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Sometimes you just get really tired of studying.  My focus has been off recently, which has been tough on my motivation, you get the idea.  Might be running into some culture shock.  So today I put the books away - mostly - I still might study some - and headed out into the city.

I was walking around our neighborhood a little when I noticed the police diverting traffic.  I think to myself, I wonder why the police are diverting traffic?  Turns out there was a pretty good sized animal rights rally happening in Plaza de España.

After watching the rally for awhile, I tried some Chinese food at a restaurant Ashley found earlier this week.  It was pretty amazing and will now become one of my favorite places in Madrid.

Then I needed to floss (I did! Seriously!), so I went back to the apartment and took care of that before setting out again.

For whatever reason, I like wandering down random streets.  This time I found myself at the palace.

I remembered at this point that there is supposed to be a pretty neat garden area behind the palace.  So, I decide to see about that.  Turns out there is a huge park behind the palace, and I could only find one little tiny gate that you can get in.  I had been walking around the fence for awhile before I found the gate, and I forgot to take a picture of it because I was so excited that it even existed :).

Here's what I found when I walked through the gate though.  It was worth the hike for sure.  I did actually end up finding a spot in the sun, sitting down, and flipping through the flash cards a little.

So, I'd call that a good day.  Sometimes I guess you just have to go out and appreciate the city a little :).