Day 34 - Saturday 28th May

Our Qatar flight landed at about 6pm which was a little earlier than scheduled. I'm not sure what happened to most of Saturday because we took off in darkness in Doha on Friday night and we landed in darkness in Sydney on Saturday night.

I'd managed to get a lot of sleep on the fight. The flat horizontal beds in Qatar business class are very good. In fact, Suzy woke me so that I'd have enough time to eat breakfast before we landed.

Qatar's service on this flight was good but possibly not as good as on the previous leg from Madrid to Doha earlier in the week. The service in first class on the flight from Sydney to Paris via Doha had been the best - as you would expect.

Queues at Sydney airport were surprisingly short. We used the new passport system with machines and cameras and this time it worked OK. Once the bags arrived, we were allowed to leave without further checking or scanning. There was even no queue at the taxi rank.

It was good to be home and Milo was certainly pleased to see us. The house was clean and in excellent condition. Steph and Mick had done a great job of looking after things while we were away.

After unpacking our bags, we started to get back to normal. Suzy sat down in front of the TV and watched The Voice. I don't know how she coped for weeks without it. We got to bed at about 11pm.

Our wonderful holiday experience was over leaving us with lots of fabulous memories.

Day 33 - Friday 26th May

Today was our last day overseas on this trip. We will be flying out of Doha tonight.

We had breakfast again in the nearby buffet. It's the third day here in a row and the staff recognise and remember us.

Suzy wanted to go back to the souq to do more shopping but when we went downstairs, all the shops were boarded up. There was almost nobody in the street.

At first we thought that Ramadan must have started but the hotel concierge explained that the Muslim Friday is like our Sunday. He said the shops will open late this afternoon.

He was encouraging us to come back to Qatar and his hotel in future. He said they are building another souq like this one about an hour away. He said they are building 20 new stadiums for the world cup and only one has been completed so far.

We checked out of the hotel at about 2:45pm. They'd given us a late check-out until 3pm. We left our bags with them and we set off to walk to the Museum of Islam Art.

It was still hot and there was a hot breeze as we walked through the souq area towards the seaside. There was an elevator that took us down one level to the car park which led us to a passageway near the Corniche. Then we took the elevator up into the heat again.

It was a pleasant setting walking along the water's edge. There were dozens (maybe hundreds) of wooden boats in the harbour - mostly moored rather than sailing in the harbour. Beyond these we could see the Museum of Islamic Art which is a very modern building on the edge of the harbour.

The walkway was wide and there was a pleasant grassed area between the walkway and the road and the city buildings. It was an active scene with lots of men around the area. There were just a handful of women and many of the men were holding hands with each other.

As we walked along the seaside, men would approach us asking us if we wanted to hire their boat. We didn't feel comfortable here and we were glad when we safely reached the museum. The first task was to have lunch in the cafe on the ground floor.

The museum contains artwork dating back more than 1000 years. It is very tastefully done and no expense has been spared. Artifacts include pottery, metal items, carpets, maps, jewelry, paintings and armour. Most items are contained in individual displays enclosed in glass.

We didn't want to walk back to the hotel after our experience earlier. Initially I approached a taxi driver and asked how much it would cost to which he replied 30 Riyal. I walked away and we organised a Uber trip which ended up costing 10 Riyal.

Back in the hotel, we tried their Qatar coffee. Suzy thought it was OK and had a second cup. I thought it was the best dishwater I've had in decades and declined a second cup.

Suzy wanted to go back to the souq to buy more scarves. By this time, the souq had come alive. It took us a few attempts to find the right passageway back to the shop where she'd bought the scarves last night.

We organised a ride with Uber and we left the hotel just before 6pm. At the airport, a porter helped us with all our baggage. Customs went smoothly and we managed to find the business class lounge up the escalator near the duty free store.

The business class here is very classy. It is a long thin area with casual dining at one end and a restaurant at the other end. In between there is plenty of modern seating. We had a light snack before moving to the seated area. Because Ramadan started tonight, there was no alcohol available in any part of the airport.

The seats we chose each had a screen that displayed flight information, maps, etc. There weren't many other people in the lounge. I get the impression that they have built the airport for the future to cater for large volumes of passengers at some future date.

Our flight left on time at 9:20pm and they served dinner soon after we took off. I tried both the Bordeaux wine and the Portuguese wine and decided that the Portuguese wine was even better than the French wine.

Once we reached cruising altitude, they had WiFi on board. It was complimentary for the first 15 minutes which was long enough to do updates on my iPad.

After dinner, we took advantage of the bar behind business class. Once again, very classy.

Having had several glasses or wine with dinner followed by port in the bar, it was time for bed. The flight attendants had turned our seats into beds while we were in the bar.

Day 32 - Thursday 25th May

For breakfast we decided to go to the buffet breakfast again but this time we walked there rather than getting a lift in the golf buggy.

Suzy wanted to go a different shopping mall this morning, the Mall of Qatar. After our experience yesterday with the taxi driver, she decided to use Uber instead. This worked well. The driver arrived within 15 minutes and got us there successfully without any hassle. It was probably cheaper too.

Previously the sky has been clear and blue. Today they was a haze over the city. We weren't too sure if it was a heat haze, sand, dust or something else.

The mall is about 30km away and the trip took about half an hour. I continue to be amazed with the amount of construction work that is going on in Doha.

Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine that you are travelling from Sydney to Parramatta on the M4. Here the motorway is three or four lanes in each direction all the way from the city and its tall shiny modern buildings. On both sides of the motorway, they are widening the road - probably doubling it.

Imagine that the "western suburbs" is mainly sand. There are a few buildings along the way including some shopping strips and the occasional grand building. For the entire length of the route, there are buildings being built as far as the eye can see. Its like there are currently building most of the "western suburbs".

Everywhere you look, you see barriers, construction vehicles, cranes and workmen in fluoro vests. But that's not all. Some of the hoardings are labelled "Rail". In other words, they are currently building the "western railway line".

It's just staggering to see so much construction happening at once and it doesn't stop at "Parramatta" - it probably goes all the way to "Penrith".

As we approached the mall, there was a viaduct on the left side of the motorway that went for many kilometres. As we pulled up at the mall, I saw a large structure and concluded that they were building a multi-storey railway station and the viaduct would be for a new railway line.

The Mall of Qatar is another large shopping centre but its architecture is quite different from the the Villagio Mall that we visited yesterday. It is a very modern style with lots of shiny marble, glass. fountains and tall palm trees.

Just inside the main entrance, there is a very tall display of huge artificial swans. In the centre of the mall where many of the wide corridors intersect, there is another large fountain surrounded by artificial trees.

Suzy hit the shops while I found a comfortable lounge chair and read the paper on my iPad. When we met at 12:30pm, we went to cafe called Godiva just inside the main entrance. Here we enjoyed Belgian chocolates, cafe mocha and an espresso coffee.

Next Suzy wanted to go back to buy a suitcase so we could take home all the things she's bought on our trip. We used Uber again for the return trip to our hotel. The traffic was fairly heavy this time as we got close to the hotel.

For lunch we went to the hotel's coffee shop on the ground floor. They present the food well. I had fish and chips and Suzy had a club sandwich but it looked more impressive than it sounds.

Suzy wanted to visit The Pearl this evening. This is very large man-made sand island off the coast. It is connected to the mainland by a man-made causeway. There are dozens of multi-storey buildings on the island.

Once again, we used Uber to get there. We left at about 6pm because we wanted to get there before it got dark. We asked the driver to drop us off at the marina because this area has great views and it is where many of the restaurants are located.

The sun was setting and so the lights were coming on along the marina and in the buildings across the water. This made the marina even more attractive.

One of the features of the marina is the number of large expensive boats that are moored there. Of course there are plenty of smaller boats too.

The architecture of the buildings along the walkway is very impressive. I expect that architects would have loved to have got the job to design the buildings. It was an opportunity to express their imagination and artistic ability.

There are water features in front of many of the buildings. There were also several canals crossed by footbridges. There were plenty of photo opportunities.

Almost every second business was a cafe or a restaurant. After walking for about half an hour, Suzy was getting tired and we went into a nearby restaurant to have dinner. It turned out to be a Lebanese restaurant and the food was delicious. We drank diet Pepsi because alcohol is banned on The Pearl.

We've heard that many of the ex-pats live in the apartments on the islands. There are also numerous hotels. However, there were very few customers in the restaurants. I don't know how they survive if they have only one or two couples to serve. Maybe people go somewhere else where you can get a drink.

After dinner, we walked further and then we used Uber at about 8pm to get back to the hotel.

Suzy wanted to go shopping at the souq again. It was very busy with shoppers - mainly locals in traditional dress. The streets outside were still busy with cars and pedestrians.

This is obviously a popular place and time to go shopping. It was a family event with many children including young children in strollers. Perhaps another explanation is that Ramadan starts tomorrow and so people are stocking up or just enjoying being able to enjoy themselves.

It had been another great day taking in the culture of Doha.

Day 31 - Wednesday 24th May

When we arrived at the hotel last night, we asked them to give us a wake-up call at 9:30am. The temperature outside was already 39C.

Breakfast was included as usual but what was unusual was that they took us to breakfast in a golf buggy. Our hotel is one of nine hotels in this complex and the breakfast was in one of the other nearby hotels.

Breakfast was excellent. The room had a tall ceiling dominated by a coloured glass dome. In the centre of the room, there was an ornamental pool with flowers floating in it. There was even a kiddies corner for children's food.

There was a large variety of food options - some of which I'd never heard of before. I asked the chef to cook me some eggs. The coffee was probably the best we've had on our entire trip. The service was exceptional.

After breakfast, we went for a short walk around the souq. This is a very traditional market place which is housed in the hotel complex area. The locals certainly shop here. They buy things by the barrow load. Almost every man is pushing a wheelbarrow - either delivering things or taking away things he's bought.

Next, we caught a taxi to the Villagio shopping mall. Although it is only about 10km away, it took more than 40 minutes to get there because of the heavy traffic.

The concierge at the hotel made a point of telling the taxi driver to turn on his meter but when we got there, we found out he hadn't done so. He wanted us to pay 60 Riyad whereas the concierge had told us it should be 30 at the most. After haggling, we paid him 50.

On the journey, we chatted with the taxi driver. He said he is Indian and that most of the workers in Qatar are ex-pats like him. He implied that the local residents are so rich that they don't need to work. He said all the expensive cars belong to locals.

Everywhere you look in Doha, there is construction work such as buildings and roads. The taxi driver told us that this is mainly in preparation for the soccer world cup. Apart from widening the roads, they are building a brand new underground metro system.

Next to the shopping mall, they are building a new football stadium. Thankfully it will be fully air-conditioned. One structure that is complete is the Doha Torch which is stylised curved tower. Apparently it has a restaurant and a viewing platform at the top.

The Villagio Mall is fascinating. It is a large building with multiple wide corridors that are decorated as a European street scene. It has a curved ceiling that is painted with blue sky and clouds.

A canal winds its way through the centre of the building. It is about 300m long. You can go for a gondolier ride just like a Venetian canal.

I went to the Vodafone shop to get a Qatar SIM for my WiFi device, Suzy went to the money exchange to convert Euros to Riyad and then we walked around looking at the shops. For lunch we stopped at TGI Fridays for a hamburger.

Then Suzy went off to do more shopping while I sat in the food court and read the paper. The food court is next to the indoor ice skating rink.

On leaving the shopping complex, a man approached us offering to drive us to our hotel in his "limousine" service for 50 Riyad. We took him up on his offer.

It turned out he was a freelance driver. He used to drive for Uber but doesn't anymore because Uber takes too much commission. We were back at the hotel at abut 4:15pm.

The hotel offers a free guided tour of the souq markets nearby. We'd made a booking for 5:30pm today when we arrived last night. It turned out to be much better than I had expected.

Our guide took us first to an area devoted to falconry. They have live falcons on display with their legs tied to a post. Next we saw horses and then camels. After that he took us through various laneways where the traders were displaying their goods.

At one stall, the owner had a large colourful bird (macaw) on his arm and was quite happy to pass the bird over to stand on Suzy's arm.

For dinner we decided to go to the hotel restaurant on the top level (level 3). One reason for going here was the view - it overlooks the souq and beyond. The service was very attentive and the presentation of the food was amazing.

I've had chicken tandoori before but never before anything like this. It arrived at the table on a metal kettle and grill. It was still hot and smoking. There would have been enough meat for both of us.

The meal would have been even better with a bottle of wine or a beer or a whisky . . .  Unfortunately, no alcohol is allowed in this restaurant or in this hotel or anywhere else in the souq.

Just as we were leaving the restaurant, a light show started in the city on the other side of the river. Various buildings were illuminated with coloured lights and flashing lights.

The service in this hotel is almost overpowering. It's not uncommon for someone to open the door when you enter a hotel. In this hotel, when you walk towards the lift, someone will rush over and press the button for you.

There are plenty of staff everywhere and they are all keen to help. They are all smiling and friendly. Nothing is too much trouble. Sometimes I feel like asking them to relax.

Day 30 - Tuesday 23rd May

Later today we will be leaving Madrid and travelling to Doha in Qatar.

The news this morning on BBC World News was all about the terrorist attack in Manchester. As we sat in the hotel dining room having breakfast, it occurred to us that standing in the plaza yesterday in a huge crowd waiting for the Real Madrid team to arrive, with hindsight, might not have been such a great idea because it could have been an obvious terrorist target. Although we were standing only about 1m away from a line of police, this might not have saved us.

After breakfast, we went for a walk.  Suzy walked to a set of shops that she hadn't been to yet. I walked with her and then walked further to the park. It took about 40 minutes to get there altogether from the hotel.

The park is called Parque del Buen Retiro. It is a very large area near the centre of the city. The main entrance is across the road from the Prado museum we visited yesterday. It is a very pleasant park with wide tree-lined walkways and fountains.

In the centre of the park, there is a large lake, People were travelling up and down the lake in row boats. I spent about an hour looking around the park before walking back to the hotel. I got back at about noon. Suzy got back soon after.

At about 12:45pm, we checked out of the hotel and left our bags with them while we went across the road to Rodillo again to have lunch. At about 1:30pm, we caught a taxi to the airport.

There was no queue at the business class Qatar check-in counter - unlike the economy queue. The man then told us that the departure gate was in a different building and we needed to catch a shuttle train to get there.

We went through security before going down a series of escalators to find the train. In this building we went through the passport control and then found our way to the business class lounge. The Iberian lounge was not crowded.

This is a huge airport. Looking out the window, you can see planes and runways but beyond that you see green hills. It's a rural setting.

The plane was due to leave at 5:20pm and we boarded at about 4:30pm. We were surprised to find that it wasn't a Qatar plane - it was labelled Latam which is a South American airline. Apparently Qatar had leased the plane - perhaps they have so many flights they haven't got enough planes of their own.

The seat configuration was different from what we'd expected and booked. We weren't sitting together but we managed to negotiate with other passengers to swap seats so that couples were together.

Our pilot announced that the departure would be delayed because only one runway was in use tonight. We sat in the plane next to the terminal for another hour before it pushed back and headed for the runway to take off.

The food, wine and service in Qatar's business class was exceptionally good. After enjoying dinner and some movies, we managed to settle down for a couple of hours of sleep. The business class seats were very adjustable and folded down flat and horizontal.

When we arrived in Doha it was after midnight Madrid time. Surprisingly, Doha time is only one hour different from Madrid time after so it was about 1:30pm. People with connecting flights were in a state of panic because the plane had been late in leaving Madrid.

I suspect most people were catching other flights because the queue at customs was very short. However the queue moved very slowly. The man behind the counter was slow and we had to pay for a visa for our visit to Doha.

Suzy had organised with the hotel for a car to take us to hotel. It only took about 15 minutes. For most of the way, we were travelling on a motorway with three or four lanes in each direction and there was very little traffic at that time of the morning.

The reception desk at the Souq Waqif Hotel is manned 24 hours per day. We have a nice room but the bathroom is a little small. The WiFi is better than we've had at most hotels in Europe.

Just as we were getting ready for bed at about 3:15am, we heard loud music and chanting. At first I thought it was coming from the TV but we then concluded it was coming from a loud speaker outside. We found out later that Muslim prayers are broadcast in the streets a various times during the day including this early hour in the morning.

We were in bed at about 3:30am local time after a very long day.

Day 29 - Monday 22nd May

Once again we were able to sleep in and so it was about 9am before we went to breakfast downstairs in the hotel restaurant. This time we asked for fried eggs and they arrived soon afterwards. It was quiet in the restaurant - perhaps the tour groups had already come and gone.

On leaving breakfast, we saw our Perth friends (Gary, Glenda, Neville, Maxine)  from the bus tour waiting in the foyer for a taxi to the airport. They were going to Barcelona followed by a Mediterranean cruise.

The excitement of the morning here was that Real Madrid had won the soccer match last night and now would be going into the finals in a fortnight. We'd seen barricades being erected in the plazas in recent days in anticipation of celebrations if Madrid did win. We heard that there were indeed a lot of celebrations last night while we were sleeping.

Today we planned to go to the museums in Madrid starting with Prado Museum. originally we'd planned to get there when it opened at 10am but, because we'd slept in, it was about 10:30am when we got there.

We'd caught the 27 bus to get to the museum and got off at the Neptuno stop where there is a monument and fountain for Neptune. At first we thought we'd missed the bus because one went past as we we waiting at the pedestrian crossing but another one arrived within a minute.

At the museum we joined the queue. It was quite long and was moving very slowly. Then again, we'd heard that yesterday's queue was much much longer. This was one reason why we'd decided to go to the museum on a Monday rather than a Sunday.

As it turned out, we only had to wait about 20 minutes. When we got to the ticket office, we found out we would have got a discount if we'd brought our passports with us. I'd remembered to bring our passports yesterday but today we'd left them in the safe at the hotel.

Outside the entrance to the building, there is a statue of Goya. The museum contains classic art from the years 1100 to 1900 including works from Goya. They also have a large number of Rueben paintings. As you would expect, they have lots of artwork from Spanish artists.

Most of the artwork is on level 0 and level 1. We decided to start on level 0 and then move up to level 1. Level 0 has older artwork. On both levels, we walked from room to room looking at the paintings, statues and artifacts.

I preferred the Rueben works rather than Goya. Overall the permanent exhibition was very impressive. It's easy to see why this is one of the top tourist destinations in Madrid and it's easy to understand why people are prepared to queue for extended times to get in.

After having a coffee in the level 0 cafe, we decided to go to the new wing where there was a special temporary exhibit. This exhibit was a collection of artwork from an American benefactor who apparently loved everything about Spanish culture.

This exhibit was extremely impressive. We were so glad that we decided to find it.

We decided that we didn't need to go to the other museums after all and we headed back to he Puerta del Sol to have lunch. Another reason for going there was to see the statue of the bear.

When we reached the plaza at about 1:30pm, we noticed a crowd had gathered near the town hall and there was a big poster hanging from the balcony say "Champions" in Spanish.

We concluded that they must have been expecting the Real Madrid team to arrive soon. So we decided to stick around to experience the occasion. At that time, the crowd was fairly small and we managed to get a spot on the kerb.

There were plenty of police and police vans in the area but they hadn't blocked off the street and so there was a steady flow of traffic. Every time we saw a bus approaching, we thought that maybe this was the team.

A line of police were standing between the roadway and the bicycle way. They were making sure that everyone kept back in the plaza. As time wore on, more police arrived and the crowd grew until the entire plaza was filled with an excited crowd. There were many thousands of people there.

The team must have been running late and we wondered whether we should bother waiting. From time to time, they would play the Real Madrid song and "We are the champions" - inexplicably in English.

TV cameras were set up on a platform opposite the town hall entrance and TV camera men and reporters patrolled the plaza interviewing the crowd members.

I got chatting to the man next to me who was from the Netherlands. He commented that the crowd was quiet and well behaved. I told him it might be different at night if they'd been drinking and I told him about my experience six years ago in Barcelona when that team had won the final of the Champions trophy.

It turned out to be a long wait because they didn't arrive until just after 2:30pm. There were two buses - one for officials and one for the team. They were escorted by a large contingent of police on motor cycles and vans with their sirens blaring.

As you might expect, there was excitement and pandemonium. I was taking photos and so was everyone else. There was a forest of arms holding up smartphones. There must have been a lot of Facebook posts this afternoon.

At about 3pm, the team eventually appeared on the balcony. It was after this that we decided to go but I had trouble getting out of the crowd - they didn't want to let me through. After a short time, a police woman came to my aid.

We were glad to get away because it had been hot - about 25C. Our legs were sore from standing in one place in the crowd crush for so long. So we decided to catch the bus back to our hotel to have lunch.

Just as we reached the bus stop, we heard sirens. The team buses had left the town hall and were being escorted away by the large police contingent. Soon after we got on the bus, there were more sirens as a dozen vans from the municipal police screamed down the street too.

For lunch we went to a cafe called Rodillo which is next to the bus stop across the road from the hotel. It was just what we needed. A very nice light lunch.

My next task was to go to the laundromat to get my clothes washed. I set out with a map and carrying my WiFi so I could use Google Maps to find it. The nearest laundromat was more than 1km away and so it took about 20 minutes to get there.

At the same time, Suzy walked to a nearby shopping centre.

For dinner, Suzy had wanted to go to a restaurant that served suckling pig and she had located two options recommended by Trip Advisor. The hotel had rung them for us last night. The top rated option didn't have a table until 11:30pm and so we'd booked a table for 7:30pm at the second option.

Suzy was too tired to go by bus and so we caught a taxi. The taxi dropped us at the street address and he pointed out where we had to go. It turned out to be one of the open air cafes in the Plaza Mayor. This was a perfect setting. We enjoyed a delightful meal as we watched the sun set over the buildings on the other side of the plaza. It was still quite hot - about 28C.

For entree, we shared a dish we'd never heard of before - breadcrumbs and grapes. We both had sucking pig for main course. It was a great choice. It was very tender and well cooked.My serving was the ribs and Suzy had a leg.

As we were finishing off the meal with an espresso coffee, the waiter brought us a complimentary liqueur based on pears. It was delicious.

We caught a taxi back to hotel. Suzy was annoyed that they hadn't done a turn-down service in our room.

Day 28 - Sunday 21st May

The Insight bus tour finished last night and so we didn't have to plan our day around the bus. In fact, we are staying in Madrid for a few days. So we didn't have to get our bags outside the door by a particular time. We didn't even set an alarm and we slept in.

It was about 8:45am before we went downstairs to the hotel dining room for breakfast. The decor of the dining room is elegant and traditional - in keeping with the rest of the hotel. Although the choice for breakfast was quite good, it would been better if they had a chef available for special orders such as omelettes like some hotels do.

Today we planned to explore some of the sights of Madrid. After getting advice from the hotel reception, we caught the 150 bus at a bus stop just outside the hotel at about 10:30am. We saw Philippe helping a group of people from our Insight tour boarding a charter bus for the airport.

The bus route terminates at Plaza Sevilla which is near Puerta del Sol. Thankfully the bus driver informed us when we reached the end of the route and pointed to where we should walk to reach Puerta del Sol. We've found that people in Spain are generally very helpful - even if their English isn't strong.

Perhaps because it was a Sunday, the streets and plazas were very busy. Then again, maybe it's always busy. Most shops in this area seemed to be open or looked as though they were getting ready to open.

We explored some busy side streets and managed to find the Plaza del Callao. However we wanted to go next to the Plaza Mayor but couldn't work out which way to go. The maps we'd been given at the hotel didn't have every street marked.

Just when we decided we were lost, we found we were standing next to an information booth in the end of the plaza. The lady in the booth was very helpful. Not only did she give us a better map, she printed out a Google map showing the route to take to get to the plaza.

Every town seems to have a Plaza Mayor and this one was bigger than those we'd seen in other towns. Like so many places in Spain, there were workmen, barriers and hoarding for restoration and repair work. As usual, there were open air cafes and large umbrellas for shade.

Although it was another bright sunny day, it wasn't as hot as I suspect it normally is at this time of the year. When we left the hotel it was 18C but felt cooler because of the breeze. I'd decided not to bother with a jumper but Suzy had worn her lightweight down jacket. By early afternoon, the temperature had risen to about 24C.

Nearby we went to the Mercado de San Miguel which is a market for food and wine. It is in a building with a steel frame and full-height glass walls. Inside we saw stalls for paella, sandwiches, ham, beer, wine and lots more. A very popular place.

Suzy's main goal for the day was to find the famous flea market that operates on a Sunday. We walked down various narrow cobblestone streets before eventually getting there.

This market is very popular and was very crowded. There were entertainers too - singers and bands. Suzy was looking for small gifts to take back to the grandchildren and we walked further and further into the market area.

It was hard to find a way out of the market. Every side street was just another branch of the market. It went on and on. Every street was full of stalls and throbbing with crowds. We headed for a tree-lined street thinking that it was a way to get out, only to find that this street was even busier.

It was slow going. People were jostling to get through and we were hanging onto our wallets and bags to keep them safe. We'd been warned at the hotel and by guides to watch for thieves and pick pockets.

Eventually we escaped from the markets and managed to find our way through various side streets back up to the top of the hill where we'd started. At about 1:45pm, we stopped for lunch at a bakery for some lunch. It was one of the few places where we could find an empty table.

Suzy went to a shopping centre called El Conte Ingles to do some shopping. I headed back to the hotel. Along the way, I stopped at the Orange shop in Puerta del Sol to buy a Spanish SIM for my WiFi device.

By the time I worked out where the bus stop was for the return journey. It was just beyond Plaza Sevilla I just missed the 150 bus and so I caught a taxi back to the hotel instead and got there at about 3:15pm. Suzy got back about an hour later.

For dinner, we went across the road to Remigio at about 7:30pm - which is early by Spanish standards. There we shared a traditional paella dish with chicken. Suzy had Sangria and I had red wine. It was a very good meal in an elegant tasteful setting with good service. There was more paella than we could eat.

Day 27 - Saturday 20th May

Breakfast was on level 7 in the hotel at 7:30am. It was a large open restaurant with bright sunshine coming in through the large windows. The bus left at 8:30am bound for Madrid.

First, we travelled for about five minutes and stopped for a photo opportunity at a Roman bridge across the river. This bridge is about 2000 years old and was built with stone and without any mortar. It's still in use and seems to be in good condition.

In the background, we had a good view of the cathedral. It's a nice setting with green parkland next to the river. Philippe had given us five minutes to take photos.

The next stop was at a town called Avila. This is one of the most popular tourist locations in Spain. There are regular day trips from Madrid to see it. There were plenty of tourist coaches coming and going at the bottom of the hill.

Avila is a walled town but, unlike so many other wall towns, the walls have been preserved. In this regard, it reminds you of Carcassone in France. A second unique feature of Avila is that it is a fully functional town within the walls.

The construction of the walls dates back to the 11th century and it is in a prominent location on the top of the hill. Nowadays there is a series of escalators to take you up the hill from the tourist information office.

We walked around the walls and in through one of the arched gateways. After looking at various cobblestone streets and plazas, we walked out through another gateway and then back to a cafe where Philippe had organised for us to sample churros with hot chocolate.

As I was waiting to go inside the cafe, I saw a man carrying three little pigs. There were pigs that had been prepared for the restaurant. Quite a sight.

It was another bright sunny day but quite cold. The temperature was only 8C and there was a cool breeze. We were wearing our down jackets and I would have been wearing my gloves too if I hadn't been taking photos.

On the way to Madrid, we once again travelled on high quality motorways. Before reaching Madrid, we crossed a mountain range. At one stage we went through a tunnel that was more than 3km long - twin semi-circular tunnels with three lanes in each direction.

Although there were large fans in the tunnel ceiling, I couldn't see any ventilation system. At least there were emergency exits in this tunnel.

When we reached Madrid, the bus parked in the underground car park near the Royal Palace. We'd been to this car park at the beginning of our bus tour. We went up the crowded stairs to the surface outside the palace. Philippe said we had just over an hour to find somewhere for lunch.

After checking out a few places near the plaza, we went into one. It was confusing and we eventually sat down for a meal. However, the staff ignored us and so, after a few minutes, we gave up and left. Instead we went to the Costa cafe nearby.

When we walked back to the Royal Palace, we saw the end of a changing of the guard ceremony. It involved horses, flags and soldiers in impressive uniforms.

For a while after the ceremony, soldiers stood guard on horses outside the palace entrance and occasionally paraded around. It was great entertainment for all the onlooking crowd.

As we waiting at the top of the carpark stairs, we found out that one of the women in our tour group had had her mobile phone stolen while she'd sat in a cafe in the plaza. Apparently one gypsy created a distraction, wile another took the phone.

This was the second theft on the tour. A few days ago, someone had her passport stolen out of her handbag in a shopping area.

Next the bus took us on a sightseeing tour of Madrid. A local tour guide called Maria had joined the bus after lunch. Luckily, we were sitting in the front seat behind the driver and this was the ideal spot to take photos as we toured the city.

This tour lasted for more than an hour. The bus dropped some of us back at the palace so we could do a optional guided tour of the palace. Philippe took the others to the hotel on the bus.

The palace is a very impressive building. It is built around a large plaza. Our guide took us up the marble staircase and into the various rooms on the second level. Each room had different decorations. There were plenty of tapestries, paintings, antique furniture and large chandeliers. I've never seen so many chandeliers before.

The tour lasted about 90 minutes. As always the exit was via the souvenir shop.

We reached the Hisperia Madrid Hotel at about 5pm. There is a sign near the front door claiming it is one of the great hotels of the world. It is certainly an impressive entrance. The rooms are elegant and tasteful with dark timber.

Our room had a double bed. The bathroom is large and elegant but the shower is in the bath. The WiFi was very slow and so I tried the premium WiFi but it too was very slow,

Tonight we had the farewell dinner for the Insight bus tour. The bus picked us up at 6:40 and drove us to the restaurant. It was probably the best meal we'd had on the tour. There were multiple courses and we'd had to specify our preferences a couple of days ago. I had hake for main course and Suzy had pork.

The waiters were very attentive and kept filling up our glasses with wine. I gave Philippe an envelope containing a tip for the tour and then did the same for Pedro (our driver) when he dropped us back at the hotel after the dinner.

Many of the tour group went to the hotel bar for a farewell drink. The bar is called the Scotch Bar but they serve all sorts of alcohol. Russell and Rich did a great job of organising drinks for everyone. It was sad to be saying goodbye to our fellow travellers after a wonderful holiday.