After quitting my UK job, and spending most of the summer of 2002 in Cyprus, I moved to Madrid in the end of August 2002. The objective was to read an MBA at Instituto de Empresa.

I think it's important to say that I didn't know a word of Spanish when I arrived in Madrid. The minute I arrived, I had to take a taxi to take me to the hotel. The hotel's address was number 112 something, and I had absolutely no idea how to tell the driver that. It took about 5 minutes during which I was talking in English and the driver in Spanish. I then pulled out my mobile and typed 1-1-2 and that was the end of it.

I soon learned "Una cerveza por favor" and "donde estan los servicios?" which is really all you need to know in Madrid.

Madrid is a very cool place to live. It's very rich in the cultural sense. Picasso knew something when he drew La Guernica (which is now in El Prado in Madrid). The most impressive thing in Madrid though is nightlife. It's simply awesome. It starts rather late by European standards (around 11pm) and it goes on until dawn. One can go to all sorts of fiestas until the morning hours, on any day of the week. Ain't that awesome? I think I've turned into a nightowl since I came here.

But above all, what makes my time in Madrid so great, is the people I've met. I know that I've met some terrific people here (both in the MBA and outside), and this is what I will miss the most when I'm gone from here. In the MBA, we have people of 35 different nationalities, and that's so cool, as one can learn so much from these people.

The MBA at Instituto de Empresa is super-intensive, but we wouldn't be proper Madrileños students if we did not create some time to go out and have fun, drink and eat Tapas (the old gastronomic tradition of Spain).

In the gallery, you can find many pictures from my adventures in Madrid. Enjoy!