A Walk in the Park

As I am yet to start Spanish lessons, I’m not gonna lie, the number of friends I have in Madrid is limited to..well…zero. Obviously being friendless wouldn’t make for a very fun night out, however it does provide me with the peaceful solitude to take a lone walk through Madrid’s biggest park – El Parque Del Retiro.

It seems like the warm  afternoon dragged the whole of Madrid from their homes to enjoy a Sunday stroll around El Retiro. Puppet shows entertained the children, rose gardens provided the romantic backdrop for couples and a sunny bench gave me the perfect opportunity to sit back and read my book, in the warm glow of the fading sun.

Sometimes Most of the time, as I explore Madrid I yearn for the company of a friend. However, on that day it wasn’t a companion that I pined for, but instead a cake. A purely indulgent, little slice of heaven ‘moment on the lips, lifetime on the hips’ type of cake. So off I went. Out of the park and in search of a pasteleria to fulfil my sugar craving. Unlike finding friends, the reassuring thing about delicious food is that if you look in the right places, you can always find it; just waiting to be introduced to one’s hungry mouth. So of course, I found my cake shop, filled with the most tantalising cakes you could imagine. In the end I picked the creamiest, most fattening example of a pastry pastel known to man. God knows what it was called, all I know was that it was good. So good.

So, whilst I’m still waiting for friends to come along, at least I can always rely on food to lift my spirits. Yep, even a plain sponge cake with some marshmallows stuck on the top can warm the cockles of my heart!