Abandoned Playground?

In many plazas in Madrid there are little toddler playgrounds which is just such a great idea. As a parent it has made my love of plazas grow. I've always loved the concept of a big area where everyone congregates together consistently but now you throw in the element of something for your kids to do and I just don't know how I'm going to live without them.

Side Note: I think I've mentioned stealing "wine in the driveway" from another neighborhood but now we're definitely gonna do it. There is just something to spending the evening with your neighbors on a consistent basis and since Nashville is never going to have plazas we'll use our front yard/driveway and make the best of it. Anyway, back to the playgrounds.

In the afternoon it is just too hot for anyone to play but for the last two evenings as we are heading out for our 8pm dinner we stop and let Ehren play for 20 minutes or so. Never once have we seen an age appropriate child in the area with him. I'd say there have been a couple kids who are six or seven years old with their scooter in the area but I was beginning to think this was just not something anyone else did. We came home tonight from our tapas around 10pm and that playground was packed to the hilt with under 3 year olds.

I was prepared for taking your kids to tapas and having them out on the street that late but I was just shocked that 10pm was prime playground time. This is just the regular Spanish way of life and it is fascinating and reason number 327 that we don't stay in hotels very often or we would miss it. Unfortunately Ehren was too exhausted to play but maybe in a week he'll be fully adjusted to the late night life and we can take him out for his midnight play.