El Capricho

El Capricho

This past weekend we visited a park on the outskirts of Madrid called "El Capricho". It's a 25 minute trip by metro, which is relatively convenient.

Some Duchess originally conceived of the idea of El Capricho. She made a lovely palace and along with it, a beautiful and large garden. Now this is owned by the the city of Madrid and open to the public. While the gardens have several buildings (the palace, cottage, hermit's house, etc), surprisingly, none of these are open -it's a shame because it would be really neat to see the inside. Nevertheless, it was well worth seeing and the kids had a great time.

We went with some friends of ours, Jason and Carolina and their two kids, Juliana and Max. Just being outside of the urban landscape (buildings, concrete, cars!) was SO refreshing. Being that we're from Texas, and used to wide open spaces, grass, trees, you really start to miss that as part of your daily allowance living in the city.

The gardens were so beautiful and peaceful.  To the right is the largest pond in the gardens, where one very mean black swan bullied the smaller brown ducks. One duck in particular became the object of the swan's rage and he incessantly plucked feathers off the brown duck's back. It became so exasperating that we actually tried to throw a stone at the swan to see if he would let go of the little guy! Finally, after a grueling 5 minutes the swan let go...but ever after, Alejandra has not stopped mentioning the mean black bird that lives in El capricho!

One of several buildings within the gardens. This one appears as a rustic cottage and the kids imagined that a witch lived inside!

The entrance to the park, Alejandra and Francisco in the background.

The best view of the gardens, ideal for a picnic (although picnics are not allowed).

Alejandra with her new short hair, Antonio with his toy crocodile and Juliana in the back. In the background you can see the back facade of the palace, which reminded us of the palace in Cinderella's story. To the right, though not visible, is a large garden labyrinth. 

Alejandra, Antonio, Francisco, Juliana and Max

Alejandra and Francisco playing with the "woman-lion" statues.

Fran and Antonio at the park across the street.

Antonio with his new watch!

Wishing you a Happy Easter!