Magical

We had a wonderful day exploring Madrid, discovering new treasures and revisiting old ones.

The new treasure was the Museo Sorolla. This is part gallery, part museum dedicated to the Spanish impressionist painter Joaquin Sorolla. The museum is actually Sorolla's old home and parts of it are exactly how Sorolla left them when he died in 1923.

His work is wonderful. He is famous for his beach scenes, but I particularly enjoyed portrays of his family - the love he had for them comes through so clearly.

We then visited the marvellous Cafe Commercial - a famous cafe next to the Bilbao Metro station, where writers and intellectuals would meet. It is a wonder to behold inside, with its walls lined completely with mirrors and the floors supported by huge classical pillars.

Madrid is baking hot right now, so we spent some of the afternoon in the Retiro park. Later on this evening we will eat somewhere close to another Madrid treasure - the Plaza Mayor.

Check out these places on the web or, better still, visit this great city.

I have one last treasure - our hotel, the Inter Sur Palacio San Martin. I think it's the best hotel Mrs Dailykeith and I have ever stayed at. It's fantastic!

The photo is the view from its restaurant.