After the longest 17 days of my life, I finally got to spend a lovely weekend in Madrid with my love.

El Retiro- Jardine del Buen Retiro

Madrid has one of the best public transportations in Europe. It is affordable (£2 flat rate for all journeys on metro); it is efficient (trains are frequent and are almost always on time); it is simple (all the metro lines are numbered, e.g. line C6, instead of having to remember a complicated station name in a foreign language)

Paseo de la Castellana

Mercado de San Miguel

Helado de Turrón is one of the “must tries” while visiting Madrid. I got mine from RODILLA in Puerta Delhi Sol. At only €1.95, the portion is extremely generous.

Puerta del Sol

Turrón is a nougat-like confectionery mostly made with almonds, mixed with sugar, honey and egg whites. A typical Christmas fare all over Spain that was originated from southeast Mediterranean coast, in the region of Valencia.

street art cortes district

Cortes is certainly my favorite neighbourhood to wander and explore. There are countless restaurants and boutique shops. Every shop in Cortes is so thoughtfully decorated that each place offers you a unique set of ambience and personality.

I particularly enjoyed my stroll from Plaza del Angel to Plaza de Lavapiés via Calle Olivar.

plaza de la Montera

On the other hand, if you are having a constant love affair with literature, you certainly should not miss the book stalls along Calle Claudio Moyano. They sell everything from old books that only cost €1 to vintage collections at heavily discounted price.

Salamanca neighbourhood

If you have any form of  OCD, then Mercado de San Antón would be your example of how a market should look like in heaven. From chorizos to the smallest cherries, everything is perfectly aligned to the perfect angle.

Embajadores neighbourhood

The arrival of night time is when the magic happens& here comes the spectacular

Templo de Debod at 10:13pm