We made Pablo's place our base of operations for a week in Madrid and central Spain. Since we were going to be driving around to Alcala de Henares, Toledo, and Segovia, Pablo made reservations for us at a garage just a block away from the apartment. With the aid of GPS, we had no trouble getting in and out of the city, and traffic was much better than I had feared.

Everything was very convenient. The apartment is in a very nice, lively little neighborhood, with the balconies looking out over the Plaza Dos de Mayo from the fifth story. There's a bakery about fifty feet from the front door, little grocery store about the same distance, metro about three blocks away, and we grew very attached to Las Farolas Chocolateria right next to the parking garage, where we had churros and chocolate for breakfast many times. The plaza has playground equipment for the kids and outdoor seating for many of the bars and restaurants. All the locals come out to eat and socialize in the afternoon and evening. (Since this is happening right outside your windows, be sure you find it charming rather than annoying.) There are too many restaurants, bars, and shops to count within a couple minutes' walk of the plaza; I especially recommend the Asturian Sidreria (cider house) on Fuencarral.

The apartment was plenty large for the six of us, though the bed in the narrow study only sleeps one, putting the sixth person in the living room. The large dining room table seated all six comfortably. The kitchen was quite functional and more spacious than the galley kitchens you find in many Spanish apartments; we cooked several breakfasts there. The master suite is luxurious, and the second bathroom small but functional, with a second shower.

Pablo himself lives elsewhere, but we met the housekeeper Noe when we arrived, and she showed us all around the place. We conversed mostly in Spanish, but her English seemed to be pretty good as well. There was a packet of directions for how everything works (appliances, trash/recycling, internet, etc.). She called Pablo on the phone and he welcomed us and made sure we knew we could call either him or Noe for anything we needed, whether it be help with some problem in the apartment, recommendations of things to do, or anything else. We arranged for a time for Noe to come back and get the keys from us when we departed.