After a reasonably enjoyable flying experience from Bucharest Otopeni to Madrid Barajas I took the metro and checked in only to find my room to be better and closer to the attractions of the city than I could have ever hoped for.

In the 6 hours that followed, thanks to Oana, who will surely make an extraordinary tourist guide one day, I was able to see everything. It felt like everything, anyway. Madrid is only a short walk from one end of the historical center to the other. We went from Plaza d'Espana to the Temple of Debod and then onward through the city passing Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, various churches and cathedrals, the Chamber of Deputies, the Casa de Americas, the National Bank of Spain and then into the Parque del Retiro.

After finishing my daytime tour and letting Oana return to her business I went back to roaming the streets of the city under the stars in order to take some long exposure photos of some of the historical buildings. It was very interesting to observe the Romanians working the streets of Madrid, doing various jobs I don't much care to go into details about as they're not really the kind to make you proud of being Romanian. I met and talked to a variety of people from all walks of life and very many, different countries. More notably Anita from Uruguay who joined me for part of my nocturnal sightseeing tour.

Day 2 saw me waking up incredibly early to take care of some overdue emails. I then visited the Prado museum with its medieval and renaissance art, the Reina Sofia with its much more modern Picasso and Dali and, just as they were preparing to close for the day, the royal palace of king Juan Carlos and its ceremonial halls. These three little things took all day. They were some of the most impressive museums I've ever seen.

Meeting up with Oana again at 8 pm I received an introduction to local food and the meaning of a Museum de Jamon (EN: "Museum of Ham" or something along those lines). I tried the local wine, I tried the sangria... and I saw that they are good.

To sum it all up Madrid was an interesting experience, one for which my 40 hours were enough. People-wise Madrid is very nice as it is very easy to interact with complete strangers anywhere. Spanish people don't speak much English but fortunately I do understand plenty of Spanish. The meaning of "internet access" leaves a bit to be desired both where I stayed and in the city's restaurants in general.

There's plenty left to see on a potential future visit. Also, setting up base in Madrid and taking tours to other cities around it (i.e. Toledo, Aranjuez) looks like a very enticing idea.

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