MADRID, SPAIN

If I ever returned to live anywhere in Spain, it would be Madrid. Madrid is a large, business oriented city with budding artistic neighborhoods and trendy hot-spots. On the bullet train I was able to speed from Seville to Madrid in just over two hours, making it an easy but exciting weekend getaway. My boyfriend and I figured that we should try to preserve our well-being before heading Mercado Provencal (a dirt-cheap beer and tapas mecca) followed by a Real Madrid game.

Following the suggestion of my friend who was living in Madrid, Sam and I headed to Parque El Retiro. This gorgeous park covers 350 acres and is a quick subway ride from most parts of the city. We entered near Puerta de Alcala, ran south along the perimeter and cut through the park on Paseo Fernan Nunez. The park is surprisingly hilly with a variety of different types of surfaces available to run on. We weaved through various paths for about 45 minutes, ending near the center at Monumento Alfonso XII. At the monument you can wander by a pond and, should you desire, rent canoes or buy food. Perhaps I spent too much time tasting wine and not enough time training in Madrid, but I don't have too many regrets. I was glad to embrace the gorgeous weather during my run, but in the future I would be eager to check out the fitness studio scene.