15.05.17 — Travel
Back North to Madrid
So after my trip down to the south of Spain, and ending in Granada where I ended my last blog post on a bus, I did indeed head back northwards to visit my capital and second home. Once I’d landed in the bus station I hopped straight onto the Metro and headed into the heart of the city to bed down in my hostel for the night.
![Waiting on the platform](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_6688.jpg)
The next day I set about doing some of the things I really miss about living in Madrid, starting the day off in a bar with a coffee and some tomato coated bread. After this I headed up to Chueca to buy a few bits and bobs and explore some of my favourite shops, including a chocolate boutique, a disco lighting specialist, and a tacky shirt shop. Soon though, and with a lightbulb holder, chocolate selection and new shirt in tow, I headed down to the south of the city to visit the design centre in the Matadero – one of my old haunts.
![The Matadero looking moody](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_3341.jpg)
Once I’d had my fill of tinto de verano (a drink similar to sangria) and a snoop around the exhibitions, I headed back for the sunny centre to grab some awesome pizza on the roof of one of the buildings, where I also splashed out on a drink and admired the views of the city below.
![A view to the south](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_3354.jpg)
![A view to the east](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_6727.jpg)
After a relaxing evening of tacos with old friends, the next day I head eastward on my way to visit the team at Erretres for a catch up and to head out for some lunch as we always did last year. I ended up taking it so easy through the picturesque gardens of the royal palace in the sun that I rocked up pretty late – I guess I switched to Spanish time…
![Sunny day for pretty buildings](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_3380.jpg)
![The resplendent royal palace](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_3387.jpg)
Arriving back at the office was lovely, with plenty to catch up on in my gradually worsening Spanish. Once I’d had a snoop at a few ongoing projects and had a laugh about a translation quip, we all eventually headed out to the nearby cafe where I spent many a Thursday when working with the team on my year in industry.
![Reunited with the team](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_6750.jpg)
After a lovely meal I had to leave everyone to get on with their work, and so I headed down one stop of the Metro to have an ice cream by the lake and just watch the world go by for a while.
![The familiar Metro stop of Príncipe Pío](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_6757.jpg)
![A panorama across the lake](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_6762.jpg)
The day which proceeded was very lazy, but after all my travels around the south I felt like I’d earned a break. Many cañas and tapas later I found myself having a beer in the park which overlooks the east of the city, watching the sun go down before heading back into the centre for some food.
![The sun sets over the east of the city](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_3431.jpg)
All too soon it was my last day in Madrid once more, and so I grabbed my camera and went exploring after settling for some beers for the evening. In the evening I wound up down in the south of the city, where I had some lovely tacos and found some street art along the way – as well as discovering an old ruin of a building which I’d never stumbled across before!
![Tapas in the market](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_6781-1024x768.jpg)
![Street art in Lavapies](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_3470-1024x683.jpg)
![The ruin below a blue sky](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_3488-1024x683.jpg)
The first thing the next morning I had to grab a Cercanías train to the airport and soon found myself flying over France with a glass of overpriced red wine in hand. Since then I’ve been busily away with my final university project, but there’ll be a few more updates over the coming weeks as things like my final year degree show inch slowly closer…