Palacio Real de El Pardo

This one isn't on the list. (And probably rightfully so; it's an interesting place to visit but not a must-see). There are several royal palaces in and around Madrid. There's the royal palace in the center of Madrid, there's the one in Aranjuez (my favorite thusfar), there's the palace/monastery in El Escorial, there's one outside of Segovia called La Granja de San Ildefonso, which I haven't yet been to but is known for having amazing gardens, apparently there's another in the province of Segovia called the royal palace of Riofrio but it doesn't look all that interesting from pictures online, and there's the Royal Palace of El Pardo.

 

Moat from the castle

Located only half an hour north of the center of Madrid, the area in which the palace is located was originally used as hunting grounds by the royal family starting in the middle ages. The palace itself at El Pardo was originally built at the beginning of the 15th century as small castle. In the middle of the 16th century the castle was rebuilt into a palace, conserving elements of the castle such as towers and the moat. The palace was then used through the 19th century as an alternate residence of the royal family.

Gardens

After the Spanish Civil war ended in 1939, Franco made the palace at El Pardo his official place of residence and work until his death in 1975. During that time, the palace was the political center of Spain. Since his death, the palace has been used for housing the heads of state of other countries when they visit Spain. The palace contains a great deal of art, including paintings, and above all, lots and lots of tapestries. Outside there are some small, simple gardens which were kind of dead and sad looking when we visited since it was the beginning of march (not to mention the weather wasn't that great when we were there). Nearby, there is a small house called the Casita de El Príncipe. It was built at the end of the 18th century for prince Carlos IV and his wife, princess María Luisa de Parma as a hunting lodge. It also has its own small garden nearby.

Casita de El Principe

You can visit both the palace and the casita, but only by guided tour. The tour shows you the two large courtyards inside the palace, many of the rooms that former kings and queens used and lived in, and even rooms in the wing in which Franco lived and worked. All in all, it's an interesting palace to visit, but for sure the gardens are nicer in the spring or summer (just Google or Wikipedia it...). Furthermore, there's absolutely nothing else to see or do in the tiny little town of El Pardo (there's really not even much to walk around and see because it's that small), so while I'm glad I went to see it, I wouldn't go recommending it as a day trip to tourists.

#77 Visit the house in which Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares

This one's for you, Mom. About a month ago, I was researching some day trips to take from Madrid on the weekends and came across a town with windmills like the ones that inspired El Quijote. I went to the bus station here to ask about the bus schedules and prices the week prior. Then, when I got to the bus station to purchase tickets the Saturday that Nicole and I decided to go, I discovered that no, the 11 am bus actually does not stop in Consuegra on Saturdays and the next one that does leaves at 1:15 pm. Considering the trip is over two hours, we decided that wouldn't be worth it. So in a scramble to save our Saturday, we decided to go to Alcala de Henares, one of the more popular (not to mention shorter) day trips from Madrid that (shamefully) neither of us had been to.

Facade of the university

White storks

Alcala is famous for two or three main things: it's university, whose buildings date back to the very end of the 15th century, the birthplace and childhood home of Cervantes, and, less so, the insanely large population of white storks. The original university, the Universidad Complutense, was moved  during the 19th century to Madrid and retains the same name today. The Universidad de Alcala now uses the original buildings (plus new ones; the campus is split in a few locations throughout the city), and you can take a guided tour of them if you visit the city. Every year, the king and queen of Spain present the Premio Cervantes (Cervantes Prize) in the Great Hall of the old university to an important figure in the Spanish-speaking literature world. The prize is a pretty big deal because it commemorates the life work of the writer, rather than just one particular piece of literature, and in addition to the king and queen, many other important people are present for the ceremony.

Don Quijote & Sancho Panza in front of the Cervantes' house.

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed by the Cervantes birthplace. The house is overall  interesting enough; the rooms and the furniture are representative of a typical house of the Golden Age of Spain (16th century), and there is a room with various editions (old, new, in foreign languages) of El Quijote. However, there was very little information in the house about...well, anything (his life, the house, rooms, furniture, etc.).
Another place we visited in Alcala was the Corral de Comedias, which is a type of theater typical of the Golden Age of Spain. The one in Alcala is one of the oldest of this type of theater still in existence in Europe. Although it is now enclosed completely, the corral de comedias was an outdoor theater in an interior patio of a block of buildings. The Corral de Comedias in Alcala is located on the main square of the city, the Plaza de Cervantes (in the middle of which is a huge statue of Cervantes).

All in all, Alcala is a nice little city that's worth a visit, especially if you're a Cervantes or Quijote fan. Here are the rest of the photos that I took for those interested.