Plaza Dos de Mayo, Madrid

Once again, we were surprised at how easy it was to get to Madrid on the AVE high speed train. We left our house in Bcn at 9.30 and we're just a 12 mins walk to the station. The 10.00am train left bang on time and arrived just 3hrs 10 mins later in Atoche Station, in the centre of Madrid. No having to arrive early for a flight, take taxis or worry that your carry on bag is a kilo overweight or a centimetre too big. On board, the seats are comfortable and even recline and for those who fancy, there's a film to watch or music to listen to. The journey was almost too short for us, by the time we read our mags, had a wee trip to the buffet car, Bb blipped and had a wee shut eye and I wrote a few emails and downloaded the Madrid metro app, we were there!

Once settled into our accommodation, we wandered out and into the Malasena barrio, which is a lovely authentic part of Madrid full of squares, majestic buildings and lovely little original shops and cafes. It was sunny but chilly. I think our Scottish blood's got thinner over the years as we weren't tempted to sit out! We came across the square of my blip, Plaza Dos de Mayo, which got its name from that date in 1808 when the Madrilenos rebelled against the occupation by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French imperial forces and triggering the Peninsula War. It's now a beautiful, characterful square with lots of cafes, bars and terraces and today, in celebration of the date, there was a programme of events and a little crafts fair.