoming a huge success as an International Congress Center attracting a variety of events: Andalucian Trade Shows; Technology Forums; International Congress of Golf and the Environment (which discusses the sustainability of Golf in the Mediterranean) Spanish Moroccan Trade Fairs, Jardinova 2008; The Homes and Gardens Show and an Annual Christmas Fair.  In June of this year, 100,000 people are expected at the 1st completely Inter-Active Leisure Industry Trade Show.  Over the past few years, we have visited a couple of these exhibitions namely The Spanish Moroccan Trade Fair (which is usually combined with the Annual Christmas Fair) and the Homes and Gardens Show (this usually has guest demonstrators from the UK showing off their cooking and gardening skills)

 This year was the 12^th time the Feria de los Pueblos has been held and over the weekend an estimated 250,000 visitors were expected, with buses usually laid on from towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants.  The Feria is basically a Trade Fair showcasing a variety of products from the Axarqueria area, plus restaurants and businesses. There were bands, jugglers, clowns, singers, dancers, play areas for the children, a planetarium, and an exhibition of how things work plus a very funny trio of dancing recycling bins.

We didn’t need lunch when we returned home – tastings of olive oils, cheeses, honey, cakes, sausages, pork joints and Malaga wines meant we were well fed until supper time! And, following a lengthy and quite in-depth tasting of the oils on offer from a very wide production area, we reached the conclusion that the oil from our own village came out the best.  Torrox oil has a lovely flavour which, and this is only my opinion, puts me in mind of grapefruit.  Chunks of rustic bread dipped in Torrox oil – lovely!  There was also a very unusual thick, dark honey made, believe it or not, from avocados.  And talking of avocados, did you know that there is a range of beauty products made from them?  I have tried the moisture cream and there is also a good lip balm.  These can be bought from the Torrox Olive Co-operative (at the same time you purchase your liters of their olive oil!). I particularly enjoyed sampling the various cheeses (but I am a cheese lover in any case).  There were some spectacular ones on offer and it was hard to decide between some of the softer ones and the very strong tasting goats cheeses.  In the end, it was the goats cheese that won and we came away with a couple of beautiful examples of the same cheese, one more mature than the other.

The arena had been separated into three walk through sections, so next to all the delicious foods on offer there were many exhibiters of local crafts – stained glass, leather work, wood and tiles, jewellry and candle work.

The tourism of the area was certainly not neglected with large stands representing many of the local villages and towns. Local radio and television people with microphones and cameras were all over the place, but taking center ‘floor’ was a huge Google Earth representation of the whole of Spain – here people were crawling around on hands and knees discovering, identifying and even photographing where they came from! The ‘give aways’ ranged from extremely good publicity material through to linen shopping bags.

Coffee and additional refreshments could be found in the permanent restaurant areas and, for this type of event, the price of a good cup of coffee was a mere 1.20 euros. In the past we have a good meal here which was also reasonably priced and there is always fresh fruit and drinks on offer.  Parking is very plentiful and could be either paid or free (if you use the casita area which is very close by).

And what was the price of this very enjoyable morning? NOTHING – the event was FREE.

No way Jose! You’ve got more chance of me tap dancing naked up the M6  than me driving either through Madrid or anywhere within a 30 miles radius of the place!!

Don’t get me wrong, Madrid is a lovely City and well worth a visit and, yes, I have been there many times. BUT I DON’T DO THE DRIVING. NO CHANCE!

Talk about Silverstone combining with a Gran Prix and both joining the M25, then you now have some idea of what it is like on the Madrid Ring Road! I freeze. I become a stone statue as we get anyway near 30 miles of the City. My arms go all pins and needles, back of my knees go cold. I become a complete wimp. Which is strange because I have driven through Berlin during its rush hour, I have driven myself, all alone, to Dusseldorf, I have driven on my own all over the UK, BUT I can’t drive on the Madrid bypass. BUT, I have hung out of the passenger window during the bypass rush hour, while we have been towing a trailer, to slow down the traffic so we could join. That holds no fear, BUT to drive it, no way.