Autumn has reached Madrid, the wind blows softly trough the naked trees and wispers in my ears: “Welcome to Retiro”. It sighs; “Oh, Madrileño, how do I love to see you cracking the golden leaves we have placed on the ground to make your path softer!” The park turns into a sea of dead beauty, gorgeous dead leaves. Looking at the sky, I reach the deep blue and the cotton clouds. The rays of the sun touch my chicks as I stop to breathe in. The freshness of the pines, the crystal air, marvelous pieces of art peek out at me, the nature reflected in the water, the boats following the movement of the waves, and the glorious king rising above it all.

This time of the year is by far my favorite. The park becomes a quite beast and walking alone makes you feel lost in the heart of this wonderful city and you feel the peace and retirement of the nature.

The autumn reaches the end, the winter is quick in Madrid, and the spring is already approaching, you can smell it and feel the exciting vibe. Soon the flowers will blossom and color the park in millions of shades - that is when the Elf of the park makes his appearance. An ugly and quite rogue Elf I must say, but he knows how to play very nice music with his flute! He rules the spring! He is the mom and pop of the flowers, and for a whim of destiny he walks amongst us! They say that if the Elf is seen, all flowers of the park turn magically into another kind. King Felipe V once was surprised that every day he walked in the park, the flowers were different.

The gardeners told him they have been seeing the Elf around, but could not catch him - rouge and fast! He runs through the bushes to hide from the human threat. Today he can be found in the park, living happily on top of the cave that was once the house of the bears. Go look for the Elf and see if the flowers change and listen to it carefully, as it keeps the secrets back from the times of the king Felipe. Go and let the Retiro whisper in your ears:"Welcome, to Retiro, visitor! Welcome to Madrid!"

Author: Enrique