Hi Nicoleye! I really can't say enough of Welltours , historical nightime walking tours of Madrid with British expatriate Chairman Stephen Drake-Jones. I really had the time of my life.

Chairman, as he likes to be called, is SUCH a character, wonderful British sense of humor, distinguished, in his late 40s or early 50s, EXTREMELY knowledgeable about Madrid and Spanish history (don't test him on dates - HE KNOWS IT ALL backwards and frontwards), and takes his smallish groups (nor more than 8 or 10 I think he says) to little-known or unknown parts of old Madrid.

Along the way, you'll stop in to sample tapas and drinks in 2 or 3 out-of-the-way and UNtouristy bars.

Stephen is SO charismatic, so kind, funny, and makes the 2.5 to 3 hour tour go unfortunately TOO quickly. AND, if you're deserving and call him "Chairman", he just MIGHT let you hold his walking cane.

By the way, I'm getting THOSE photos developed after returning from Thanksgiving so look for them here.

To reserve your spot, you'll want to email "Chairman Drake-Jones" through his website. He'll likely pencil you in and then ask you to call him on his cell phone when you arrive in Madrid just to confirm. "You'll all pay for your memberships when I tell you and not before so don't ask," he says at the beginning of the tour with a smirk on his face. hehee.. You pay towards the end of the tour, but he gives you your official membership card at the beginning as he explains the great many benefits of becoming a Wellington Society member. Stephen is REALLY one of a kind and his tours are top-notch, memorable, and lots of fun. I'm looking forward to taking another tour with him already. You can read my account of the tour in the 10/16/2000 journal entry of MadridMan's Madrid 2000 .

Saludos, MadridMan

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 11-22-2000).]