Tequila Always Helps!

So after almost 2 days of not feeling well (apparently there is a cold epidemic sweeping Madrid) I had to get out of the house! And what better way to feel better than with tunes and tequila!

Armed with my battery backup I decided to visit Cheers! I am a creature of habit, plus it's Madrids top rated Karaoke spot, so win-win!

As soon as I got there, an older gentleman recognized me from 2 nights before and pulled me on stage to sing Frank Sinatra's My Way with him! Here's a pic of us after.

This is Oscar, and he is originally from Chile!

The environment at Cheer's is incredible. It could be the alcohol lol but everyone is happy, lively, and just wants to have a great time. The music is pretty much based on what people want to sing, with snippets of pop and techno in between. I hear "Hit me Baby one more time", "Despacito", and "Total Eclipse of my Heart" within 30 minutes and yes, I sang along to each one! Then, I join the entire bar as "Bohemian Rhapsody" plays and it's like you have to stop what you're doing and sing along. I felt right at home :)

Throughout the night, I meet a few different characters. I borrow my battery backup to a tall Italian/Ecuadorean guy, after watching him frantically searching the bar walls for a plug. Turns out his girlfriend is having surgery back home in Ecuador and he wants to make sure she's doing well in recovery. I meet a group of English men, and for a solid 30 seconds convince them I am also British, before cracking up and breaking my accent, revealing an American English accent instead.

I people watch and observe some Spanish people attempt to salsa dance to Marc Anthony's Valio La Pena, and I smile and it makes me giggle and I'm secretly judging them, but also I am really happy to just see people having fun, and giving zero F's.

I make a great conversation with the handsome tattooed bartender, whose dreamy eyes would make anyone swoon. He is happy to meet me, and tells me I am nice. We agree that we both stand out for being overly tattooed. I ask for a pic for my blog and he agrees :))

This is Pedro :)

You can't tell from the pic, but he has full sleeves and his chest and back are tattooed. We have a great conversation about random things, and tattoos, and the upcoming super bowl. In between serving patrons, he not only buys me a shot, but also refuses to let me tip him.

Jagger for him and Cuervo for me!

It's always hard for bartenders to talk to patrons for more than a short time, because well, they have a bar to tend to. Pedro was super nice. Since I'll be in Madrid for the Super bowl, he told me he wanted to check with a friend that is hosting a SB party, and see if he could invite me. We exchanged numbers and we'll see! Either way I made a friend that night, even if just for the night, and I'm ok with that!

I finally get called up to sing, and I do my thing. It gets so busy, there's roughly 40 people ahead of you when you sign up. So I recommend either come in super early, or go right to the DJ and request your song (instead of searching through the books). Whether you sing or not, you're going to have a great time.

My night doesn't end at Cheers though... because what better way to end a night after drinking? Eating! Check out my next blog, for the deliciousness that followed!

xoxo,

Tiana