P-p-p-pick up a POLKA DOT DRESS!

There’s no escaping the desire to shop, or at least window shop, when in Madrid.

Madrid is quite a shopper’s paradise once you break away from the Gran Via where all the chain stores are located. Even the souvenir stalls off the Plaza Mayor are far more interesting than another Zara or H&M…  Here are some of my favourite bits and bobs on offer:

They're kitsch and will look out of place once you bring them home. Yet, they're glam and gorgeous and I had to buy one!

Plaza Dos de Mayo is full of life and market stalls on a Saturday morning. Few tourists, great people behind the stalls and lots of charming watering holes within two steps.

The POLKA DOT DRESS is too tempting for these grand parents shopping for a Spanish souvenir for their grand daughter.

Even the Chinese corner shops are potential treasure groves. A feather boa for 2 euros!

Have a look at the "anticrisis" offer on the bottom left. "El Rastro" - the Sunday market is full of humor and true bargains.

Photito is in good company

We at http://www.photito.com are really excited to have had our blog accepted to join the specially selected Lonely Planet bloggers from around the world!

Our first contribution to the Lonely Planet site

This exclusive community consists of nearly 400 bloggers, providing first hand experiences from life on the road.

We are not only really proud to be part of this, but are also finding it useful to browse the other blogs as we are constantly planning new journeys ourselves. So far we’ve fallen in love with another contributor’s blog http://blog.malaysia-asia.my/ which is full of great tips for travellers heading to Malaysia. Malaysia is on the very top of our wish list for next winter, so we are sure to make good use of David’s blog in the months to come.