not even the most classic tour of Madrid will ever be normal when we are around. and so there we go, arriving in Madrid to find national TV cameras and reporters waiting for us: the spiced up story of our {in}famous flight 126 with a suspicious bomb in the bathroom. do we live in a reality show? did that really happen to us?

Ingredients:

9 hours delay;

shit scared;

Port Authority, Swat Team, Fire Department, Air Marshalls, Police of the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all gathered around our plane;

1 full night-sleep: lost;

1st vacation day: lost;

PS: died 10 times while reassuring my daughter that “we have so many policemen around us that we are safe. Nothing to worry baby”. Right …

Thank God for our best-friend-chaperone-genius T. who prepared our welcome to Madrid evening with, in order: Cava on the rooftop pool, a killer vodka and grapefruit and a homemade paella (I mean from scratch and the whole nine yards) and a heavenly bed to sleep, or better, crash by exhaustion.

Day 1

some cheap shopping made fabulous (by us only) + a scene from ‘The Seven Year Itch’ by yours truly shamelessly flashing half of amused Madrid

Lowe + The Sartorialist at Loewe’s boutique in Gran Via plus a series of local eateries such as El Mercado de San Miguel

Day 2

El Rastro, where gipsy flea market meets vintage, and antiques mix with indie accessories.

Who would have predicted that the walk to the Royal Palace

could have been so much fun with the expected going back in times?

FUN

A glorious lunch at Casa Lucio and a flamenco infused Carmen of Bizet by the National Ballet of Madrid concluded our furious ride in Madrid, so much left to see, so many friends and drinks in our memories.

Hasta la proxima …