Day: April 1, 2026

Pravets, Bulgaria to Madrid, Spain

We had to set an alarm for 6:30 this morning so that we could have breakfast, checkout, drive an hour to Sofia, fill the car with gas, return the rental car and catch the 10:40 plane to Madrid.

A combination of confusing car return instructions and Google Maps suggesting ‘shortcuts’ put us on some very bad roads as we tried to find the right place to return the car but we finally did it.
It was interesting to see a lot of American Air Force planes parked on the tarmac as we taxied to the take of runway.

We had so many grey and chilly days in Bulgaria that it was fantastic to see the sun when we got to Madrid. It was also really nice to be able to read the street signs and understand some of the language. We’ve been to Madrid so many times that it almost feels like home.

Looking down Gran Via from our hotel
We had jamon, sangria and wonderful bread and olive oil at Museo de Jamon.
Then we had cañas, olives, and patatas bravas at Cervecería Alemana