Provenance

I'm eternally attracted to places that are clearly rooted in the past and offer what they always have since the day they first opened their doors in another age. I always choose them over the cleverly-designed new places that often are very appealing but which don't have that particular connection with the past of a place. It's just a personal preference.

Dd's sniffles of yesterday turned into a full-blown cold, complete with aches, pains and a disturbed night, so much so that she is having a long lie and I have been out around our Madrid block, ferrying back sachets and capsules and thermometers as well as taking a few blips . . . see extras if you fancy a wee tour around the area of the Royal Palace and Gran Via.