Barcelona & Madrid in 8 Days: Highlights from Our 2025 Rick Steves Tour
Dave, Liz and Gen Run, Ruck and TOUR Spain
Toledo
Rucking but no running today. Daytrip to Toledo. We rucked down to the river and back.
The route ended uphill, where effort and history converged.
Spain was earned step by step — through heat, stone, elevation, and shared discovery.
We took a day trip to Toledo, a well-preserved Medieval hill-fortress town. This was definitely another highlight. A surprise was a synagogue built by the Moors, Tránsito Synagogue. It was a surprising mix of Muslim and Jewish features that blended well together. The Cathedral was also spectacular with a surprising skylight feature, El Transparente. We also got to see some El Greco paintings. We ended the tour in Madrid with a walk around the Royal Palace grounds and Egyptian monument.
Liz bought a big bag of potting soil for weight in her ruck sack. She asked for sand but struggled with the translation. She donated it to the hotel when we left. Much cheaper than dropping into Crossfit.
Our guides had contagious enthusiasm. So much so that we bought his guidebook. This is a photo of Dave with Adolfo.
The Mosques were like nothing we had seen or heard of.
Notice Liz's ruck sack in the photo on the left.
The highlight of Toledo for us with the "skylight" in the Cathedral, "El Transparente".
Late in the afternoon we took the bus back to Madrid and departed back the US the next morning.
We flew home from MAD to MIA and had a 3 hour layover. Liz got her jamon taken away at customs. A trip of a lifetime and Gen’s first time in Europe.
Lessons learned: You cannot take jamon on a plane back to the US. Building a website is much more challenging than we imagined.
Spain was earned step by step, through heat, elevation, stone streets, and shared discovery. Running revealed quiet moments. Walking provided context. Rucking added weight and intention. Adios!