Adventures of a curious mind

It was a long, though relatively easy ride into Bordeaux. We began on country roads but travelled most of the 58 km on the Roger Lapebie Cycle Path, so named after the 1937 Tour de France winner. The path was once a train track. Even the stations have been converted to pretty little wine bars…

Saint-Emilion was founded in the 8th century, by a monk from Brittany who fled his hometown for reasons unknown. He sought refuge in one of the natural caves in the original village called Ascum bas. Unsurprisingly, his name was Emilion. He lived the life of a hermit, though accomplished a few miracles and rapidly became famous.…

Riding out of Bourg was easy. Though our stay was at the first of 3 possible hotels and the furthest from our next destination – St. Emilion. This added about 10km to our journey. We rode out of town and along a path by the river in the chilly morning. I was wearing a long…

Day 2: Margaux to Bourg – 36km Our departure from our hotel in Margaux was early. We had advance tickets for the ferry to cross the river from the west to the east side. We were riding to a schedule – my least favourite thing as it reduces the time to dawdle and take photos.…

Day 1: Pauillac to Margaux – 45km We have spent a good amount of time on our bikes in the last few days. Between cycling and wine, I have not found time for any updates so today I will endeavour to catch up a bit. The first day’s ride to Margaux was the most challenging…

We arrived in Pauillac (pronounced poi-yak) 2 days ago. The cycle tour company sent a car to pick us up at the airport. He managed to cram 4 of us and all of our luggage into a mini station wagon for the one hour drive. I was pretty doubtful about the luggage but it fit…

Not mine to be clear. While most of you were busy at home roasting and eating a turkey, we had our own big night out to celebrate Cathy’s birthday. Dinner was planned for a respectable Spanish hour, 10:30 p.m. at Casa Botin. (I can hear you shuddering.) According to the Guinness Book of World Records,…

The first time we came to Madrid, Rick went to Reina Sofia alone. I hung out with the Moms in Plaza Mayor, enjoying sangria and snacks. I do not regret that decision. Our Moms have been wonderful travelling companions over the years. We have had many adventures and many laughs together. On this trip they…

Sometimes I get so caught up in work, and life, and … work, that I forget to be happy. I forget what makes me happy. This day overflowed with happy. It was hard to get up. Thankfully, hotel breakfasts run to a much later hour in Madrid (10:30!) than most of the other places I…

Yesterday, Friday, was a tough day. Note to self, Economy Plus bears NO comparison to Business Class and zero sleep happened, in spite of our efforts. I did manage to catch up on quite a bit of work on the flight to Toronto where we met up with Ken and Cathy for our onward flight…