Christmas Day in Madrid

On our first full day in Madrid, which also happened to be Christmas day, we began our day by having breakfast in our apartment. Afterwards, we decided to head to Retiro Park for the day. This is the most famous park in the city, and is known for the large lake at its center.

The main street in our neighborhood, with many cafes, bars, and grocery stores.

The walk to the park took about 30 minutes, and we passed an architecture museum on the way there. The park is similar to Central Park in New York City in that it is surrounded by buildings and not at a remote point far from the city central. As soon as we entered, we were surrounded by multi-generational families wandering the park, vendors selling fake jerseys and shoes, and street carts selling various types of snacks. 

A view of the many trees throughout the park. It must be even better during the summer when they all have leaves!

I saw someone in the park with what looked like a New York Jets jersey, which surprised me because we were in Spain. My cousin Sabina did not believe it was a Jets jersey, so I turned and asked him. He gave me one of the most confused looks I have ever received, so I gave it up. After people-watching for a bit, we strolled around the park. We stopped to get a snack, which turned out to be a cheeto-like substance that was not too filling.

A panorama that I took of Retiro Park's lake.

The main attraction of the park, the lake, was stunning. At its center was a multi-sided statue. After eating a small meal of paella, (it was from a park stall so it was not extravagant) we ventured towards the statue.

At the end of the day, we were looking for a place to eat dinner. It was Christmas night, and most of the country was sitting down with their families and celebrating the holiday. In the end, we did just what many hungry non-observers did on Christmas night: got Chinese food. Chinese food in Spain is slightly different than the cuisine we are used to in New York. Our family of eleven caused a lot of chaos in the quiet restaurant.
  Our first full day in Barcelona was over, but we had succeeded in exploring and having an adventure!