3.19.2009

Sunday, March 19, 1989

Exploring the grounds of Palacio Real ...

We slept in a bit and got our breakfast close to noon. After this, Viv and I picked up our pack lunch and headed for El Lago, a lake on the outskirts of Madrid. It was a mild, sunny day, perfect enough for a picnic.

We sat on a hill overlooking the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace) and the lake, where we ate our lunch (top photo). When we were finished eating what we could, we walked down the hill and over to a kiosk, where we both bought very old cans of 7-Up. We could tell they were old because the cans had rust on them.

When we were nearly finished, we began our walk toward the Royal Palace. We arrived a short time later and spent a good deal of time in the front garden, looking for the palace entrance before we decided to rest on a bench for awhile in this incredibly peaceful area.

Later we walked out the front gate and around to the front (middle photo), where we passed through another garden before we found the gate... and the sign that told us the palace was closed on Sunday.

We still got a magnificent view of Madrid from here, and decided to continue walking into town. We stopped at a sidewalk cafe and had some Coca Colas, then continued to walk until we found ourselves outside El Prado. So we again walked up to El Retiro (bottom photo, Viv at the park) and relaxed for awhile outside the Glass Palace.

We bought some treats on the way to the Metro Station, and got back in plenty of time for dinner, so we rested. After dinner, Viv and I relaxed at the Residencia while others went out.

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