A special treat!

Our after school cultural activity on Wednesday was a walk down the Paseo de la Castellana and the Paseo del Prado to the train station, Atocha. Called, Madrid de los Borbones, it highlighted the arrival of Carlos III, the first of the Burbon kings (who still rule Spain today). We got a chance to see and learn about the beautiful fountains, Cibeles, Apollo and Neptune and examine the beautiful buildings that line the grand avenues.

For many years the Palacio de Cibeles has been used as a Communications Center and Post Office. Recently however, for the past 5 years it has been undergoing a major cleaning and rennovation and will shortly become the center for the government of Madrid. At the moment, however, it is upen to the public and we had the chance to go in, have a tour and go up to the terrace on the top floor. What a fantastic panoramic view of the entire city! This is the first time ever we have been able to go up in it - a really special treat for the kids. (and me!) The view was really spectacular.

We continued our stroll down the Paseo, past the Museo del Prado which we will visit one day next week, past the Botanic gardens and down to Atocha were we went in to see the tropical gardens inside with it´s thousands of turtles. It is one of the hidden wonders of the city!