Parque de El Retiro

Following on from my last post with it's nature-inspired musical compositions, I thought i'd follow up with the blissful day we spent meandering through Parque de El Retiro in central Madrid last weekend. A short distance from Museo Nacional del Prado and the Madrid Puerta de Atocha railway station, the park is 125 hectares of beautiful tree-lined avenues, a large boating lake and ornate statues.

Starting at the Retiro metro end - where I couldn't resist posing with the Star Wars 'Face The Force' Expo promoters of course ;-) - we ambled along the sun-drenched boulevard to the lake, before cerveza and churros at the nearby cafe while the popular Segway tours passed us by.

We then headed onwards to the Palacio de Velázquez and the Palacio de Cristal with its curious animal bones suspended from the ceiling. At La Rosaleda de El Retiro we turned right, past the exercise park and out the Puerta del Angel Caido, before heading for the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia where we had lunch and whizzed round three of the floors holding post-war exhibits including a striking wall of documentary photography, surrealist works by Salvador Dalí and Óscar Domínguez, and of course, the controversial Spanish Civil War commentary of Pablo Picasso's 'Guernica'.

I absolutely adored the park - it was so peaceful. FAR TOO MANY pictures of our day out follow - enjoy! :-D

This is the first of a handful of posts highlighting some of our experiences in Madrid at the end of October. It's also my Day 2 post for #NaBloPoMo / #NanoPoblano

What's your favourite outdoor experience? Where's the most relaxing place you can think of for a fine summer's day?