Our last day of a long break
Written on January 12th, 2026 by Pearl Ryder
We’re more than a week in
I didn’t write last week because the first few days felt like nothing happened (we arrived, we slept, we ate, we slept), but then all of a sudden more had happened than I could coherently fit into a single post (We saw a parade! Cassie is all set for her new school! it is beautiful! we’re riding bikes and there’s so many rivers and more food diversity than you might expect for a small city). We have figured out quite a lot in the last week, including the basic but important things like how to take out the trash and where the bike lanes are. It still takes me 30 minutes to get ready for a bike ride with lots of trips back and forth between our storage unit and our apartment, but hey - we’ve got an apartment on the fourth floor with views out to lovely little foothills and a storage unit in the basement to store the bikes and our many extra suitcases, so life could be a LOT worse.
Today was our last day of vacation, as Cassie will start her new school at 9:15 AM tomorrow morning. Today was my day to head off on an adventure, so I tackled Els Angels, a 11 km climb that starts right next to Girona. Getting out the door was incredibly annoying – how can I forget so many little things?! – but it was all worth it. It took about 20 minutes to get to the base of the climb from our apartment and then there were almost no cars (5) and many cyclists (31) for company. The climb was challenging but forgiving for an out-of-practice cyclist. It took me 51 minutes (the pros do it in 20), but you don’t have to climb continuously the entire time. There are brief respites with descents, the grade is never very challenging, and the views are spectacular to distract from the physical effort. There were olive groves and forests and views to the mountains all around. It was especially fun because the road winds around the mountains as it climbs up, so you have views in all directions at different points of the climb.
At the top, I could see the ocean in one direction.
And mountains in the other direction.
There was a church at the top. I wish I’d tried to peek inside, but I forgot that even when these places seem completely empty the doors are often open.
After half a sandwich at the top, I cruised down the mountain into town (it was COLD) and met Craig and Cass at Ohkey cafe, our favorite Girona spot because they have a very nice kids area and good coffee too. Cassie plays happily with the toys independently for hours, while Craig and I tap away at our laptops. I wrote up an uninspired summary of our first week that I might eventually post. I also spent some time hanging with Cass and watching as she played.
There’s quite a lot of riverside park to explore near town, which was our destination after the cafe. I mostly haven’t been too impressed by Girona’s playgrounds, but they are VERY dedicated to ziplines here! Craig and I each got a turn on the zipline, Cassie got her 10 turns, then we through rocks in the river and laughed at the local dogs digging, digging, digging in the sand. On our way home from the river, we managed to find a store where I could get a SIM card for my phone. I have a Spanish number! Achievement unlocked.
Today was a highlight day of the trip, err living here, so far. Every day has definitely NOT been like this – last Saturday we spent most of the day blobbing on the couch and watching Patrulla Canina (yes, they do have Paw Patrol here). But these are the days that make all the effort to get here worth it.