Irene's apartment is a great place for a short break in Madrid. It's incredibly well located in the La Latina district, making most sights within walking distance - we walked to the Prado, Retiro Park, Atocha station, Lavapies district, Malasana and Chueca. The street itself is filled with tapas bars, there is a great rooftop bar at one end (El Viajero) and an all day tapas bar the other called Bar la Terraza (useful to know when you've been trekking around all day and need a refuel.) The local Mercado de Cebado is great for groceries and the peaceful square nearby (Plaza Paya) has a number of good places to watch the world go by - Tio Timon for a late night Iberico Jamon and La Musa for a good selection of breakfast. We arrived late at night and were greeted by Olga (Irene's friend) who let us in, told us about the local area and showed us around the flat. Since no one had booked into the flat after us, she even agreed to a late check out on our last day which was greatly appreciated. The flat itself is simple and has everything you need - although it gets a little hot at night in the height of summer (but there is air con). You will also need to be fit as it is up 4 flights of stairs but wasn't a problem for us. A great way to cool down is to do a trip to a public pool - we went to the Casa de Campo pool which is surrounded by trees and feels a million miles away from the heat of the city. All in all a great stay - highly recommend it!