After two weeks of misty, cold weather, the sun decided to come out and warm up Madrid in time for the weekend. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, my roommates and I decided to visit Parque del Buen Retiro, which means the Pleasant Retreat Park. It definitely was a place of a retreat for all of us after a long week of school. What I didn’t realize when coming to El Retiro was how big the park is. Being directionally challenged, I could have easily gotten lost in the park if it weren’t for my roommates. There seemed to be an endless expanse of trees and benches, with  paths winding between trees, up small slopes, through bridges, and  bringing you to fountains and ponds and beautiful monuments. Being a Friday, the park was buzzing with tourists, couples, madrileños, musicians, and even girls on roller blades.  The main attraction of the park is a little lake framed by the Monument of Alfonso XII. The entire pond is dotted with boats that are rented by couples, families, and friends.

Wandering around more, my roommates and I found the Crystal Palace, which is a building entirely made out of glass. Walking inside the palace, I felt like I was in a Disney movie. In front of this glassy structure is a little pond inhabited by ducks and trees that grow right out of the water. We came across a couple getting their wedding pictures done and, while the were being photographed, a saxophone playing nearby took the opportunity to play the wedding song, followed by his own little private concert for them. Maybe he just wanted a little fame because he ended up becoming a part of the wedding photos. Something told me that a spectacle like this wasn’t out of the ordinary at Retiro Park. Everything here is full of activity and I didn’t even have the chance to see the entire park, despite the fact that I’d seen so much of it.

After the park, my roommates went to our all time favorite, El Tigre, while Emily and I decided to go on a search for a new tapas place. Encountering new sights along the way – how could you not, its Madrid – we stumbled upon a tapas bar on Calle de Jesus. The street name was very appropriate since we soon discovered that everything on the street teased our taste buds and piqued our curiosity. We could tell right when we entered the tapas bar that we had come to the right place. The walls were lined with shelves of bottles, framed newspaper articles and awards. Everyone only spoke Spanish and the counter displayed mouth-watering tapas. We could tell that this particular bar was an authentic one, and that the street we were on was in a more local part of town compared to the touristy area we lived in. Emily and I ordered some sangria – which was so good we ordered more – and timidly went up to the bar to order two different kinds of tapas. One was salmon and cheese on bread while another had cheese and strips of anchovy on bread. We thought we might try to be a little adventurous, considering we were eating very authentic Spanish tapas (all the while we had no idea how much anything cost). The tapas ended up being amazing and we didn’t have to pay much for our food (we half expected to empty our meager wallets for our late afternoon snack). After devouring our tapas we swore we would come back to this street of redemption.

After leaving the tapas bar – which we found out was called Taberna de la Dolores – we didn’t go far before finding another hidden gem. Before we could change our minds we ran into a little coffee and pastry place where we discovered the most amazing cookie ever. We honestly didn’t even know what it was we were eating, but it reminded me of the moon pies I used to have at church camp years ago. Although this was actually having a little piece of heaven in your mouth. We had to take a picture of the name of the place so we could find it again (its called Le Café Belle Bonbon, if you happen to visit Madrid).