Slow Hotel Breakfast
No rush this morning. We've earned a slow breakfast. Coffee, tostada, read something. Let Madrid be quiet for a few more minutes before the day starts.
Museo del Romanticismo
Ten minutes from the hotel on foot. A 19th-century aristocratic townhouse preserved exactly as it was — tapestried rooms, oil portraits, Romantic-era furniture, miniatures, period costumes, and a beautiful courtyard café. The museum is rarely crowded. It's quiet and strange and deeply atmospheric — like being inside a Goya painting. A perfect low-key last morning in Madrid.
Check Out of Avani Alonso Martínez
Leave bags with the concierge — the train doesn't leave until 3:52pm, so there's time for a proper lunch before heading to Atocha.
Last Lunch in La Latina
The last Spanish lunch of the trip. La Latina is Madrid's most characterful barrio — medieval streets, the Sunday El Rastro flea market nearby, tapas bars on every corner. Order whatever looks right. Jamón. Croquetas. A glass of something Castilian. Say a quiet goodbye to Spain over food, because that's the most Spanish thing you can do.
Iryo Infinite Class — Madrid to Barcelona
Madrid Atocha to Barcelona Sants. Three hours on Iryo's Infinite Class — wide seats, good service, and the Spanish landscape rolling past. This is a different journey than the AVE south to Seville — the terrain shifts from flat plains to green foothills as we approach Catalonia. Arrive in Barcelona with the early evening, close the loop on a trip that started here nine days ago.
Barcelona Sants — One Last Night
Arrive back where it all began. Tonight at the Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel before the early morning flight. Barcelona at night one last time — maybe a walk, maybe a glass of cava somewhere in El Born. Whatever feels right at the end of nine days in Spain.
