Updates

We met up with friends from home who rented motorcycles from IMT Bike, and we all went on an IMT Bike self-guided tour through the north of Spain, including the Picos de Europa National Park. One word: WOW!

More amazing riding in the Pyrenees, where Virginia Hall had to hike on her prosthetic leg in the snow to escape capture. Yes, these are high, cliffy and snowy mountains, much like the ones I know at home. I had thought they were more like tall hills, so if I need Spanish escape routes in the novel, I know what these mountains are like. But, not wanting icy (slippery) roads for the motorcycle, we zipped south to the warm weather,  spent three days in Castelo de Farfanya, and today, we go to Barcelona!

Although I’m not currently working on a medieval fantasy, Carcassonne Castle is the perfect place to research for my Laksa Media series. We got a hotel room inside the Old City walls! And of course, I toured the castle itself, as well as taking tons of video in the early mornings when the tourists are not in the streets!

Although we can–and did–ride in wet, cold weather, we are not here just to check off certain countries on a list. We’re here to enjoy ourselves, and riding in sun is much preferable to the cold! Hence: we’ve come back to Italy where we heard the Tuscany region has amazing roads for motorcycles. There is also a lot of WWII history here, that I can use for motivation for my villain: in 1944, Germany had to pour a lot of resources in here, as the Allies made their way up the boot, leaving a leadership vacuum that could allow my villain to aspire to filling. Yay!

The roads in Greece, specifically at the Vikos Gorge, are spectacular. This is definitely holiday time…the novel is percolating, and I come up with new ideas once in a while, but I’m letting it rest for a little in my brain.