“No I’m sorry sir, that won’t be possible, you will need to check out by noon” said the concierge. I put the phone down and frowned. It was 11am, and raining like it so often does when I’m around. We had ‘til 5:30 to occupy ourselves in a wet Madrid, which would be a challenge in itself, but the real reason I wanted to check out later was I was feeling decidedly ill. I’d not been able to sleep, and something I’d eaten on Friday was disagreeing with me quite enthusiastically. My face had turned ‘Compaq beige’, I’d managed to eat three small pieces of melon for breakfast and all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. I certainly didn’t want to be more than 3 paces from the bathroom... I packed my bag and lay groaning on the bed until exactly 12 before heading down to reception and the world beyond. It had stopped raining and we decided to head off to the Royal Palace - you gotta do the sightseeing bit, even if you’re feeling ill. Not that I had much choice - I could hardly sit on the Hotel steps all day. It was there that LA hit on the idea to ride the open top tourist bus. The weather was starting to brighten up, and it was wonderful. I just had to sit there, admire the architecture, with a wonderful fresh air breeze on my face. So, anyway, I took this from the bus. While Linda clicked away happily with her camera, I noticed that flags all around the city were at half mast. I don’t need to tell you why, the news today is everywhere, especially here, Spain being so deeply Catholic. Not being religious in any way, you might wonder why I’d choose this pic? To tell the truth, it was the only one I took today, I really wasn’t feeling very well at all.