Hola ! Madrilenos we are ...

And off we are on the next leg of our Gap Year. The flight on Emirates to Madrid was great. Even the food was really good. Movied out we arrived in Madrid. Seemed so much shorter - well, after our epic journey to Melbourne every other journey seems "short" ! Metro in Madrid is super clean and works really well from the airport. Settled into our little loft apartment on Gran Via near Plaza de Espana, we feel like real Madrilenos already. Not speaking Spanish is not a problem here, everywhere there is someone that can assist in English and I am managing to cope with written Spanish. People are really friendly and helpful - the environment is definately welcoming. Madrid is not as busy as we imagined - luckily we are at the beginning of the season, which makes it so much more enjoyable. Our impressions so far - not as ostentacious as Paris, not as overwhelming as Rome, understated elegance and a manageable amount of historic buildings, generally well restored and maintained and the city clean and user-friendly. We love it ! The centre of town is small enough to walk flat ...and explore all the wonderful alleys. So many treasures to discover. The other surprise is that Madrid is not as expensive as we had imagined - well, after Australia nothing seems expensive ! So it is great to enjoy good coffee and churros (traditionalpastry) without breaking the bank. Tapas is the order of the day and the street cafes are humming ! Also need to mention that the sun only sets at 21h45, it is only dark after 22h00 ...which throws the rythem totally. Dinner at 23h00 is definately the norm. Great vibe everywhere !

The city has two large parks on either side and we have already manged to enjoy them both. The poppies, azaleas and salvia flowers in the formal botanical gardens were amazing. Trees are again overwhelming ...especially with all the different shades of green and the beautiful leaves of the chestnut trees. Today we were lucky enough to stumble over the huge formal rosegarden - hundreds of rosebushes in full flower. Stopped for a very long time to enjoy the fragrances of very special roses - all labelled with ceramic plaques and collected from all over the world.

Blue skies have greeted us every day , although the air is still rather cool in the mornings and as soon as the sun sets. Perfect weather for sightseeing.

The days are very full - so much to see - siesta - evenings out on the plaza - experiencing the city. Going to have to learn to get by on much less sleep !

Interesting observation - hardly seen an overweight local, seen many overly thin women and also many attractive women - of all ages. The sexy look - tight jeans & boots and high heels is definately prominent. Good looking men - of all ages - are also in good supply. So ...a feast for the eyes for all. What a city !