You’ll be happy to know that I finally got around to making my lentils, but that’s not all I’ve been up to. All this eating has meant I’ve been going to the gym just as much as I can bear, both my local gym and the other location they have in Madrid. This one turned out to be quite a discovery, as it comes equipped with a pool and spa facilities. The dream!

I also spent time with Sara and Julia over the weekend, with activities including shopping for clothes, picking out a suit for a wedding, and hitting the streets of La Latina and Lavapiés for some drinks and an impromptu comedy show with the Italian owner of the bar we ended up sat in.

I then spent the next weekend with Sara and Rocío, as they wanted to go and see the sunset from the Cerro del Tío Pío, a spot in the south of the city with the best evening views over Madrid. I’d last been down with Ellie and Johann last year, so it was lovely to go and catch the colourful sky again – even if I did wake up from my nap a mere half an hour before we were all due to meet! It was nothing that a quick bike ride couldn’t fix, though.

The park offers an aerial look over the city and its mountains.

We then made our way back into the city centre and spent the evening around the Barrio de las Letras, the city’s literary quarter. We ordered some tostas, small bread-based tapas, and a selection of food to share including some decadent fried shrimp pancakes. It was all rather delicious!

My next week at work was then punctuated by a couple of key events, the first being a breakfast of waffles that was provided by the office and which led to the whole team mooching around after the sugar high of so much Nutella and dulce de leche had passed. The second was a trip to the IE University, where I’d been invited to talk about our work and methodology at Erretres.

The IE Tower is an imposing new addition to Madrid’s skyline.

It was lovely to get a chance to visit the university after we worked with them on a book to celebrate their 50th anniversary last year. It’s also always great to chat to budding designers, as I remember that I always loved when design studios came to visit us back when I was a student.

My week then ended on a train up to Madrid’s train station and off to another place to spend a long weekend, but more on that in my next post…