Located in the western part of the capital city, the Casa de Campo Park is the largest park in Madrid. It was originally the recreational area of a very wealthy family during the 16th Century; it then became property of the royal family when King Philip II wished to create an estate which connected the palace with hunting grounds. The park was given to the people of Madrid in 1931 and its more than 4,000 acres have been enjoyed thoroughly ever since.
Casa de Campo is an urban park but with a forest setting containing an amusement park, a zoo, an aquarium, a pool, cable cars to take you across the river to another park (under renovation now), a botanical trail and a large artificial lake.
The lake offers kayak, rowboat and even single and double shells (for crewing) rentals. There are several lovely restaurants offering a wide variety of Spanish cuisines along the banks of the lake. We admired the view of the Royal Palace and skyline of Madrid as we ate a delicious lunch from the Asturias region of Spain at El Urogallo.
We walked around the shady side of the lake admiring the flora and fauna as we considered our next meal.
In keeping with a meal with a view, we joined our host family for dinner in the suburb of Boadilla de Monte and had a beautiful dinner at la Terrezo Acebo de Boadilla. in the shadow of a palace (Palacio Infintile Don Luis).
Madrid continues to show us the royal treatment.
Where is Wendy 