One Magnificent Day In Madrid!

Our one magnificent day in Madrid covered the tranquil (and enormous) Parque de el Retiro. It was a change in pace for sure but also felt remarkably comfortable. The history and beauty of Madrid is everywhere and this park captures a small piece of what makes this city great . I’ll share plenty of pictures on this post but even the best ones won’t do these sites justice. I will add the best color commentary I can to fill in the gaps and hope you enjoy reading part two of my four part series of my Madrid family vacation.

Parque de el Retiro – Amazing park in the city

New Years Day in Madrid started late for us as you can imagine. If you read our NYE in Madrid post, then you know we wrapped up the shenanigans around 3 am. This is early by Madrid’s standards and especially so on NYE night. So needless to say, we didn’t go to bed til after 6 am due to all the noise from revelers. By noon my wife and I were up, drinking coffee, and watching/reading posts from friends back in the US who had just brought in the new year. Our kids wanted to stay in and sleep so we left them there. At 21, 20, and 15 they could manage. F them kids, lol.

Walking leisurely and taking it easy outdoors was just what the doctor ordered after a night of drinking and silliness. We headed out in the afternoon and made a beeline towards El Retiro Park. We had read about this Central Park type green space and wanted to see it for ourselves. The walk from Puerta del Sol to the park is about 20-25 minutes (depending on what entrance you use). It’s not a bad trek at all and you’ll walk through some really nice areas of Madrid.

Retiro Park – Do as little or as much as you want

As you can see from the above map, the park layout is huge. We decided to make our way towards the Palacio de Cristal which was a straight shot from the entrance. Along the paths are the usual characters you would expect. From young couples in love taking a stroll to the elderly getting their exercise in. Families and joggers alike share the spaces with ease and it was a scene of tranquility in every area we passed.

Retiro Park – Palacio de Cristal

This very cool conservatory can be found right in the center of the park and faces a cascada pond. It’s location is perfect and it sits on a slightly elevated area perfect for those midday picnics or siestas. Reading up on it’s history and design I learned that it’s shape is meant to be in the form of a Greek cross. Inside you’ll find several art pieces and other works that we found interesting and intriguing. Have a look for yourself on the slide show below. This palacio is well worth the visit.

Retiro Park – The Lake

From the palacio we explored the surrounding area and found that there is food and wine sold inside the park grounds. There are actually several terraces spread across the park so having a drink in this tranquil setting is easy to do. Great for taking a break and people watching. After a couple of glasses of wine we continued on to Retiro Lake with it’s magnificent monument to Alfonso XII serving as a perfect backdrop. From far away it looked impressive but when we finally got up close, it really stood out.

Because it was a holiday, there weren’t any rowers or paddleboats on the lake as is normal. Most of the activity around the lake consisted of people feeding the ducks and fish along the edges and lots of picture taking. There were also plenty of blankets laid out with friends gathered around enjoying each other’s company.

We were marveling at the statues and design of the whole thing. Speaking of statues, The Paseo de la Argentina (Statue Walk), is a path adjacent to the lake that is lined with statues of kings from back in the day of the the Royal Palace. This park truly has something for everyone. In addition to some of the places I mentioned, some other activities you could partake in are:

• Take a guided visit to the Parque del Retiro – Available May-October
• Rent Row boats
• Take a rollerblading class.
• Discover the park’s street artists
• Listen to a concert at the Templete de la Música
• Watch a puppet show
• Outdoor Yoga classes

After Retiro Park Day – Dinner and Dessert

We took an Uber back to the apartment after the park visit and of course the first thing we hear when we walked in, “we’re hungry!”. I swear some things never change, smh. We had been gone for several hours and they hadn’t seen us all day and instead of “hey where were y’all?, what did you see?, how was it?, etc. NADA. All about the food.

It reminded me of a trip my wife and I had taken just a couple of years back to Ireland. We were gone about 10 days and when we landed my wife texted our kids and went on and on about how much she missed them and couldn’t wait to see them. She sent this long ass multi paragraph text to the family group text and got a 2 word response. Bring Popeyes. 🤣

La Fragua de Vulcano

We had seen this restaurant on our walk to the park earlier and made a note to ourselves to return for dinner. I liked the pics of the food on the outside and the layout inside was nice. Not to mention the delicious aroma of the dishes they were putting out could be smelled while you’re walking by. Mesa para cinco I told the hostess as we huddled inside to get out of the cold.

We settled in and looked over the menu and I knew right from the jump what I wanted. Ox-Tails! Man I love me some ox-tails but back home in Houston I can only find them at soul food restaurants. And even then, they only serve them on Fridays at most of those places because it takes so long to make them. On top of that, they are expensive. So back to the menu and food.

Spanish food does not taste like Mexican food!

This we learned the hard way, lol. It’s not that we expected it would or thought it, we aren’t ignorant like that. But there is one dish that looks exactly like Mexican menudo and if you look at the description on the menu and then look at the picture of what it’s supposed to look like, you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t expect it to taste at least a little like it. Have a look for yourself. Tell me that doesn’t look like menudo!? Aside from the nasty black sausage of course. I’m not tripping.

This dish is called Callos a la Madrileña or Callos Madrilenos and we are not fans of it. The soup is very thick, the flavor is bland, and it is not spicy. Hard pass. Everything else we had was delicious and the service was legit top notch. Very attentive and friendly staff and great location was hard to beat. Just don’t order that menudo imposter and you’ll be good.

Chocolatería San Ginés – World Famous Churros and Chocolate

After dinner, of course you have to have something sweet. And you cannot visit Madrid (or Spain for that matter) without eating some churros and chocolate. And what better place to get them than at world famous Chocolatería San Ginés! I mean if you’re looking for the best, then getting them at a place that has been churning out these delicacies since 1894 is a no brainer.

My wife and I figured that since it was New Year’s Day that people would be tired and the lines wouldn’t be as long. Yep, you guessed it. We were wrong, big time. When we rounded the corner from just off Puerta del Sol we were met by a throng of people waiting line to get their churro and chocolate fix. Apparently we weren’t the only ones with the same cravings. But don’t despair at the lines as they move along fairly quickly.

Once you get to the front they will ask you if you want to wait for a table or standing spot inside or take them to go. We took ours to go. It had been a long day and the intoxicating smell of freshly made churros and chocolate was having it’s affect on us. We couldn’t wait to get back to the apartment to devour them. Our verdict can be summed up in 2 words, absolutely delicious!

Conclusion – One Magnificent Day in Madrid

Our one Magnificent Day In Madrid ended on a sweet note. It was a fitting end. We had started off the New Year on the right foot and couldn’t have been happier. It was nice to see the calm side of Madrid. We had seen her busy side, her wild side, and today we got to experience the relaxed side of the city. It was an early bedtime for us on this night. We had a busy itinerary the following day. The great and historic cities of Avila and Segovia were waiting on us tomorrow.