“It was the worst of times, it was the best of times” – If I’m going to twist around a catchy phrase from a spaghetti western, I might as well do it with a phrase from a famous book (Tale of Two Cities) by a famous author (Charles Dickens), as well.
I do not believe I have written about the process of getting from home to our rental property on the Costa del Sol at any point previously. I know I have written about stops along that route, like what we’ve done in Madrid, but not the step-by-step journey, or this time, as inferenced in my title, the “trial”.
And yes, I am going to try and present this in a “ugly” and “bad” and “good” format, but I also am going to do it chronologically by date. Before I begin though, let me tell you what tasks had been accomplished before we got to the ugly, bad and good parts.
I had booked the following: an apartment in Estepona for February and March, our flights to and from Europe, our favourite hotel in Madrid. And I had booked train tickets on Spain’s high-speed system from Madrid down to Malaga. We love, train travel, and we particularly enjoy the journey between Madrid and Malaga.
The Ugly and the Bad
December 17, 2025 – The owner of the apartment we had rented in Estepona informed me that he had sold the apartment and asked if I would like him to ask the new owner if they would like to take over our booking?????
December 24, 2025 – The new owners made contact, and we came to an agreement. This was all being done directly, and not through Airbnb. So, when we sent off our rent money to these folks, it was of course being done without any guarantee or checks that we weren’t being scammed.
I must immediately point out that it all worked out very well. The new owners Thijs and Vera are good folks, and we are now comfortably ensconced in their new investment.
January 14, 2026 – Joan, a dear friend of the Love-goddess backs into our car as it is parked on our street and causes $4500 worth of damage that must be attended to before we leave for Spain… Bloody hell!
January 18, 2026 – A truly terrible event occurs. The 7:20 am Renfe train from Madrid to Malaga and a second privately operated north bound train were involved in the worst train accident in Spain’s history. Forty-five people were killed collectively on the two trains. I mention the specifics because that was the scheduled train we were booked to take on February 1.
What unfolded was one of the worst possible circumstances … being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Two high-speed trains were passing one another when the last car in the northbound train derailed right into the southbound train. These two trains were passing one another at 200 km/h for a combined accident speed of 400 km/h.
January 21, 2026 – Renfe is still struggling to get the north-south line operational and we were informed that our planned trip on February 1 had been canceled. I considered myself fortunate to then be able to book the exact same train for the following day, February 2. I added one more night’s stay onto our hotel. Being “stuck” in Madrid for an extra day is no real hardship, though. Just an extra night of unnecessary cost.
January 25, 2026 – A massive winter storm was unleashed on the American Northeast extending over the Great Lakes and dumping between 50 and 60 cm of snow on Toronto and paralyzed flights in and out of Pearson International Airport – where we were scheduled to fly out the following Wednesday. Friends in Toronto sent us these photos of their street and their backyard.
January 26, 2026 – Insurance approval was finally provided to have our car repaired and we dropped it off at the body shop. It will not be ready before we leave, and we will have to make arrangements for friends to pick it up after we get to Spain. We also picked up the rental car that was provided for our use by the insurance company.
January 28, 2026 – Fingers crossed that our flight would leave Toronto on time because we needed to make a connection in Montreal to the Madrid bound flight. We were also getting to Toronto in a new and interesting way. We availed ourselves of a new amenity being offered by Air Canada when you book a flight with them – that being, you get yourself to the regional airport in Kitchener, check in, and then ride into Toronto on their newly established bus service.
Fortunately, we were able to drop off our rental car at the airport in Kitchener and so we didn’t incur any expense or hassle getting there.
At Pearson, things were still slow because all the regional flights were full, caused by the fact that the airlines and regular travellers were playing catch-up. We departed Toronto half an hour behind schedule. Things didn’t look good.
As we approached Montreal, the pilot informed us that international flights were being held for those of us who were making connections on flights to Madrid and Belgium. Woo-hoo!
We, and some other couples who were headed to Madrid, boogied our way … I assumed my wheelchair was waiting at the gate we were originally supposed to dock at, so no ride for me … to our departure gate in Montreal and arrived on board just five minutes before the flight was originally scheduled towas originally scheduled to have taken off. Travel disaster narrowly averted.
January 29, 2026 – Our February 2 train trip to Malaga was cancelled by Renfe. We had no clue at that point how we were going to get down to the Costa Del Sol. But we were enjoying being back in Madrid again, of course. Lots of other folks were in a similar position, and some travel gouging took place.
January 30, 2026 – After exploring a few car-based options we booked a flight from Madrid to Malaga for Sunday morning.
February 1, 2026 – Up at 5:30 AM, cab to the airport and oh boy, we got to experience the pain-in-the-ass “joy” of wasted hours spent “airporting,” – instead of sipping coffee and eating breakfast on a train as we glided through Spain’s countryside.
The Good
So, looking at how that unpleasant series of events unfolded, and how they could have negatively impacted our trip, things didn’t work out all that bad – for us anyway.
We incurred no expense getting to the Toronto airport. The flight from Toronto to Montreal arrived in time for us to catch our connection to Madrid. The flight was uneventful and I slept most of the way. We arrived an hour early and were able to get into our hotel room before 10AM. So, we had a full first day. We arrived on the Costa del Sol on the day that we took possession of the apartment and were able to get into the apartment early because of an earlier arrival and an accommodating host.
And lots of other good things happened too. A visit to Madrid is always a good thing because you know lots of good things will happen, you will eat good food and see great architecture and art and encounter some good Spanish people. It’s all good.
Normally, we would be going to one of the three major art galleries in Madrid during our stay, but this time we decided just to do the “Flâneur” thing and wander the streets. Madrid really is a delightful city. The streets are always alive with people coming and going, hanging out on patios, dining, and just enjoying their well-rounded lives. Some tasks did have to be attended to as well. This is what happened.
January 29, 2026 – Our early arrival at the airport meant we ended up arriving at our hotel very early in the morning. Just after 9 AM. Fortunately, they had a room available for us to hop into as soon as we checked in. This was a little bit unusual. Often you have to leave your bags in their lock up room and wander around for a few hours until your room is ready. Getting in early means you can have a little rest or lay down before you tackle the rest of the day.
We have stayed in other hotels in Madrid, but the Hotel Europa, which sits on the Puerta del Sol in the centre of the city, has become a favourite. We always book a room facing the plaza. At the end of January, one of these rooms costs us about C$200, which is amongst the more expensive rooms in the hotel.
After check-in, we didn’t particularly feel a need to rest because we had both slept on the flight over, so we headed out to attend to some of our first day rituals first. First off, we go around the corner to the local Spanish coffee shop named “El Starbuckos”. 🙂 I had never noticed this before, but because we did a lot of wandering around this year, it became clear to me that central Madrid is awash in Starbucks.
We enjoyed a coffee and a breakfast sandwich. I always advise a flight attendant on the flight over not to wake me for breakfast, so I typically need a coffee and a bite right away. After that, on to task number two. Go to the local telecom store, Orange in this case, and get Sims for our cell phones so that we have a local number and lots of data.
Yes, I know all about eSIM’s and how you can get yourself all set up before you leave home, but over the years I’ve always found that if you go into a store and get a physical SIM you tend to get more of everything for less money.
After noon we headed down the street to the big El Corte Ingles department store to pick up a few supplies for our hotel room. Most of these stores have a big grocery store in the basement. We also picked up some items to make a quick lunch. You will probably be able to tell from the photos that these are fairly upscale grocery stores.
I always enjoy the arrival of night in this location. Things always seem to get more active, and as you will see, the area lighting added a beautiful ambiance to the whole setting. After enjoying the view from our room, we headed back over to the El Corte Ingles to pick up some hot food for dinner. Check out these images. I love night photography.
January 30, 2026 – The first order of business on our first full day in Spain was to have breakfast. One of the many reasons that we enjoy staying at this hotel is that it has a very typical Spanish restaurant. It is not like those generic American style restaurants that you often get in the large chain hotels in international destinations. The Hotel Europa restaurant is definitely a favourite of locals.
After breakfast, we grabbed a cab and wandered down to the main train station in Madrid, “Madrid Atocha”. We were headed for the Renfe office to get the funds we paid for our two now cancelled trips refunded … hopefully.
And secondarily, we wanted to pick up the senior discount card for rail travellers offered here in Spain, the Tarjeta Dorada. These gives seniors up to a 40% discount on rail travel. They cannot be bought online. We are planning on doing at least one big trip by rail during our stay this winter so worth the visit to get a couple. We are buying three-year passes because we are hoping this will not be our last winter spent in Spain. A three-year pass only costs €15.
We spent just over an hour at the Renfe office, so by the time we were done, it was time to start looking around for a nice non-touristy restaurant for lunch. More specifically, we were looking for one that was offering a Menú del Día. I’ve said it before, the “Menú del Día ” lunch is probably the only good thing Franco ever did. He insisted that restaurants offer a three-course meal at lunchtime, at a reasonable price.
Interestingly, we found one very close to the Plaza Mayor. From the outside, it did look a bit touristy, but we were certainly the only ones in the restaurant who were not Spanish. As you will see in the following photos, Taberna Victoria was offering a Menú del Día for €15.50. This includes a beverage, a “Primeros” dish and a “Segundos” dish, followed by dessert or coffee. Great value.
And to wrap up the day, we watched a little entertainment down on the Puerto del Sol, a busker who had attracted a decent sized crowd. The gymnastics he was doing before I shot this clip were way better than this little entertaining performance. I know if I had attempted what you see here there would’ve been four people in hospital. 🙂
January 31, 2026 – Our second full day began with breakfast again. The Love-goddess opted for churros and a cup of warm liquid chocolate with an egg on the side. Sweet pastries are often consumed for breakfast in Spain, but a more traditional breakfast is simply a piece of toast with some tomato purée spread on top of it. Doesn’t appeal to me, but I see lots of people having it first thing in the morning.
The only real task we had to accomplish on this day was to get to the “Casa del Libro” bookstore up on La Gran Via and pick up a new book or two. They have a very good English book selection, including some Margaret Atwood and Louise Penny selections.
Take a stroll with us.
One of the fun aspects of the hotel we stay in at is that there is always something going on in the Puerto del Sol. This protest was much smaller than when we left the hotel, but still going strong when we got back. Let’s listen in a bit.
February 1, 2026 – I suppose there was some good associated with our flight down to Malaga. It was very brief. I think we were only in the air for 50 minutes.
After a quick check-in at our rental accommodation, we sat out on our terrace in the sun until it got a little too warm, so we went back inside. It has been raining pretty much ever since though!
We are very happy to be here, and are looking forward to the two months of adventures that lay ahead.
And in case you were wondering about the Dickens quote, here it is in its entirety. I don’t think the Clint Eastwood, “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” reference needs further clarification or discussion. 🙂
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Charles Dickens – Tale of Two Cities
