Buenos noches b*tches! Well, another successful trip completed, this time in the land that produced the likes of Real Madrid, Bullfighting, Rafael Nadal, Francisco Franco, Inquisitions, Armadas, a General that became a slave, a slave that became a Gladiator and our personal favourites, Siestas and Sangria! It was a return to the homeland for Nathaniel's drunken alter ego - the notorious Carlos Manuel de los Santos, who occasionally made appearances at bars and pubs in Canberra some years ago. (Carlos always introduced himself as a wealthy land owner from the northern part of Spain. He owns a castle in the mountains... and he has many horses.) Whilst Carlos was enjoying his own piece of nostalgia, we soaked up the Spanish lifestyle and loved every minute. We saw our first authentic male Spaniard so we didn't need to meet any others - if you've seen Juan, you've seen them all. (Really? Was the "dad joke" necessary?) A brief rendezvous with a familiar Aussie-yet-Kiwi face, Jemima, on a city walking tour kicked off the trip as we explored Madrid. Our español has improved somewhat; however, the old adage which states that you can't polish a turd holds true and we are now professionals at pointing to things on menus. We had a tapas experience that blew our dirty jocks off (hey, you try traveling for 2 months with 4 pairs of undies!) and we even managed to get a new iPhone for a steal, tax free. Getting the thing to work however, was like Lord of the Rings 4: The Fellowship of the Micro Sim Card. Thanks a lot Steve Jobs! But having a phone again has rocked our world. The hostel, Las Musas Residence received top marks despite being full of bloody Aussies. A shout out to our American peeps Hillary and Irene (Indiana and Minnesota represent!!!); the Mexicans and the Mexican'ts from our dorm room and the dude we saw on the street that looks exactly like the drunken mug shot of Mel Gibson. Seriously, it was like a Halloween mask! If it wasn't a mask, then we saw Mel Gibson drunk in Spain. What a scoop! You heard it here first (but don't quote us) ;o)

Adiós nuestra español amigos!