The Road from Santiago

 On the Facebook site people are voting on where to go next. They have a week. Meanwhile we are going for a wander round Madrid. We will start by heading north and looking out over the lake. Mark wrote a lot, so here he goes.... The Great Pond of El Retiro (Estanque Grande del Retiro) is the undeniable soul of Madrid, offering a serene escape that feels both grand and intimately welcoming. Visiting this iconic landmark is a highlight of any trip to Spain’s capital, perfectly capturing the city’s ability to blend historic elegance with a vibrant, modern lifestyle. The atmosphere here is pure magic. Watching the sunlight dance across the water while the majestic Monument to Alfonso XII towers in the background is a sight that never grows old. For the full experience, renting one of the iconic blue rowboats is a must. It’s a peaceful, timeless activity that allows you to appreciate the park’s scale from a unique perspective, providing a rare moment of tranquility in the heart of a bus...

Across the M-30 we go and into the Calle de Lira.  We are going to a Vegan restaurant.  Once such a thing would have been heard of. Now it exists although the veggie option is still a bit rarer out in the provinces.  Cookaluzka is LGBTQ+ friendly, woman owned and opens 9am - 5pm, 8-11pm Tuesday to Friday, 12.30-5pm and 8-11pm on Friday and Saturday and 12.30-5 on Sunday.  It gets 4.7 stars from 1711 reviews. Two days ago Antonio stated ‘ Everything was delicious and well-made. The pizza arrived a little cold, perhaps because they were serving all four pizzas at once. I'll order again. ’ A week ago Emilie described ‘ A fantastic vegan restaurant in Madrid. The service, the ambiance, and of course the food are simply unbeatable. The interior is incredibly cozy with warm lighting, lots of plants, and books. There are also a few tables outside. The staff is incredibly friendly and attentive. Our family celebrated a birthday here and ordered a variety of dishes. Everythin...

We are making our way to the Retiro. To get there we are going to skirt a little to the east. This will mean a bit of wandering round the Manzanares, which divides the park we ended in yesterday/  Luckily a cyclist has been along the tracks we will follow, which will take us round the A-40 / M-40 junction. We have not talked about Madrid - and we really should.  Madrid, as more than a selection of careless dropped Neolithic pottery, comes into existence in the 9th century when Cordobese emir, Muhammad I, established a military outpost  to protect the somewhat rebellious Toledo from northern attacks. By the 10th century the outpost had become a town of 2000 and in the 12th century it was described as a small city and solid fortress.  While Toledo’s fall, in 1085, Madrid’s fate is debated. Some say it suggested to be 1083.  Castillian-Leonese settlers moved in; the mosque became to a church and a town centred on livestock, leather and building cities grew. A fire ...