Postcard from Aranjuez

Aranjuez is famous for its 18^th century palace, the Palacio Real, and the gardens fed by irrigation channels from the river Tajo. The town is laid out with broad avenues with the palace being the focal point. The gardens are remarkable for their lush greens and tall trees in an otherwise very dry part of central Spain. We arrived on Monday to find everything, apart from the gardens, closed!

This morning we took the tourist train to the palace. It’s parked overnight at Camping International and it leaves the campsite for the palace at 10.25 and it’s free! The ‘entrada’ for OAPs is 4€; however, we got there just after a whole busload of ‘pensionistas’. We didn’t pay for the audio guide and the English language placards at each room sufficed. The palace is a series of rooms lavishly decorated and furnished according to the whims of successive monarchs, not to everyone’s taste! Security guards ensure that no photos are taken.

Outside, the gardens are a welcome breath of fresh air. We’ve taken a few photos, including the ‘cascade of castinets, and the gardens. After lunch we walked through the Jardin del Principe to the Real Casa de Labrador (not dogs – Labrador= farm worker) which, our guide book told us was “ another plaything of that silly Charles IV”. It was also 10€ for the two of us for a 20 minute visit ( nearly twice as much as we paid for lunch at Burger King! (sorry Brue!), so we went instead to the museum of royal barges, Museo de Faluas, for which the ‘entrada’ is included in the palace ticket.

On the way to the Casa de Labrador, we came across the Chinese garden. Of all the fountains, these were the only playing today. The special treat there was a pair of black swans and their 3 signets nesting on the pond. How special is that?

We’re at Camping International which is an ACSI 18€ discount site. We came here 8 years ago to find it closed and being dug up by JCB’s. We were told at reception that back then they had just taken over the municipal site, and were to spend 2 years improving the facilities. There’s quite a few Spanish caravans here and we’re told it can be ‘noisy’ at weekends.

Before we go, we asked at Reception and the correct pronunciation of Aranjuez is arran-wheth.

We’re off tomorrow to the seaside at Oliva (pronounced Olly Bah)