Testimonials

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Published: 14 May 2016

Well where do I start? My friend and I were visiting Madrid, and even in the planning stages of our trip, when we first e-mailed Almu, we could instantly tell that she was a great find. Almu is organised, extremely well informed and a has a wonderful personality, all of which added up to two diverse but extremely enjoyable experiences. I would say that her tours were one of the main highlights of our trip to Madrid. If you love art and food, then she is the guide for you!

Already being great fans of Goya's work, we were absolutely amazed to find that Almu could get us access to see some of his original plates which his four sets of famous prints were taken from, at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes. The room was actually closed at the time, as they were setting up for a new exhibition in the space, but with Almu's contacts and magician-like abilities, she was able to get the room unlocked for us, and she gave us a private viewing. It was incredible and something we thought we would never see. The rest of the museum is well worth a look too, and you will find more attendants than visitors, as it doesn't seem to be very well known. This is such a shame as it has a wonderful collection, but in terms of being a visitor, it was great. Then it was on to the Prado for more of Goya's work (he was an amazingly prolific artist). The Prado has a staggering amount of Goya's work, from large scale cartoons for tapestries, through royal portraits and his "dark" paintings to his famous, emotive historical depictions to smaller, more personal paintings. Almu's art historical knowledge is vast, and it made a huge difference to our experience to have her knowledge and resources while viewing his work. 

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Published: 12 November 2015

Almu gave us a spectacular tour of Madrid's civil war sites. We both recommend her highly and without reservation to anyone who is interested in that subject or any other subject matter she covers. We took her tour Spanish Civil War Tour and her Goya Tour. Both experiences were riveting.

I don’t want to steal her thunder, but apart from being a great person whose company you’re bound to enjoy (she’s charming and funny), she is clearly extremely passionate about the subjects she covers and knows them inside out. 

From the outset, she asked us where we were from and was immediately able to draw political parallels and more importantly influences when it came to the Spanish Civil War tour.

What makes the experience with her unique is that you’re not dealing with someone who is simply regurgitating the subject matter & getting a job done, but instead you’re listening to someone who has experienced the subject matter through her own family’s experiences historically and she brings that to bear at every corner with clippings form the past that her family has kept along the way.

Not to mention the fact that she teaches the subject at university level and is in every way a scholar of the subject.

Diana D
Madrid, Spain
June 2015

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Published: 28 October 2015

I do not usually book guided yours when I travel, let alone in Madrid where I live, but my niece had to do an essay about Goya for her class in High School and I decided to help her with this Across Madrid tour. It truly was a discovery for both of us because I had never visited the Real Academia de Bellas Artes and we also were able to see the etching plates by Goya, which made a real impact on us. 

The itinerary designed by Almudena, the professor who leads this company, is perfectly thought out to help you understand the importance of Goya.  My niece's essay benefitted immensely from this tour, but I also gained a lot from the experience since I discovered works and aspects of Goya I did not know. 

This company offers private tours at affordable prices and the truth is that it is a really worthwhile investment.  I will very likely repeat with them to do the Spanish Civil War tour. 

Congratulations to Almudena for the quality of the content and format of the Goya tour, and for being able to connect with my teenage niece.

Rococo P
Madrid, Spain
October 2015