We went to Madrid for a three day weekend to see Sasha's friend Janna, who is living in Madrid. We had no plan, and didn't really try to make one - we simply wandered the city and saw what there was to see (and heard what there was to hear - the Christmas music was out in full force!) In addition to the photos, there is a movie from Buen Retiro park, featuring music by some guy. What I did not get was a recording of the amazing American we met in a random store, who told us all about life in Europe as he had seen it in the three days (and three countries) he had seen thus far.

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Atocha Station, of course, is where the attacks of March 11th 2004 killed some 191 people. Although there are still signs of the attack, mostly in the form of ongoing construction, for the most part the station seems to have moved on. Wikipedia has more information about the attacks. On the weekend we were in Madrid, ETA set off at least 12 small bombs, to protest constitution week.

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Also worth checking out if you get the chance: Real Chocolat - featuring Real Madrid football gear made of chocolate. No kidding! Amusingly, we went looking for this in a Real Madrid store, and the guy looked at Janna as if she were crazy. As she noted 'he was selling Real Madrid pacifiers, and acting as if chocolates were a crazy idea?!'