May 23rd, 2021
Dear Readers,
Have you ever experienced something where the day feels eternal, the weeks feel long but it seems that the months fly by? I have, and that is exactly what happened to me this year. The year 2021 is flying by for me. My plan was to fly back home to Washington state in May and I kept saying that it was so far away until I realized it was the last days of April and I told myself that I needed to tour Madrid one more time before leaving for three months, so that is exactly what I did. I texted one of my friends, packed my camera, extra batteries, and my sunglasses and went touring around the city. The first stop was El Retiro Park.
I like to call El Retiro Park the “Central Park of Madrid”. It has a man-made lake in the middle where you can rent boats and paddle, incredible architecture and statues all around. There are fountains are every intersection and in May there is a flower garden in full bloom. The park offers many picnic areas, incredible pictures, places to eat lunch and a crystal palace with a variety of exhibits that change throughout the year.
After this, another day I toured around downtown Madrid. First, I went to the most “tourist-y” places (such as Plaza Mayor, Plaza Sol, etc., which I have talked about in previous posts) and then I visited other places that are not as well known. The starting point of places that are not as popular is Plaza del 2 de Mayo. Which means Plaza of the second of May. This plaza is known well by locals but tourists are not as aware of this place. In this Plaza in the year 1808 (on May 2nd), there was battle because Napoleon was trying to take control of that area and the army did not let him. This plaza represents the victory against Napoleon of a win in a battle.
Afterwards, I kept walking around and came across some unique buildings. Among these was a Scientology church which I had never seen before and I thought it was a very unique building so I snapped a picture of it and kept walking. Then I came across a building that resembled a house or gathering space and there was plaque that explained that it was a house for the Spanish society of authors. The plaque is dated June 16th, 1965. Finally, as I walked back up the street leading to plaza Sol I took pictures of buildings with architecture that I found interesting. I love how every building in Madrid has such interesting architecture. The building can as simple as an apartment building but the architecture will most likely be beautiful.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about Madrid through photos and a little bit of history. I hope you are all able to start exploring a little more in your hometown or farther out. Safe travels!
Sincerely,
The Eternal Traveler