My favorite place in Madrid is a beautiful park called Retiro Park. It’s easy access from the metro, every day that I can I jump on the Red Line and get off the Retiro stop, and the exit leads right into one of the many walking paths. My first time walking into the park greeted me with this sign, and I took a picture to show to family and friends back home in Orlando. To this day, I’m not sure of the significance of the Florida sign, because the park is only referred to as El Retiro by most people and signs. This is one of my favorite spots in the city because it’s always packed full of people, running, walking, enjoying the gardens and sculptures, playing futbol, roller-blading, or even sun tanning. It has what looks to be an playground, but actually serves as an outdoor gymnasium set. It has things like pull up bars and outdoor stationary cycling machines. During the past three weeks, there has been a massive outdoor book market, where literally hundreds of vendors sell thousands of books, all along the center street in the Park. It’s a great place to people-watch, and I’m always seeing and meeting new people every time I run there.
-Michael Kuhlman