Suburbs of Madrid and European Backyards
Here we are on long awaited summer trip on our first stop in Madrid. Cousins of my wife who have been inviting us for many years finally will have their hands full with us. Our plane lands in the heat of August in Madrid and we are picked up early in the morning on a Sunday. The area we are going is about twenty minutes from Madrid called Arganda Del Rey. It's a cute suburb of Madrid where you can live away from the fuss of the city and have a quiet life. However this is a new and developing area so most of the settlement is fairly new with very modern architecture. Our car snaked thru some hills and we came about an opening garage door at the beginning of a row of modern townhouses. Its about 90 Fahrenheit already and its only 10 am.
We managed to wake up the sleepy heads and by noon the whole family was on the brunch table going thru a warm welcome. It was my first time meeting them and my wife very very happy I finally did. The townhouses seem very compact and small with American standards but actually they are very very spacey inside. They each have 4 floors. First floor is the garage and the backyard, then the second floor is kitchen, living room great big balcony, toilet, and the third floor is four bedrooms and the fourth floor is a very large single room penthouse. It's really incredible how simple and modern architecture can fit that much functional space in one matchbox looking townhouse.
The townhouse complex is on an area where you can see acres of olive trees. Spain exports more olives than any other country and the really take care of their trees. I was amazed to see how nicely kept the olive trees were. This little suburb lies within olive trees and hills that separate it from Madrid. It's a completely silent and peaceful area. It's perfect for hiking.
As we get to the backyard to swim in the pool and relax, its already afternoon with 95F heat. The pool was perfect size and we couldn't wait to jump in. Near the pool was two nice chaise lounges with comfortable cushions on them. Mosaic top side table really added color to this scene with its blue edges matching with the blue pool. As you can see in the below picture they have really done a good job with decorating the pool in such a way that it connects to the wild scenery at the back. The khakis and faded greens work their way to the backyard and then blend nicely with the swimming pool, plants , patio furniture and the decor.
The backyard is not limited to the pool. If you look at the below picture you will see the small green backyard with two chaise lounges a patio umbrella and a small dining set under the covered area. Again the small areas hasn't limited the life Spaniards dreamt about. This small backyard was much more efficiently used then any other larger backyard I have seen. There was even a corner for a grill.
Our few days in the suburbs of Madrid was very very comfortable and enjoyable. As you can see from the pictures we were connected with nature thru smart decor and modern architecture. Small areas haven't stopped people from achieving their standards of living. That's very very nice to see. I learned a lot from this trip. I hope we can do it again next year.