Monday, June 25, 2012

Sunday Picnic: Manzanares el Real

On Sunday afternoon Hannah and Gregorio finally met each other!  The three of us had a picnic lunch out in Manzanares el Real, which lies 50 km from Madrid.  The highest recorded temperature in Madrid yesterday was 100 degrees, so summer is upon us!  We tried to find as much shade as we could at the picnic site, but there's really no escaping the sun in Madrid.



Nearby is a resevoir, El Embalse de Santillanawhich made for some nice views.



After lunch and coffee we walked over to the castle (El Castillo de los Mendoza) to have a closer look.  Unfortunately the castle was closed, just as Cervantes's house had been the other day in Alcalá de Henares.  The castle had closed at 5pm.

But we at least got to walk around the castle grounds and enter past the first wall surrounding the castle.



Gregorio let Hannah drive on the way home, which she absolutely loved.



IF YOU GO...
What: Castillo de los Mendoza (The Mendoza's Castle)
Where: Castillo s/n, Manzanares el Real
How to Arrive: We obviously drove, but you can take bus 724 from Plaza de Castillas (schedule here).
Hours: Closed on Mondays; T-F ticket booth open from 10.00 - 16.00, closes at 17.00
The website says it closes at 19.00 on Saturday and Sunday, but this was obviously not the case this weekend (closed at 5)
Price: Normal admission - 3 euros;  Older than 60/Younger than 14 - 1.50 euros;  Younger than five - free

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