Summers of Valdemorillo

Nostalgia, youth, life… and the best moment is now.

There was a Vespino, of course, but also a Suzuki, a Puch Condor, two Riejus and a Derbi DS… We never made it to the Honda NSRs or Yamaha TZRs of 80cc, let alone the two or three 125cc Cagivas that could be seen around El Paraíso and Cerro Alarcón… but we were happy. Very happy. So much so, we didn’t even realize it. The girls truly liked us — so much that we didn’t realize that either. The main street of the village was a buzzing stage of motorbikes coming and going, carrying the legendary names of summer in this town: Tate Wate, Hola que hay, Borsalino, Vicenta… A las tantas.

They say nostalgia is not good, because it can turn into melancholy — not only that feeling of the romantic poets, but also the risk of living in the past, of seeing that past as the only truly beautiful, luminous stage of our lives. And yet, when we look back at those summers of Valdemorillo from our youth, it’s impossible not to feel a pinch in the soul, a faint smile that widens as memories resurface of that village — what it once was, and what it will never be again.

That doesn’t mean that what we have now isn’t good, beautiful, or even luminous. It’s just… something different.

At our restaurant, we pay homage to Valdemorillo in every dish. We are territory — in produce, in life, but also in history. And those summers of Valdemorillo, in the eighties and nineties, with a beautiful swan song in the early 2000s, were truly magical.

It was a smaller town then, still growing, but with many people living in the center and the urbanizations playing a starring role — united as one with the heart of Valdemorillo.

Let’s not forget that ours is one of the largest municipalities in the Madrid region, vast and full of contrasts. Back then, families from the urbanizations would come into town to live unforgettable moments, spending weekends and summers here, knowing — and recognizing — that they were in a special place, a place to have fun, to be happy.

I’m not so sure if it happens the same way now. Truth is, things have changed. Many who live here, perhaps partly because of us, prefer to live their day-to-day in other nearby towns, even if their home is in Valdemorillo. But that’s not the point now.

We were talking about the past — and about how the present is beautiful too, because some things in Valdemorillo have not changed. It is still the only village in the Madrid region where you can live, visit, spend summer in the middle of nature and yet have the city just half an hour away. It is still the only one with three reservoirs and the best sunset in Madrid. It is still a place with a unique gastronomy… and, indeed, one of only two villages in the Sierra with a restaurant proudly bearing a Michelin Star.

Back then, there was no lack of quality dining either — Los Bravos, Los Rancheros, La Ponderosa, Casa Manolo… each with its own style, but all filled with soul, with fine products, with courage and with character, places where summer visitors found happiness.

The summers of Valdemorillo, the summers in the Sierra of Madrid, were holidays for many — and for many others, the time to meet special people, to feel proud of belonging to this town. Summers that ended with the September festivities of the Sociedad Recreativa La Nava, with its vaquillas in the temporary bullring, those nights when sweatshirts and jackets slowly reappeared in the cool mountain air, that moment when summer gave way to autumn, to routine, to returning to Madrid… But then came the weekends, and then another summer, and with it, memories that will live forever in our hearts.

Now, we are still here. We have returned for you, and we want to make your summer even better — at La Casa de Manolo Franco, with a menu full of flavour, history, beauty, emotion, and the sweetest kind of nostalgia.

The kind that says: yes, there were wonderful times… but the best moment is now.

I’ll be waiting for you.

M. Franco

Embalse de Valmayor - Photography: Mica Vazquez