I have visited Madrid several times and did not realize that you can a) go into the Palacio de…read moreCibeles and b) that it is free. My bf made this discovery when he was exploring while I was at work. Great discovery! After entering through a security/bag check, you walk upstairs onto the 2nd floor. There is a tourist office as well as a large relaxing/working space. An exhibit offers an overview of the commitment to green spaces in English and Spanish. The floors above house the history of the building, including the architecture and design. There are also special exhibits featuring different artists. If you are visiting before early May 2026, I highly recommend Ana Juan's "Wunderkammer" exhibition. Beautiful and thought provoking! There is an observation deck that can be accessed for €4. It was closed in mid-Feb for technical repairs without a confirmed reopening date. Hopefully it will be available to the public again soon! A bit farther away but you can always venture to the top of the Riu hotel for incredible views.

So I was sad because I bought a ticket to go on the rooftop, but it was raining, so I couldn't. But…read morethey refunded me automatically, so that was good. So instead I meandered between floors looking at all the art waiting for the rain to dissipate a bit. Some was cool, some I didn't get, to each their own. It's a gorgeous building and worth a visit if you have the time. I'll have to come back for the rooftop next time!

I came to the post office with 3 post cards that I needed to send home. Some of us actually do…read morestill write letters believe it or not. They speak English and Spanish 100%, however, thought that I would practice my Spanish which I just butchered in error. The guy at the til face palmed, gave me the stamps and told me that I needed to keep practising Spanish. It was painful for him to listen to me form the sentence and then start again. A sentence like, "I need to send this to Canada" took 10 minutes. In case you're wondering it takes 92 cents to send a letter from Madrid to Canada 12 days vs. $1.29 from Canada to the US.....think about that one for a sec.

Despite the fact that my package only contained used personal books, nothing else, and books are…read moresupposed to be duty free (as are used personal items) they held my package for about a month after arrival for payment of duty. I eventually received a letter that I had to pay a duty to get my package released, but the due date was for 2 weeks prior to the date I received the notice. So my package was shipped back to the US. Cost me around $250 in shipping, plus the loss of a box of books I needed and can't get in Spain. I love Spain, but the inept bureaucracy here makes living difficult at times.