Working up an appetite

There´s a restaurant we love in Guadarrama called La Chiminea. Friends of ours introduced us to it, and we can´t stop going! We went on our own, then went back with our parents, and again with friends, and Tall Guy even booked a team lunch there for work. Like its name says, there´s a chimney. and of course a fireplace, so my favourite time to eat there is on a fall or winter day, when it´s lit. Meals consist of huge portions of Spanish appetizers and local meat.

a view of the monastery through the trees

There was no fire on our last visit, but it was fun all the same. A friends reunion with a group of people we hadn´t seen all together in a while, and children were included. That´s a great thing about Spain. Children are almost always included. Anyway, before the meal, which we knew would be huge, we decided to take advantage of being out of the city and did a nearby hike. 

This hike starts and finishes at a restaurant, although not the one we ate it. It´s in the neighbouring town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, and is called El Paseo de La Horizontal. If you´re in town, just ask for El Horizontal and the locals will be able to direct you. It´s not a huge walk, about 5km, and it´s pretty easy, under an hour and a half, fairly flat terrain, but the views of El Escorial and Madrid are noteworthy, and if you happen to be carrying someone the whole way, you´ll be hungry at the end!



We walked by old granite distance markers, copses of young chestnut trees, staggering pines, and over clear streams. We passed a shrine to, appropriately, Our Lady of the Way, and even saw a dear. It was very peaceful until Tall Guy said, "we´ve got to hurry, it´s almost time for lunch!".

the shrine to our lady of the way