El Parque del Buen Retiro

I slept in today until about 10am, and then messed around on the computer and relaxed while I waited for Vivian to get up. Today was her 20th birthday! Last night, Ana (our Senora) asked me to find out what kind of cake she likes, and when I found out vanilla, Ana said they don't make vanilla cakes! I thought that was odd, because I love vanilla cake haha but Ana got a great traditional Spanish cake, which was delicious! Around 2:30 we all sat down and had La Comida together, and then we surprised Vivian with her cake :) Ana bought her a panuela (a scarf like Flamenco dancers where). It is stunning! I hope I can get one while I'm here.

After La Comida, Ana went to take a siesta, and Vivian and I went to meet our friends Megan and Hayley to walk around El Parque del Buen Retiro. According to my Lonely Planet guide book, El Parque del Buen Retiro is "an oasis of greenery, fresh air and high culture", and I would definitely have to agree! There were vendors everywhere selling sunglasses, toys, food, jewelry, etc., and there was a lake where you could take row boats out! The line was about a mile long, though, so we're going to go back and do that another day during the week while kids are in school. Apparently the park was set up by King Felipe IV for his court, so there are monuments and fountains everywhere, as well as the Palacio de Cristal, which isn't really a palace, but a big building that's mostly windows. I'm not sure what it was used for back in the day, but now it's used for exhibitions and that sort of thing. Very cool! I think my favorite part of the park was the rose garden. It was so beautiful! They had all kinds of roses everywhere, and there were little information signs to tell you about them and where they came from.

After we left the park, the four of us walked over to Sol to try to find some food. I took a picture of the very center of Madrid! All roads lead there! We went in a store called TopShop, which is apparently British. They had a lot of cool stuff, but we were all so hungry that we went to go eat without buying anything. We went to another location of Cafe y Te, which was good, but not as good at the first one I ate at. On the plus side, I got to try Sangria for the first time!! The four of us split it, and when we got to the bottom, we saw the MASSIVE amount of sugar they put in it! haha o well, it was delicious anyway!