Madrid - Parque de El Retiro...

One of my favourite places in what I have discovered of Madrid so far is Parque de El Retiro. You can walk quietly in wooded shade, admire formal flower gardens and, the bit I like best, watch the world pass by. The lake in front of Monumento Alfonso XII has a walkway around it and all the world and all the world's dogs are parading by in the late afternoon, early evening. As well as walkers there are cyclists, skate boarders and roller bladers all weaving in and out. It is clearly a place to meet, have an icecream, feed the ducks, take a boat ride... Lots of families.

It's also a prime spot for people to set up little stalls of all sorts, some more imaginative than others. One man had two cockatiels sitting on a stand. They didn't fly away - they were obviously being well rewarded for staying put. I watched him for a while, wondering what his angle was. Finally I went over. He was offering photos with the birds for a donation. No one had their photo taken while I was there watching and I felt sorry for him. I said I didn't want a photo but gave him something for the pleasure of watching the birds. He spoke English and understood. 

There was also an old-fashioned puppet show going on. I couldn't understand the dialogue but was delighted with it nevertheless and the children were totally engaged. Just one man was operating it and I thought he was great.