We woke up in our Madrid apartment ready to explore (sorry that we neglected to say where our plane actually flew us too).

Teresa had done some research and saw that Guernica, a famous painting by Picasso, was only a short walk away from our accommodation. The Museo Reina Sofia had artworks by Picasso and Salvador Dali, which were humbling to see in real life.

The weather was overcast with a light drizzle as we decided to go to the main train station, Atocha, to purchase train tickets for our trip to Barcelona the following day. The Spanish attendant at the Renfe ticket desk was very easy on the eye! Teresa asked if we could buy tickets on a ‘nice’ train. The man looked puzzled and asked what is ‘noice’? We didn’t realise that our Aussie accent rounded our vowels such that it didn’t sound like English to them. Once he realised we were Australian we enjoyed some banter, and he shared that a friend of his is visiting the Gold Coast, but that he would not go because he is scared of sharks.

Once we had tomorrow sorted, we set out to explore the beautiful town of Madrid. Michele researched somewhere to eat and found a place not far from our accommodation called Restaurante las 5 letras, which had raving reviews. Michele ordered the oxtail, which was slow cooked, caramelised and served with potatoes….the best meal so far. Teresa also had a stand out dish, small prawns cooked in oil with large slices of garlic and small red chilies. We left this place with bellies full and big smiles!

The architecture in this town is so stunning and imposing, many buildings have amazing statues and ornate carvings.

We had planned to do as we do, walk around and discover the town. But alas the rain had began to fall and we found ourselves having to take shelter in a very well patronised bar/restaurant. We tried to wait out the weather, but after two wines and a chat with a nice local man who we suspected possibly owned the place, we realised that we probably needed to give up. The roads aren’t really made for sightseeing in the rain, very little shelter.

For dinner we found a restaurant next to our accommodation and asked for recommendations. Michele had pork with potatoes and Teresa had a paella. These were tasty but not our favourite. We ended the meal with a Disaronno each and then headed into our warm and dry apartment. Tomorrow we catch the train to Barcelona. Boa noite!