"Madrid: I will return..." a Madrid Travel Page by virtualpatrick

I've visited Spain 3 times and have always enjoyed using Madrid as the hub of my visits. Although better architecture can be found in other Spanish cities, nothing beats the museums, hustle and bustle, nightlife of Madrid. Kinda reminds me of the NYC area.

My Jan/Feb 2004 visit took me to Madrid to participate as a volunteer conversationalist in a week-long English immersion program run by Vaughan Systems see www.vausys.com

After the program, a handful of the volunteer "Anglos" stayed in Madrid to experience the nightlife with some of the Spaniards we have met.

Not knowing where to put a majority of the candid photos from the week, I just put them in the section called "Local Customs" travel tips down below (there are around 30 photos in there).

Other pictures I have from this recent trip can be found in my El Barco de Avila and Segovia pages.

For a nice, compact guide to the city, download the .pdf file for the major cities in Spain at Maribel's Guides.

NOTE about the Englishtown program: In 2006, the "Englishtown" concept has been split up into 2 separate competing companies. Pueblo Ingles (www.puebloingles.com) has spun off from Vaughan Systems and continues on with the program I attended. While Richard Vaughan starts fresh with VaughanTown (www.vaughantown.com).

I highly recommend English speaking people to partake and volunteer for either "Englishtown" program. I've met the staff running both programs and can assure you they are committed to bringing a rich cultural experience to their Spanish/Italian clients and English speaking volunteers. So check out both programs and see which one suits your taste.

from one bar to the next for 4 nights of never-ending goodbyes to Madrid...

This photo was from O'Neils, an Irish pub.
Click on the picture to see the caption.

This group photo was from O'Connors, another Irish pub.

I've created a Gredos Slideshow of some of the candid photos from Barco de Avila and Madrid. It's set to a background music to a medley of Gipsy Kings songs to give a flavor to the good times had at the Vaughan Systems English immersion program. The music can be turned off by clicking on the "speaker" button at the lower right of the slideshow.