Today we took a day trip to Aranjuez, which is situated 50 minutes outside of Madrid. Its most famous attraction is the Royal Palace (as can be seen in the picture above). Though it is impressive from afar, we were kind of disappointed that the exterior has not been well maintained. In fact, it looks kind of run down when you get up close, which is a pity. Once inside, we were impressed by the beautiful rooms, all differently themed and with a vast array of colors, marble, decoration, tapestries, and paintings.

The backside of the Palace showcases an extensive garden area as can be seen in these pictures. The day was quite sunny, but not sweltering, so it was manageable.

Soon it was lunch time and we found a tapas place where we overestimated the size of the tapas and ended up with way too much food!

After stuffing ourselves, our guilt spurred us on a long walk through more gardens all afternoon.

In one of these vast gardens we found the Royal boathouse museum, which houses some really exquisite boats that once floated down the Tajo River, next to the Palace of Aranjuez. Alongside the Palace is the Plaza de San Antonio, as can be seen below.

The great thing about these day trips is that the kids do really well and we can be home by evening to rest. Tomorrow, we plan on going to the Church of San Miguel and then to the Mercado de San Miguel, where you can eat some really amazing tapas. So, stay tuned for that!