"Sometimes it all gets a little too much" sings Shawn Mendes, but I perfectly agree. From time to time we need to take a deep breath, stop stressing about things that won't matter in the long run and take a break. Are you thinking what I am thinking? Yes, going on a trip, even for just a few days, will work! So jump on the internet, book your flights and pack. See you at the airport!

I moved to Denmark last August and throughout the year I had the chance to see my best friend "only" four times, which is why we decided to go somewhere together, just the two of us, and catch up. Our choice was Spain, Madrid to be precise.

Plaza Mayor.

Needless to say that we loved it. I loved the culture, the food, the Spanish vibes and hearing the language. I'm honestly missing sippin' Sangria or chilling at Parque de el Retiro. Italian & Spanish cultures are so similar yet so different. I've tried to speak Spanish with people, even though sometimes I was actually forced to do so, for example when I asked a person "Do you speak English?" he replied with a firm "Español!" ... Si señor, my apologies, Spanish it is.

Even though the tube costs 2 euros per ride (from and to the Airport it costs around 5€), we decided to walk everywhere and ended up with an average of 30km per day, we almost arrived at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and Google Offices by simply walking (and we were based in Atocha)! Think about it, if we took the tube for 4 days, back and forth, we would have spent at least 16 euros just for that, when all the fun of traveling is finding hidden alleys and capturing perfect shots. Also, we decided to spend those 16 euros on Paella, Sangria, Empanadas and a bottle of white wine (or maybe two..) to celebrate.

Royal Palace of Madrid.

Tips for discovering Madrid on foot:

Bring water with you, and sunscreen. Luckily enough I directly tanned without getting sunburnt, but having protection would be nice. We visited Madrid in June and even though from time to time it was hot, there was a little breeze which fooled us. I went back to Milan with a white line around my neck. I couldn't stop taking pictures, so I didn't tan where the strip was. Oh well, it is not that visible by now anyways haha.

Bring comfortable shoes. We decided we wanted to go to a cheap and warm place so we decided Madrid, but we didn't know it would be on hills. And this is why along with water you need good shoes. Well, we made it and I would do it again. I was so tired that I slept without any problems those three nights haha.

Talk to locals for advice. As my friend and I were walking we found a restaurant with a very competitive menu price, so I wanted to ask for more information. I thought that the person standing in front of the main door was the owner and so I approached him with a "disculpe!". I then figured he was not working there so I tried to apologise and leave, but he wouldn't let me. He kept saying if I had a pregunta for him. No, no questions, thank you though. Nada, he was nice enough to keep asking me if I needed help, and so I told him in Spanish that I thought he was working there and I wanted to ask information. Little did I know that from this first approach we would spend half an hour talking to this middle-aged tipsy español. He gave us advice and warned us. He was a nice guy, even though he started our conversation by saying that Spanish people engañan (cheat you) just like Italians. As we told him we were Italians he started a whole new and different conversation "Io amo l'Italia, Italiano lingua più bella del mondo, io canto, io amo la cultura" (I love Italy and Italian, I'm a singer and love the culture). Well, we eventually ate there and it was good!