Travel day

Since we are in the carpe diem mode of travel this fall, we have added one more trip. Joe really wanted to go back to Madrid, where we lived with the kids for an academic year in 1994-95. He has been back a time or two, but not as much as I have, so it seemed reasonable. Somehow our itinerary goes from Champaign to Dallas to Madrid. I didn’t pay much attention when I was booking the tickets, but now that I have looked at a map, I can say that every one of the 813 miles between Champaign and Dallas is going away from Madrid. That means we have a VERY long flight ahead of us. No upgrade, no great seat, we will be pretty done in when we get there tomorrow.

Of our three fall trips, this will be the easiest and most relaxed. No moving around, except that we may take a day trip to Toledo or Segovia. We will also spend next weekend out in Soto del Real, where our dearest Spanish friends live. So this should be a fun trip.

Update — we are here! Easy taxi ride into the center. As usual, we got quite the political lesson from the taxi driver. The polls are open, for the fourth national election in four years. Things are very complicated and messy, but the consensus is that the only party that stands to gain from calling new elections is Vox, the extreme right.

Our hotel is very nice, has a little fitness center, and Joe is going to nap while I go try out the elliptical.Read more