Having run out of time in May to visit Madrid's Museo Reina Sofia, this trip seemed the perfect opportunity to fly into Madrid again before connecting with León.
I had booked a private room in a hostal just off the Puerta del Sol, perfectly situated to visit the many sights in this endlessly intoxicating city.
The Museo Reina Sofia is Spain's Tate Modern, the younger sister to the stately Prado, just around the corner.
Housing masterpieces by Dalí, Miró and Picasso, its flagship is Picasso's monumental 'Guernica' of 1937 - probably the greatest work of art of the 20th Century - lamenting the horrors of war, in particular the Nazi bombing of Guernica, which was seen as a northern bastion of the Republican effort against Franco's Nationalists. However, most of the casualties were women and children, as most of the men were away fighting on behalf of the Republicans.
I last saw this piece in 1991 when it was housed in the 'Cason de Buen Retiro', an annexe of the Prado, just before it moved to the Reina Sofia when that opened in 1992.
Back then, it was housed behind thick, bullet-proof glass. I guess back then there were still Republican remnants, it being only 16 years after Franco's death (in 1975), and with it the restoration of the monarchy. Ultimately, in his wanting to see Spain become a world power again, and in the absence of any other solution, the choice was obvious.
Franco remains a dichotomy, overseeing brutal suppression and a post-war economic boom fuelled largely by State-supported tourism, reinforcing the dictatorship’s sovereignty while simultaneously triggering significant institutional and cultural transformation. 
Since his death both Left and Right have agreed to a 'Pacto de Olvido' (The Pact of Forgetting), to avoid confronting the Francoist legacy, but wandering through the Puerta del Sol later, I came across a demonstration outside the Real Casa de Correos, home of the Political Social Brigade, the epicentre of the state's repressive administration against the different social movements that advocated democratic progress, and where many an insurgent was tortured and/or murdered.
On the 12th, I had planned to make good time to get to Madrid-Chamartín train station to catch the train straight to León, but unfortunately, that went the way of all good intentions. Chamartín is undergoing extensive renovations, and on exiting the Metro, I had to walk outside and right around the building, meaning I missed my train by two minutes. Checking online, there were no other direct trains to León, and nothing for another two hours, and necessitating two changes. I had no choice.
As I explain in the video, the Universe always has its reasons. I was meant to see Valladolid (during the two-hour break between connecting trains) and Palencia (one-hour) today, and both were a joy to explore. I stayed overnight in Valladolid in 1991, but recall very little of the city Columbus called home the last years of his life. I settled at a café under the shadow of the cathedral and enjoyed two Radlers.
This serpentine journey meant I didn't check into my hotel in León until gone 10.30pm. I flopped on the bed, trying to write this vlog, but sleep got the better of me. The walking starts tomorrow!
Music: Turina's (Seville) 'Fandanguillo' (1925), only the second original piece written for guitar in the 20th century (the first being Falla's Homage to the late Debussy in 1920). This piece captivated Falla, who considered it a perfect work.