Un Dia de Plazas y Parques (A Day of Plazas and Parks)

Today we explored many of Madrid's plazas and parks and ended up walking nearly 15,000 steps according to Pauley. Here's some picture evidence: 

Puerto del Sol Plaza

Impressive building across the street from Puerto del Sol 

Brandon checking out Plaza Mayor 

Plaza Mayor felt iconically Spanish 

So much people watching to do

Farewell view of Plaza Mayor as we exited thru an archway

The beautiful and flavorful Mercado (Market) San Miguel 

Impressive cake design we spotted in a pasteleria (bakery) near the market 

Plaza de la Villa that we stumbled upon on our way to the Royal Palace of Madrid

Palacio Real de Madrid 

Fancy architectural design

We didn't want to pay 11 euros, so we couldn't enter this gate

Being silly at the palace grounds

Across the stone courtyard was the Catedral de la Almudena

The cathedral was an impressively large structure as well

Plaza de Oriente outside the palace

Another side of the palace

Pauley kind of lost in a maze in the Jardines (Gardens) de Sabatini next to the palace 

Strolling thru the gardens

Taking advantage of the space between bushes

Viewing the garden's large pool surrounded by statues

View of Madrid from the top of the Segovia Viaduct

We came across a fantastic obstacle course along the river walk

The course was higher up than it looks

Despite goofing around, none of us fell off

We were ravenous and happy to discover a kabob place along the river. Delicious. Though there were some troubles processing our credit card. Oh the adventures! 

After lunch we managed to find another playground along the river

We reached Estadio Vicente Calderon only to discover that this was not the home stadium of the Real Madrid team. Pauley still proudly wore his Grand Rapids futbol (soccer) jersey.

Near the stadium we discovered the fancy Toledo Bridge and surrounding park 

The park was beautifully laid out

The stonework of the bridge was ornate

There was also a statue of a headless child. Creepy.  

We were trying to thwart paparazzi Pauley, but we failed

He also stole a picture of us on one of the turrets of the bridge. It was very castle-like. 

Notice the detail of the bush gardens. You can also see the outer-space looking Pasarela de la Arganzuela bridge in the background. 

As you can imagine, we were exhausted after all these adventures, so we were thankful to take the metro back to our Airbnb from the Toledo Bridge. We had a lot of fun taking in so many Madrid sights, and we still have more to find in the next few days.