Carmen Iglesias

I taught history at a secondary school in Chamberí for twenty-six years. When I retired in 2018 I found I missed the classroom but not the marking, so I took the official guide exam and passed on the second attempt. Madrid is often described as a city without much history compared with Toledo or Seville. That is wrong, and I enjoy proving it. The Madrid of the Austrias, the Habsburg city around Plaza Mayor and Calle de Segovia, is where I start most people. I also lead a walk about the siege of Madrid during the Civil War, from the Cuartel de la Montaña to the old front line at the University City. It is not a cheerful tour, but people tell me it is the one they remember. I speak slowly, I answer every question and I do not skip the dates. My English is good. My French is from school and still serviceable. My sessions now run live on video from Madrid: I carry the phone, you watch from wherever you are and ask anything.