Like those minuscule fish, fried whole? "I can't eat those because the eyeballs are in them, but they're a real delicacy there. Gambas ajilo, which is shrimp with garlic, is a type of fish I love. The best places for tapas are on Cava Alta and Cava Baja streets: La Tasca de Jesus and Juana la Loca."

Okay, so what are some of Madrid's can't-miss sights? "Definitely the Prado Mu­seum. It is just massive, and they have the most incredible old master Spanish paintings in there. Velázquez and El Greco, they are just so full of power. Reina Sofía is a more contemporary museum, more modern. Just walking, especially in the old section of Madrid, is amazing. They have great shops there, and they have this sort of Main Street [Calle Gran Vía] where they have those stores you would find in any European city or New York. I love walking down that street and just watching all the people shop. There is a big Starbucks there that just opened that people are getting into."

Have you been? Is it like the ones in L.A.? "It is exactly like the ones in L.A. It's a surreal experience. Because you're in Spain, and Spain is a country that is really always into itself. For example, they're never really interested in what anyone else is doing fashionwise or foodwise. Everyone else in the world could be wearing boot-cut jeans and they'll be wearing tapered jeans. It takes forever for trends to work their way in. They have an incredible culture - ­they don't need to really change it. They are all happy people and, for the most part, it is very contented. It's not subject to trendiness at all. It's like you can never find in Madrid the super-cool, cutting-edge cafe that you can in Paris or the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is just a different vibe. Then you go into Starbucks and it's literally like you're in L.A. It's funny."