We arrived Madrid in the afternoon, having flown from London on Iberia airlines. Immigration was nuts until we spotted some electronic passport readers off in a corner, similar to the Global Entry readers we see in the US. No one was using them, though there must have been a couple hundred people waiting in line. We asked a security person if we could use them and she opened the rope for us and within 10 seconds, we were both through security, scratching our heads why others were not using the machines. There was another long line for a cab, and there was no shortcut here, so after a 30 minute wait, we were on our way to the city.

This week we are staying at a Sonder property, our first time, and check-in was easy. Sonder is known for renovating old residential buildings and turning them into small apartments for rent. Some have kitchens, some do not. You enter the building with a code number. There is no reception to check you in and give you a key, instead, you punch in a number to a locked key box and it opens to present your keys. Easy!

Our apartment is adorable and will be plenty comfortable for our 6-night stay. Sonder is now owned by Marriott, so we even get Marriott points for our stay. We will get one complimentary housekeeping visit, scheduled ahead of time. There is a washer/dryer combo unit in the apartment for doing small loads of laundry.

This Sonder location is in a lovely residential neighborhood, northwest of central Madrid. After laying in some groceries for breakfast, we wondered out to have dinner. Looking forward to exploring tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Madrid