10.07.16 — Travel
Lounging by the Lago
It’s a very sunny and sleepy weekend here in Madrid, and so yesterday I could think of nothing better to do than to head down to the shade of the Casa de Campo, a huge public green space which is just a 10 minute walk from my house. I however, being lazy as I am and the weather being as hot as it is, opted for the air conditioned bliss of the Metro to take me to the imaginatively named “Lago” stop. Lago means lake – so you can guess where I went.
![On my way to the lake](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8857-1024x683.jpg)
![IMG_8900](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8900-1024x576.jpg)
It turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous spot for a lovely sunny day, with the trees along the shore and the light breeze providing some relief from the otherwise relentless heat. I even afforded myself the luxury of an ice cream and a cool can of pop, although the sickly sweets I bought didn’t go down so well and hence soon found their way into a bin.
![IMG_8877](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8877-768x1024.jpg)
You can see all the way up to the Plaza de España from the lake.
Having done my obligatory tourist-like snapping from every possible angle (you should all thank me for not inundating you with every photo I take on this blog or you’d be here for hours), I moved along to a patch of empty grass and sat in the shade of a tree and watched a family paddling around in their boat. I was jealous for a split second, but then I realised that in the centre of the lake they had no respite from the sun. Ouch.
![Drink?](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8964-1024x683.jpg)
![If only they could go under the fountain](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8893-1024x683.jpg)
After an hour or so of lounging around and really not doing that much I decided to wander leisurely back to the Metro to head back to the city for some food. With just over a week left in my current flat I have questionably convinced myself that it’s too late in my stay to start buying more ingredients for cooking, and so I will just have to continue my stint of trying all the delicious Spanish food I can lay my fattening hands on…
![Heading home](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8952-1024x683.jpg)
I wound up stumbling upon some form of practically dried-up manmade water channel, arched by an unsafe looking wooden footbridge, and decided to go check it out. The views from and around it were surreal – I felt miles away from the city, in fact miles away from anywhere. I felt like if I were to discover some kind of magical creatures in Madrid, I’d probably find them here.
![Greenery](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8966-1024x683.jpg)
![Otherworldly](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_8985-1024x683.jpg)
After helping some very lost looking Brits find their way back to Ópera on the Metro and a hearty helping of patatas bravas, I wound up back in bed for the siesta and then proceeded to head out for a lovely evening with the owner of the flat I used to live in to see some live Spanish music. I did a terrible job of taking photos but here’s the one almost-in-focus one I did manage to grab…
![A wonderful evening of music](https://olliebriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_1976-1024x683.jpg)
The evening was amazing and it was lovely to join in with the singing and get chatting to plenty of the locals – and it was lots of fun cycling home in the cool 3am air! With that lovely thought though, and as I sit here sweltering in the rising afternoon heat, I shall bid my laptop and blog farewell – if I keep this thing running much longer then its internal fans may actually explode…