Easter Break: Spain Day 3

Spain: Day 3

We had another late start this morning and Starbucks breakfast, then headed straight to Plaza Mayor for the parade we believed to be happening at 12. We got there around 11:10, and there were barely any people, however by the start at 12 there were 6 deep all around the barriers.

The parade was more like a procession, with a team of drummers coming into the square and performing. They played for more than an hour, amazing stuff, and had players as young as 7 (and one tiny little adorable 4 year old!). It was very cool, although because we spent 2+ hours standing in the sun everyone got a bit of sun (I got the least, thank goodness for spf in foundation!) After that it was definitely lunch time, which we had at a cafe we'd been to before.

After lunch we walked to Templo de Debod, which was ancient Egyptian. Very cool, although we couldn't go in because it was closed. The weather by this point was delightful, around 20C and lightly sunny - just what we had been hoping for! We headed back after the Temple for a siesta. Before dinner, Richard and I decided to go for a cycle to the river to explore the green corridor that runs along it. Only problem was, we found hiring bikes very difficult (needing passport numbers and a €150 holding deposit!!!), so we walked instead. We ended up in Casa del Campo, looking for the lake, which turned out to be fenced in and had basically no water in it. Oh well.

We walked back to the hotel to meet the rest of the family, then headed to a tapas restaurant to dinner (sans Dad, who passed on dinner due to heat from his sunburn). In the way, we found a difference tapas bar called 'House of Mushrooms' which looked delicious. It was a tiny place with space for about 20 patrons, but they did have space for a guy playing the piano live while we ate! We had ham and cheese, anchovies, mushrooms, and calamari. Delicious!

On the way home we stopped at a market we saw the other day, to get dessert. David and I had churros, the others more traditional pastry items, but all were delicious, and we took something back for dad too!

On to Barcelona tomorrow!