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| Gareth Bale is getting used to life in the spotlight at Madrid |
AS GARETH BALE enters the Meson Txistu, the maitre d' is quick to usher him to his favourite table in a secluded back corner of the restaurant.
The Wales international does not need a menu, he knows exactly what he wants.
This may be one of the finest eating establishments in Madrid but that does not stop him from ordering his favourite, egg and chips.
To his disarming credit, becoming one of the world's most famous footballers has not changed the Cardiff boy at all.
Signing for Real Madrid has just made Bale's simple life a good deal better.
In his spare time, for example, he still likes nothing more than to work on his golf handicap, currently a respectable six. To that end he is even building himself three full-sized holes in the grounds of his home in south Wales.
The 11th from Amen Corner, Augusta, the 17th from Sawgrass and the Postage Stamp from Troon, no less.
What he misses most from living in Britain - "Cadbury's Dairy Milk Turkish Delight and PG Tips" - he can afford to crate back to Spain with him. After two years in Madrid, Bale is very much at home.
Still only 26, the man who strides into the function room in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is barely recognisable from the talented but surprisingly gawky lad who shuffled his way past his final mixed zone silently out of White Hart Lane over two years ago.
That has nothing to do with the rippling tan from weeks spent in the Spanish sun or the pony-tail - least said the better.
Instead it is something from deeper within; an inner confidence derived from the fact that Bale is completely comfortable with the life he is carving for himself.
That is no mean feat. Compatriot Ian Rush apocryphally said of his torrid time at Juventus that, "it was like living in a foreign country".
Another Liverpool player, Steve McManaman, was one of the few successful exports from these shores - urbane enough to embrace the Madrid lifestyle to the full.
Bale is cut from different cloth. When Andre Villas-Boas organised a coach tour of the Vatican ahead of Tottenham's 2012 clash with Lazio in the Europa League, Bale remained in his hotel room because he was "tired".
He may not be a culture vulture but like McManaman, Bale can boast a Champions League winner's medal.
He has also scored a Copa del Rey-winning goal that will be remembered for a long time, both in Madrid and Barcelona.
Now Bale is hoping that with new manager Rafa Benitez in charge, a man fully au-fait with Bale's Premier League exploits, he can carve a more central role for himself at Madrid akin to the one at Tottenham that earned him his move to Spain in the first place.
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| Bale and his Real Madrid team-mates endured a 4-0 thumping to Barcelona on Saturday |
So if finding la vida tranquila - the quiet life - can help BT Sport ambassador Bale best utilise his talents on the field, so much the better.
"It's hard to go out," he admits. "It's a lot easier to go out in England. Here, the main focus is football. Everything is football in Madrid. But they eat late here, about 10pm, so we always go at 8.30pm. By the time everyone comes in, we're leaving.
"It's important to have one or two little bolt holes. I know it's not possible to do what I want, but the things I like to do I try and find those places where I feel comfortable and relaxed, and I can enjoy my time.
"I love playing golf. I love the sport, I love the fact that you can just get away from everything, be with your friends, and no-one can come over to you on a golf course. Etiquette! It's nice to get out and, I suppose, switch your mind off from football. Just have a laugh.
"Yeah, at the moment, I am obsessed with golf."
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| Bale, playing alongside Wales rugby legend Gareth Edwards, says he is obsessed with golf |
Not for him fast cars, for example. Briefly courted by an executive club of car enthusiasts, who wanted to offer him access to a global pool of luxury sports cars, he made his excuses and left after claiming half an hour driving a top-of-the-range Lambourghini was playing havoc with his hamstrings.
Instead, escapism for Bale is spending time with his three-year-old daughter Alba. Teenage sweet-heart Emma is due to give birth to the couple's second child in the New Year.
"I feel like I have grown up," said Bale. "It is a big responsibility as I am sure every parent knows. You are not in your comfort zone - especially over here - and are really thrown into the deep end and you have to deal with things."
Despite the medals, the jury is still out on whether his big-money move to Real has truly been a success on the field, not least in the light of Saturday's 4-0 El Clasico defeat by Barcelona which has left everyone in the spotlight. Bale is adamant that his best is still yet to come.
"Maybe last year I did not play so well in the second half of the season," he accepts honestly. "In a way, I am quite glad it has happened. It has made me a stronger person and a stronger player.
"You learn more from when things are not going well than if you were just to win everything. I feel like I have really taken a lot of positives out of the negatives and really benefited from it. I just need to get on the pitch now and play."
Gareth Bale is an ambassador for BT Sport. BT Sport is the new home of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League exclusively live. Visit btsport.com.
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