Madrid: Parque del Retiro, Dia Dos

I definitely love Madrid for the various green spaces it offers, and how in the middle of a park in the city one could almost believe they were in the middle of nowhere. The second day, we set off in the general direction of Parque del Retiro.

WP_011006 — This statue was almost as cool as my favourite statue in Kyiv.

We ran into a local market selling fresh food, to my delight. It reminded me quite a lot of the Moroccan marches and Turkish bazaars with people selling fresh fruit, and I do so love how personable the process of grocery shopping is in the Mediterranean countries as opposed to in the US where one goes to one store.

WP_011029 — Madrid’s Supreme Court: I’m not exactly sure how we came across it, but I fangirled a little.

WP_011038 — This extremely tall building reminded me of the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, which is partially made of blue metal that reflects the San Franciscan sky.

WP_011048 — Biblioteca–the only word one needs to know in Spanish. (Or “Donde está la biblioteca?”/”where is the library?”)

WP_011113 — Palacio de Cristal. at which an exhibition by Vietnamese Danh Vō was taking place.

It was surprisingly sad to leave the next day, and I’m incredibly grateful to my friend for giving me an excuse to see Madrid and even more so to Madrid for giving me an excuse to see my friend. Though I didn’t get much further than the central area, I really adored the various plazas every few blocks, the sheer quantity of playgrounds and other places to hang out, and the gorgeous parks that felt almost rural.