Once there was a way to get back homeward…
Once there was a way to get back home…

The way is still there, because I’m going home in 3 hours. The flight is at 6:00am, and Bolt is scheduled to pick us up at 3:20. I thought I could get some sleep in early, but couldn’t. Too much anxiety ending the trip, and too much excitement going home.

I realize I could not enjoy the last day of the trip. Of any trip. There’s so much mixed emotions and my mind was working in turbo XL mode I couldn’t even keep my eyes shut. I had to be productive in some and many ways. So I worked on my Advanced Directive and finished it earlier today. What an accomplishment, since I have been procrastinating on it for 15 years!

The luggages are packed. Taxi pickup scheduled. Things to read during the flight are downloaded on Kindle. Now I’m just waiting and waiting.

I was so excited coming home that I already made plans and appointments: haircut the next day, toe surgery consultation in 1 week, root canal in 1 week, dental cleaning in 2 weeks. Hmmm, what else do I need to do?

This trip introduced me to two new drinks—in Montpellier, Green Chartreuse and in Girona, Vermut—and I’ve fallen for both. Chartreuse feels rarer and more luxurious, while the Catalan Vermut has that herbal, lightly bitter profile I can’t wait to recreate at home. I get swept up so quickly by new discoveries… I’m hopelessly curious and a little fickle.

I’m not sure I’ll ever return to Madrid. I skipped the Prado, but I did visit the Reina Sofía and saw Picasso’s Guernica in 2024 after my Santiago walk. To me, Madrid feels more like a convenient stopover than a destination.