San Ildefonso

With only a half-baked plan, we arrive into the town of Granja at 6pm following our busy day in Segovia. I park right outside the Posh Parador hotel and feeling lucky go in and ask for a room. They have availability but only for 2 people and being so fancy, don’t do camp beds. A suite is all they offer our little party of three and the price is eye-watering. I go back out to the car, take a breath and begin searching for accommodation online and by phone. 40 minutes later the windows are steamed-up, mirroring my stress level. I let the children know we may have to drive back to Madrid for a bed even though we are exhausted.
Aware that I am red-faced and flustered I figure that now might actually be the perfect time to chance my arm and twist the arm of the Parador Receptionist. I ham up my panicked state petition her to turn a blind eye to the fact that there are three of us. After some whispering to her colleagues in the back she returns with a smile and proceeds to check us in to a double room. Our three delighted souls scurry through the lobby and dive into our fancy room. Everything in it is big and luxurious and we are here to make the most of it. The bath is run, strawberries and chocolate are smuggled in and Netflix is locked and loaded.
Although we are 3 abreast in the bed, it is still luxurious and we sleep soundly. My children have inherited my love of buffet breakfasts and they can not hide their excitement. They beam happiness every time they arrive back to the table with another leaning tower of assorted goodies. Love is in the air and they thank me so many times. Ruby even gives me her Mother’s Day card and present a whole month early.
We are in the perfect mood to enjoy the gardens at the Palacio Real de Granja de San Ildefonso. The Versailles inspired fountains have brought us here and they are beautiful and numerous but they are also empty or not running. In fact these wonderful fountains are off more often than on because they use so much water. They are still very impressive and we would love to return sometime to see them in all their glory. There are only 3 days in every year when they are running simultaneously - the tickets must be like gold dust.
We spend a lovely few hours walking from one fountain to the other, through formal gardens, along avenues and woods. When we get to the large reservoir lake it feels like we are in Killarney. This is the closest we have come to an Irish landscape in Spain.Read more