Day 72 - Barcelona to Calgary / Canmore - Gorging in France ...Then Basquing in the Pyrenees - 2023

June 28, 2023

Day 72 - Barcelona to Calgary / Canmore

Stress Free Finale

This was one of the most simple and stress free travel days we’ve had - a very good end to what has been a fantastic trip from start to finish.

SOTD - Alberta Bound, Gordon Lightfoot. A little cliché? Yeah, but that’s where we’re headed, and it’s another tribute to a Canadian music icon who passed this year. Tina got three SOTD’s in memoriam, so we’ve got to level up the playing field.

Our flight was delayed by 2 hours due to weather issues in Calgary, but we knew this from the time we woke up and adjusted our timelines accordingly …. Meaning more time to savour our last coffee sitting outside in a Spanish street side cafe.

The taxi that the concierge ordered for us showed up right on schedule, and our bike boxes fit in without a problem - Spain scores another point for bike travel.

We had plenty of time for check in, and we needed it as once again we had check in staff who had never handled a bike check in before. Everyone was patient and friendly, and the bikes eventually got checked in as we knew they would. The upside to all this is that they never charged us the $50 bike fee. There’s often a little silver lining to what seems like a negative situation!

The only wrinkle in our flight was our seat booking lottery. Unlike our flight over, the ‘empty’ middle seat between us didn’t stay empty …. it looked like the flight was fully booked. As that was our only ‘problem’, you can see it was a pretty smooth trip.

It was so nice to have a direct flight to Calgary, one flight and done, and a much higher chance that our luggage would arrive with us, and it did.

Karin was there to meet us with our truck, and about an hour and a half after leaving the airport we were safely back at home in our lovely Rocky Mountain town.

It was great to do a spring trip. We’re arriving home to our short but brilliant summer rather than a fast approaching winter and that feels good.

We’ll finalize this journal in a few days with an overall summary …. What worked, what didn’t; what were our favourite days (that is going to be very difficult to decide … there were sooo many great days); what were our favourite meals (again, a very difficult problem to resolve!) and all the numbers for the quants out there.

It’s been a great trip, different in many respects from previous ones, but it was still travelling by bike, one of the best things you can do.

So long Spain …it’s been a wonderful experience

Hanging out in the lounge with enough time to load up some pictures and get a journal post written up,

…unfortunately though …. The gorging is over. For airline food, it was actually fairly decent

Victory for the team. Bike boxes in one piece in Calgary

They even arrrived before the rest of our luggage!

Back in Canmore and our first home cooked dinner in months …. I’ve been dreaming of pizza from the Ooni for a few days now! So long from Canmore!

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ann and steve maher-wearyWhat an incredible adventure you have had. Gorges, Pyrenees, delectable food and then to end it with the Sagrada Familia! What a trip! Pizza for your first night home looks delicious! Chefs on top of being food connoisseurs and intrepid trip planners! Enjoy your summer at home. ( Where to next?🥰)
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1 year ago

Kirsten KaarsooTo ann and steve maher-wearyIt was a wonderful trip. We are still reminiscing about this trip (and appreciating that we took the time to write the blog it helps jog the memory) As to where next, there are always lots of possibilities. I was just checking out the Veloroute des Balineses.( North shore of St. Lawrence River) . It looks interesting for a shorter trip. We get the service puppy next week so we will be close to home for the next while. Enjoy the rest of your adventure.
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1 year ago

Betsy EvansHello from Revelstoke. What a great trip you had! Thanks for sharing your adventures. And for the tip about the Spanish post office bike boxes too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your journal, and loved the food descriptions. :-)
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1 year ago

Lyle McLeodHi Betsy,
Thanks for following along. Not surprising you liked the food descriptions for someone who “Ate Their Way Around Andalusia” ;)
This was our first time touring in Spain and we were really impressed with every facet of it.We will be back for sure.
If you’re passing through Canmore give us a shout and we can get together for a beer. We’ll do the same if we’re in Revy.
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1 year ago

Lyle McLeodTo Betsy EvansHi Betsy,
I thought I’d sent this reply to you a week ago, but it was posted as just another comment and not a ‘reply’ to you, so you may not have seen it. If you have seen it already, well our appreciation for you following along on our tour is still there 😎!
Thanks for following along. Not surprising you liked the food descriptions for someone who “Ate Their Way Around Andalusia” ;)
This was our first time touring in Spain and we were really impressed with every facet of it.We will be back for sure.
If you’re passing through Canmore give us a shout and we can get together for a beer. We’ll do the same if we’re in Revy.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago