El parque de la Dehesa de la Villa

Last friday, November 6th, I decided to go to park located not to far away from my apartment.  I had found out about this park from an interesting circumstance; I was moving into my apartment and my new roommate Pablo had made me come to his work to pick up the keys to the place.  The metro stop near his work was sort of out of the way from the apartment so he told me the quickest way to get back would be to take the number 46 bus rather than hop back on the metro.  He told me that I should signal my stop when I see a gas station on the street of the bus drivers side.  I should have asked him WHAT the gas station was called but I didn't and of course ended up getting lost and had to get off at a random stop and ask a pedestrian on the street where the nearest metro stop was.....seeing as I had come unprepared and had no map of madrid on me!  Though, it must have been fate that I rode that bus because we passed this absolutely beautiful park that had the most interesting-looking trees.  It seemed to be a pretty large park and luckily I saw a sign of the name, so when I finally got to my new apartment I looked up directions to get back there.

So on Friday I decided to go back to the park on my day off.  It was a beautiful day, high 60s, maybe even low 70s and it was sunny with no clouds in the sky.  I got off at the Francos Rodríguez metro stop which is on the same line as my apartment, only five stops away.  I walked around the area for about a half an hour until I finally stumbled upon the entrance of the park.  It was breathtaking.  I had done a little research about the park the night before and had read that in 1152, King Alfonso VII gave these woods to the township of Madrid as hunting and pasturing lands.  Over the years the size of the park had diminished due to Madrid's city council selling or leasing some of the property but after 800 years there was still 60 acres that had survived!

I spent nearly two hours wondering around the park.  It helped clear my head and I realized how much the busy climate of Madrid had been affecting me.  Coming to the park was like an escape from the hectic hustle and bustle of the city.  I was able to breathe, not just physically but mentally.  I felt refreshed and rejuvenated by the time I left.  I know that I will be coming back to this park many more times in the coming months.  It will be my place to take a break and enjoy the scenery of mother nature.  Sometimes something as simple as taking a walk can change your attitude or your mood which is why I am so happy that something good came out of me getting lost.  I discovered this captivating park which helped clear the lingering fog in my head and truly made me appreciate the importance of silence and reflection.