Madrid
In this first episode, Michael visits one of his favourite European cities, the vibrant and bustling Spanish capital, Madrid.
A short flight from the UK, renowned as a city that never sleeps, Madrid is somewhere Michael knows well having visited it regularly for over 60 years. And this weekend will be one to remember, with spies in hotel bars, delicate suckling pig and exquisite charcoal grilled seafood, and an outrageous bespoke Spanish cape. There's even his boyhood home in the heart of the city.
Michael's weekend begins in the city centre on the busy Gran Via boulevard, which connects the city's east end, home to Madrid's famous Golden Triangle of art museums and El Retiro Park, with the western side, where the opulent Royal Palace sits.
Michael heads for an early lunch at a restaurant he knows well in the Old Town. Madrid is home to around 10,000 restaurants, and this institution was founded in 1725 making it the world's oldest restaurant with a wood fired oven that hasn't gone out in 300 years, apparently. There's only one dish on the menu: suckling pig.
For the more adventurous there are plenty of surprises in store. Hotel bars with a shady history of espionage, a traditional confectioner who makes a classic Spanish nougat, and a bespoke tailor specialising in a very stylish cape, all come into play.
For the culture vultures, Madrid doesn't disappoint either. Michael goes behind-the-scenes of the opera house El Teatro Real, open to the public seven days a week. He visits one of the world's greatest art collections, and finds time for the Royal Palace, one of Europe's largest with almost 3500 rooms, many of which are open to the public. Perfect on a Long Weekend getaway.
During his Long Weekend Michael also enjoys an Ecuadorian feast in the bohemian neighbourhood of Malasaňa, and a fantastic seafood lunch, grilled fresh over charcoal, in a little-known suburb outside the centre.
In between the hustle and bustle, Michael finds time to relax in the inner-city oasis that is El Retiro Park, once exclusive to the King and royal court, before squeezing in a visit to the family flat where he stayed as a boy, in the years after the Spanish Civil War.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
The Rookie
The Rookie is inspired by a true story. John Nolan is the oldest rookie in the LAPD. At an age where most are at the peak of their career, Nolan cast aside his comfortable, small town life and moved to L.A. to pursue his dream of being a cop. Now, surrounded by rookies twenty years his junior, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, humorous and unpredictable world of a "young" cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.
The Studio
As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it's the job Matt's been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.
True Detective
Touch darkness and darkness touches you back. True Detective centers on troubled cops and the investigations that drive them to the edge. Each season features a new cast and a new case.
True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto.
S.W.A.T.
Shemar Moore stars as a locally born and raised S.W.A.T. sergeant newly tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles. Torn between loyalty to where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, former Marine Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson has everything it takes to be an excellent leader and bridge the divide between his two worlds.
