NOT sure if I might ramble a bit here, but oh well, it is what it is.

In a previous post I mentioned how the past while has been fairly busy with us preparing to sell the house and the subsequent move to a house-sitting location. I am pretty tired and worn out.

The idea has been to get out and enjoy a wee break somewhere with my lil boy (at 5'11" he now looks down on me, and outweighs/outmuscles me by 50+ lb, so not so 'wee')  before we figure out what is coming next for our household. Both Alex and I enjoy airport lounges, so we already have that lined up for both our flight there and back. We will be flying in to Madrid where we will hop onto the Metro to Sol which takes three different metro lines but is still straightforward. From Sol we'll use our gadgets to roll the bike boxes to the hostal which is just a 100 m or so away. Our accommodations have already agreed to store our bike boxes for us while we cycle so I have booked the place at the start and end of the tour. I stayed in the same building last year so have a fairly good idea of our surroundings as well as the route down to the Atocha train station the following day for our transfer to Mérida.

Alex has been excited to see Roman and medieval sites so we will spend a couple of nights in Mérida so we can explore its Roman ruins. Next we will make our way to Trujillo, from where conquistadors set out for the new world... and where my sister and I visited in 2001. Continuing on our route back to Madrid will be somewhat following the Via de la Plata before we veer eastward toward Navalmoral to visit friends I met in 2015 folowed by a short train ride and a few more stops til we return to Madrid.

I always find it very interesting to enter a major city by meandering along quiet streets, passing ruins, historical sites and eventually making it to the city centre. I envision cycling past the palace, through the Plaza Mayor and possibly the Puerta del Sol until we reach our hostal from where we'll explore Madrid, and pack up for the return home.

All flights will be with Air Canada which means very convenient connections, ease of luggage movement and less time in airports.

EDIT October 17, 2024. Within a week it is. The time has been flying by though I have had time to pack the bikes which are now nestled safely in their cardboard boxes for next week's flight.

Though not on the ground yet, snow has been falling in my neck of the woods but  see temperatures close to 20 C in the forecast for our tour. Nice!