Arrived in Madrid early morning of Oct. 18. As the hotel room was not ready we decided to have an early peek at the city. Opposite the Almudena Cathedral is a flight of stairs that lead down to a garden which has a view of the Viaduct. We went down to take some pictures. As I was setting up my tripod to take a picture of both me and my wife, 2 guys accosted us. One flashed a wallet showing identification as a policeman (about 2 or 3 seconds - did not have the time to check out authentication). They said they were policemen and we were in a bad part of town where there was drug trafficking and money laundering. First they asked to see our passports which my wife produced. Then next they asked to see our wallets. I had my money hidden in various parts of my clothing so I just removed 50 Euros from my pants pocket. One of the "cops" asked me where was the rest of my money....I told him I had it at the hotel as I did not like to carry much money with me. Right then, some other people came down the steps and I guess we were saved. This experience has taught us a lesson. My advise from this is:

1. If someone claims to be a plainclothes policeman make sure you (a) scrutinize his identification thoroughly (b) ask him to bring you to a uniformed policeman as you have no way of authenticating his identification or (c) ask him to bring you to the police station if there is a problem......do not get into a vehicle with that person.....attract bystander attention.
2. Do not go to isolated places where you will be a target.