Sunday Rule: One Hour, No Phone (and a Rowing Boat in Retiro)

I have one rule on Sundays: one hour, no phone.

Not the whole day. I’m realistic. Just one hour where the phone goes to the bottom of my bag, on silent, and I do something with my hands and my eyes instead. This week, that something was a little blue rowing boat on the Retiro lake.

Me versus the boat

Mira, I want to be honest. My arms were still dead from a boxing class two days before. I don’t know why I thought rowing was a good idea. I think I imagined gliding elegantly across the water like a painting. What actually happened was ten minutes of going in a slow circle while a family of ducks judged me.

Then I found the rhythm. Both oars in at the same time, pull, lift, again. Slowly the boat started going where I wanted, more or less, and I started laughing, because it’s impossible to row badly in public and stay serious.

After a while I just rested the oars across the boat, closed my eyes and put my face in the sun. The water makes little sounds against the wood. Somebody was playing a guitar near the steps. The big monument with the columns turned gold behind me. For a few minutes, I genuinely forgot what time it was. That’s the point of the rule.

Why one hour

Because a whole day without a phone feels like a punishment, and five minutes doesn’t change anything. One hour is enough to get bored, and then past bored, into that nice quiet place where you start noticing things. How the light moves on the water. Who else is in the park. What you actually feel like doing next.

And I notice I remember those hours much better. I have a thousand photos of Madrid on my phone, but the hours without it are the ones I can still feel.

(Yes, the photos in this post exist. The camera came out before and after the hour. I’m not a saint.)

My slow Sunday in Retiro

If you’re in Madrid, or visiting, this is how I like to spend a Sunday afternoon in the park. No rush, no checklist, just a loose order that works for me.

Start at the Puerta de Alcalá side and walk in slowly. Retiro on a Sunday is full of life: families, runners, people selling balloons, someone doing yoga on the grass, grandparents on benches. It’s the best people-watching in the city.

Go to the lake, the Estanque Grande, and rent a boat. You’ll see the boat rental by the water. Go in the late afternoon when the light is golden and the monument glows. If rowing isn’t your thing, sit on the steps of the monument and watch everybody else struggle, which is also a wonderful activity. On some Sundays there are drummers around there, and the whole place feels like a small festival.

Walk to the Palacio de Cristal. It’s a glass and iron pavilion next to a little pond with swans and ducks and a few very confident turtles, and it’s one of my favourite places in Madrid. The light inside changes with the sky. Sometimes there’s an art installation, sometimes it’s just empty and beautiful.

Find the Fallen Angel. The Fuente del Ángel Caído is a fountain with a statue of Lucifer falling from heaven, in the middle of a family park. I love that Madrid did that.

If it’s spring, visit the Rosaleda, the rose garden, which smells unreal. In September it’s quieter but still lovely.

Leave by the southwest corner and walk down the Cuesta de Moyano, the little street of old wooden book stalls. I always tell myself I’m just looking. I’m never just looking.

Bring a snack, sit on the grass for a while, and don’t plan the evening. That’s the whole guide.

Try it this week

One hour. No phone. Anywhere. A park, a walk, your kitchen, a boat if you’re brave. Tell me what you did with yours. Vale?