Day 135: Bike-riding on the Rio — BBQ at Alex Wit’s

Monday Morning in Madrid.

We woke up to another sunny, low-humidity and slightly chilly morning. I jogged a few blocks to a public outdoor exercise area with pull-up bars, etc.

When I got home the apartment was still quite so I made coffee and hacked together a video of our waterpark day in Dubai, now added to that day’s post and linked on YouTube here.

We had a leisurely breakfast. The kids loved making fresh orange juice with the electric juicer in the kitchen.

I remember our NYC friend Leslie mentioning a major benefit of home schooling: eliminating the chaotic rush in the morning. Now I totally get it.

We did school, made lunch at home and chilled for a bit. We actually have “school” sound effects here at our Airbnb in Madrid. There is a school across the street. We open the doors to the balcony and can hear the kids at recess. James likes to watch.

We then decided to rent bikes from Mi Bike Rio. We rode along the river, stopping at little playgrounds, climbing structures and a cafe along the way.

Both kids are comfortable on their bikes. James pedals harder and has a much higher tolerance for discomfort. Willa prefers not to exert herself and stops whenever the going gets tough. Working on this!

I was feeling a little under the weather this morning and then started feeling like shit on this ride. Turns out I was getting a cold and dealing with Spring allergies at the same time.

After biking we swung back by the apartment to freshen up then headed up to the La Moraleja neighborhood for dinner with Alex Wit and his family.

Alex is a friend from b-school. He’s half Chilean, half Dutch and has lived all over the place including DC — he actually went to Washington International School for a few years. His wife Maria is from Madrid. They have three kids: Daniella (9) and twins Gabriel and Sofia (6).

La Moraleja is a super nice suburb and their house is gorgeous. We ate sausage, steak, cheese in skillets all right off the grill plus a salad. The kids had a blast — James and Gabriel ran after the soccer ball the entire time. Willa and Danielle were bffs.

These experiences local friends continue be the highlights of our trip.