"Visiting For Work, Staying for Pleasure " a Madrid Travel Page by RhineRoll

I was invited to Madrid by the European Commision in order to participate in a conference. The organizers did an excellent job in placing the meeting on Thursday and Friday enabling myself (and most of the other participants!) to stay a day longer in order to do some private sightseeing. I had never been to Madrid before, but immediately liked the city. Here comes another major European capital, bustling with life and a lot of style.

The meeting was over Friday 3 PM and the sightseeing part could start. However, due to torrential rain (!), traffic came to a total standstill and it took the taxi about 1 hour to take me back to the hotel a few blocks distant. I was so tired that I made a serious siesta -- was waken up by a hungry colleague's telephone call at 7 PM. The rain had finally stopped and we went outside to get some unconditioned air and look for a dinner place. After dinner, my colleague from the Finance Ministry already sleeping in the hotel, I was out in the streets until 2 AM taking in the atmosphere. The streets seemed to be at least as crowded as during daytime, there were even more people walking around! I guess if you are an early-to-bed goer, Madrid is not your city!