The statue of the bear and the strawberry tree is represented on Madrid coat of arms and is a cracking little sculpture in Porta del Sol. Madrid was named URSA which means bear in Latin. Way back there were many bears in Madrid's forests and they feasted on the strawberry trees. Now this bear gets patted daily by thousands of tourists.
Next stop on our early morning walk, to avoid the scorching heat, was Parque del Buen Retiro. Just gorgeous, smack bang in the city a beautiful green oasis. I'm sure every Madridian apartment dwelling dog owner uses this enormous park for their daily constitutional.
The park was originally created as a summer retreat for the Royal family. It was opened to the public in the 1700's. There are lakes, statue walks, rose gardens, a crystal house and acres of space to sit in the shade and relax, gorgeousness.
As we wandered about we heard the sounds of a saxophonist street artist wafting across the breeze.
We left the park to do a final quick wander through the city to Mercado de San Miguel for a tapas lunch before siesta. The buildings continue to amaze.
But wait, there's more, the sculpture here is just stunning too. My little phone camera just doesn't do it justice.
By now we were ravenous and the temptations of San Miguel awaited, we left happy 😊👍.
We noticed the traders in the Porta del Sol that sell 'knock off' goods were ever ready to move with speed if there was going to be a police blitz. They had string tied to each corner of their cloths on the ground so that with one quick yank they could pull up a bundle over their shoulder and hot foot it away from a police round up.
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