I've forgotten what green vegetables look like

Days 3 to 6 of the grand tour were spend in a hot chocolate and tapas induced haze – as the weather was beginning to turn to spring, we were able to picnic in the park and sit out in some of the lovely squares until 10 or 11 eating and drinking, and watching the amazing streetlife. Madrid is far more cosmopolitan that Barcelona, and very elegant, and I felt it was a city that I would find it very comfortable to live in.

The highlight of this part of the trip was a visit to a 3 story salsa club in an old palace. Firstly it was amusing to be getting ready for a night out in the bathrooms of our hostel – as per normal with Liorah and Nomes the glitter flowed freely, much to the shocked fascination of Bobbie Brown-cloned American college students who were preparing to go to a bar at the same time. Later at the club we wandered around the labyrinth of ornately decorated rooms all playing different music and watched the older couples leaving us in their dust as they burned up the dance floor, before finally braving the chance of embarrassment and the clutches of the over-eager short Ecuadorian gentlemen - which was most certainly ‘not OK’. This new catchphrase was inspired by a sign we saw on the subway in Madrid, and was used to describe a number of situations we came across on the rest of the trip!

We also made a trip to a local flamenco club near our hostel to see the show – spectacular dancing, although it was very staged, and left me feeling hungry for something a little more raw and unpolished – hopefully we will see a little more of this in Seville. Next stop Granada, 5 hours south-east by train.