Almond trees in bloom

Last Sunday afternoon I went out for tapas in La Latina with some friends.  While walking through some back streets on our way to the next tapas bar, I saw this pretty almond tree in bloom so I snapped a picture while my friends turned the corner.

We decided to enter the restaurant/bar on that corner.  Just as I was walking through the door, I thought I heard someone say "Rebe!" from outside.  I instantly stopped and turned my head, but a friend was holding the door open for me and I thought I'd misheard, so I kept going in.

And then I saw them:

Kent, Cian, me, Amy

Amy, my study abroad coordinator, was out for tapas with her boyfriend and my friends Kent and Cian (fellow WIPers)!  It was such a splendid surprise and coincidence to see them!

While the five of us were chatting outside the restaurant, the almond tree came up in conversation.  Amy told me there's a park at metro Suanzes on line 5 that's full of almond trees.  She said now is the best time to go there, because they're all in bloom.

I made a mental note to myself, and later looked up the stop on a map.  It was only two stops from Pueblo Nuevo, where Gregorio lives (and where I lived for a few weeks), so I decided I should check it out some day.  That day ended up being this past Friday.

I had lunch with Gregorio in Ciudad Lineal (one stop from Suanzes) on Friday, so we walked down calle Alcalá after lunch in search of these almond trees.  Right outside of the Suanzes metro on calle Alcalá we found the trees in a park, Quinta de los Molinos.

It was a gorgeous park! It was a lot bigger than I expected (25 hectáres according to wikipedia.es); we didn't get to walk through all of it due to time constraints.  

As we were leaving we saw a map of the park, and it looks like farther back there's a lake and a palace, among other features.  It was a pleasant afternoon and I'd highly recommend visiting this park if you're in Madrid now.  Bring some food and have a picnic, bring a book and sit on one of the benches for a quiet afternoon of reading, or bring some running shoes for a scenic run.  This park is a well kept secret that I shall be returning to.

IF YOU GO...
What: Parque Quinta de los Molinos
Where: c/ Alcalá s/n
Metro: Suanzes (Línea 5)
Hours: Monday - Sunday, 6:30 - 22:00
Cost: Free!