In late September and in early October, I was lucky to have two good friends visit from the USA. Christian had just finished a bike tour in Cataluña and he said that he wanted to extend his Spain visit for a few more days and see some of central Spain. He retained my services as a guide and interpreter and in five days, we saw Madrid, Toledo, Segovia and El Escorial. We did not stop! Special moments were:
-Doing a light mountain hike above the Monastery in San Lorenzo de El Escorial to take some sweeping photos of the town, the monastery and Madrid off in the distance
-Eating cochinillo asado at José María near the Plaza Mayor of Segovia and then climbing to the top of the Alcázar fortress
-Having dinner and drinks in the trendy la Latina neighborhood with friends
-Watching a friend’s popular cover band play a happy hour at a posh spot in Jorge Juan in Barrio Salamanca, followed by an exquisite meal just down the road and topping off the evening with friends at a roof top bar
My friend Robby had a much shorter visit in early October. He is the drummer for a popular music act and they are in the middle of a European tour. He only had 24 hours to take in Madrid and we pulled it off, walking close to nine miles during a six hour tour! Our trek took us from La Latina to The Royal Palace, to Plaza Mayor, to Barrio de las Letras to The Prado Museum, up into Retiro Park and through Salamanca neighborhood and finally circling all the way back to Puerta de Toledo where the band was staying. Robby compensated me well with three VIP tickets to the sold out show at Sala La Riviera the next night! My friends Vicente and Alejandra joined me for the concert and the place was shoulder to shoulder and intense. The show was a blast and afterwards we hung out with the band and continued the celebration at a bar next door until they had to leave at 1:30 am for the next show in Barcelona. A spectacular night!