The city of Aranjuez was founded as a royal pleasure retreat, away from the hustle and bustle of Madrid and it still remains a place to escape the rigours of city life. The Palace is opulent but it's the gardens that really stand out.
Our camp site is situated on the River Tajo and again is yet another excellent site. The walk into Aranjuez takes us across the river and through the Principal Gardens which are a place of beauty and tranquility.
A visit to the local tourist office provided us with lots of information on the local sites in and around Aranjuez. We had planned to visit the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), the Casa de Marinos (a museum of royal pleasure boats from days gone by), the Casa del Labrador (a small retreat which had been very lavishly furnished) and the museum at the Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring). We were surprised but delighted to find out that all these museums are free to EU citizens on a Wednesday so naturally we planned our visits for the following Wednesday!
The weather continues to be good - quite cool in the mornings but by 12.00pm the sun is warm and it's time for shorts and t-shirts again. So mornings are for chores, shopping etc and afternoons for enjoying the sun shine before it disappears about 6.00pm and we have to retreat into the van.
On one of our shopping excursions we came across an indoor market which had an abundance in all things fresh - fruit/veg/fish/shellfish/meat and lots of meat products which I have never seen the like. Some of the more unusual/bizarre included pig's trotters, the face of a pig without the skull - just like a mask with a snout and row upon row of artistically placed sheeps' heads. I wish I'd had my camera with me but maybe the stall holders might have objected.
So, Wednesday finally arrived and we took ourselves off to the Plaza de Toros.Many areas in Spain have now banned bull fighting but here in the south I think that day has not yet come. The history of bull fighting is closely linked with religious connotations and so it was no surprise to find this little Chapel in the bull ring. The musuem was very interesting and we were glad that we went even though neither of us approve of the spectacle.
Following on from that sober visit we trundled down to the Royal Palace which again was very interesting and gave us a glimpse of how the Spanish royal family lived their lives over the centuries. Two museums in one day was quite tough for us oldies so we decided to save the other two for another day - maybe next Wednesday (we are pensioners after all!) We also plan to visit the nearby town of Chinchon by bus so we are looking forward to that as well.
So until next week when we will bring you more tales of our adventures from Aranjuez.
Adios!
Kath and Harry xxx
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