Vegan Victuals Goes to Spain 🇪🇸 Some Time in Casa de Campo -

Casa de Campo is Madrid’s largest park… covering 1535,52 hectares (almost 6 miles). We planned on having a day to explore its many features, but the temperature was just so hot. And the park was not as lush as I had in my mind. In fact the ground had a sun-baked dry hay coating that threw the heat back up towards you. Given the intense heat, it was feat to have seen three of the park’s draws. We had a quick visit to El Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, an amusement park, for some silly fun before I moved onward to the park’s cable car, the Madrid Teleférico, that spans the entirety of the park. I ended the scorcher by a beautiful spot I saw from above, Rosaleda del Parque del Oeste.

It is kind of a hoot to visit an amusement park abroad. The little difference are wrapped in a familiarity as they align in purpose to the visuals of an amusement park back in the States. So in this capacity, El Parque de Atracciones de Madrid was a fun stop but not really worth the value unless you also partake in more than two of its rides.

It is the Swing Ride, which some of you may know I love dearly, that I had to photograph. In my head I pictured slightly different artwork on its Spanish version, but it turn out to be quite similar. That is not a bad thing…

This time I’d photograph it while riding it, which was a bit difficult as this specific Swing Ride gave me the butterflies in my stomach.

Pre-ride and buckled in! That woman in front of my friend would wind up getting sick on the ride. Though I luckily did not capture it in my pictures, my friend was witness to it all.

So gorgeous, just like I remember when I was a kid.

Next I headed over to Madrid Teleférico, which took a Metro ride and 10 minute walk to reach although still within Casa de Campo. I bought a round trip after I learned there was no close Metro station on the other side, farther from Madrid Centro. When I rode, most of the cars were empty and the ground was that hay color… Still a neat way to get out of the heat!

It went over the Manzanares river, which looked a bit dried out.

From this view, you can see its former use. It used to be the El Pardo hunting ground, King Philip II’s extension of the Royal Palace, open only to the royal family.

Most impressive were the views of Madrid Centro in the distance

It was neat to go over the highway

And to see the train station

Up in the sky

To end the exploration of the park, a sight I saw from high above in the cable car: Rosaleda del Parque del Oeste. The beautifully designed lay-out of rose blooms covers 32,000 square meters. And it has apparently been recognized as “one of the exceptional rose gardens worldwide.” (source) I can see that as being within the many blooming roses seemed more important than the drips of sweat rolling down my back. I was the only one who would be out in the full sun within the gardens.