As my second year in Spain was coming to an end, it was time for me to plan my return home. Remembering the true horror of last summer spent in Madrid — record-breaking heat waves and a lack of air conditioning — I knew I needed to leave Madrid before July. But in April, at the same time I was considering my exit, the coronavirus pandemic was also taking over the world… particularly Europe. Hoping that things would return to some semblance of normal by then, I decided I would leave Spain on July 1.
In general, I’m accustomed to paying about $300 one way from Madrid to a large U.S. city such as Boston or Chicago. Then, I use Southwest points accumulated from my former life as a traveling tech consultant to get me back to Kansas City. In this case, however, I had to make a choice: pay $2,000+ for a semi-direct flight, or pay $200 to fly Madrid-Paris-Newark-(stay overnight)-LaGuardia-Kansas City? [Read more…]
