After flying in from Gatwick, over northern France, the Bay of Biscay and Bilbao in the País Vasco, I landed in a chilly Barajas airport in Madrid, treated to a view of the snowcapped Sierra de Guadarrama mountains to the north. Though I had been supposed to meet Carmen at the airport, we got our dates mixed up and so, after getting in touch with her, I headed out to the city centre on the Metro. It was really great to be in familiar territory in a Spanish-speaking country again. Ascending the Metro escalator into Plaza de la Reina (Ópera), I felt as if entering a dream world once again, enclosed by the tall madrileño coloured walls, patterned with shutters and balconies along their length.
Arriving at the hostel – a new place called Los Amigos in Calle Campomanes – I met Charlie on the street. And after settling in, we headed over to nearby Puerta del Sol to meet Carmen by the famous Madrid oso statue.
It was wonderful to see her again (and for once to actually be able to understand her rapid-fire speech!) and we headed out “ir de caña” to a few bars in Lavapiés and Malasaña. After some tapas, cañas and a few jugs of sangría, we retired for the evening at around 2 and made plans to meet the following morning for the flea market at El Rastro.
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