While Madrid boasts fantastic art galleries and fabulous museums, if you’re interested in Spain’s Roman and medieval history, a day trip is your best bet. Only a short train or bus ride away, destinations like Segovia, Toledo, and Alcala de Henares never disappoint. Toledo Once the Visigothic capital of Spain, Toledo‘s history goes all the …
August festivals in Madrid Though August is a quiet month in Madrid, three local festivals keep things lively with traditional dance and music. The festivals of San Cayetano, San Lorenzo and the Virgen de la Paloma all take place within the same month in the adjoining neighborhoods of Lavapiés and La Latina. Located in the …
Home alone This summer finds me home alone or, as the Spanish would say, “de Rodríguez”. With my husband off on holiday, I’ve been left free to roam the sizzling streets of Madrid, to stay out late, to daydream and to wonder exactly where this phrase “estar de Rodríguez” came from. My research first took …
Visitors coming to Madrid are often nervous about being targeted by scammers. A legitimate fear if you don’t understand the language and are reliant on the kindness of bilingual strangers to help you navigate your way around a foreign city. As problems can start as soon as you get off the plane with unscrupulous taxi …
Just one hour’s drive from Madrid, the city of Toledo was once famed throughout Europe for its lively intellectual and economic life, a rich heritage that was deeply intertwined with the history of the Jewish people. Though obliged to pay higher taxes, Jews were left free to practise their faith, first under Muslim and later …
