I love travelling, though I find even more interesting how I travel.

These days, we can fly almost everywhere. It is convenient and fast. It takes us to our destination, and we can enjoy our holidays. But, you miss the pathway.

However, driving a car it may give us more options and can enrich our trip with unexpected gems, while we are travelling. It is a matter of optionality. You may have a plan, wanting to go from A to B. Then, you decide, last minute, to take a different road and you end up in a tiny village, quiet. A surprise.

Last summer, we travelled from the southwest of Spain to Brussels. You can imagine the distance. Obviously, we did it in several stages.

We drove across Spain towards Biarritz in our first stage. Halfway through, we stopped at Tordesillas for lunch. We chose the Parador, conveniently placed close to the main road. We enjoy our meal overlooking the pine trees.

At dusk, we arrived at Biarritz, where we enjoyed our dinner after a long day.

The following day, we could enjoy a stroll by La Grand Plage, have a glass of wine and contemplating the Hôtel du Palais.

Our day started cloudy, though by lunch time it opened and remained sunny.

Les Halles de Biarritz are worthy a visit, plenty of fresh food and high quality.

Next stop was Mont Saint Michelle. Prior to this, we had a few hours driving. We had not decided where we were going to stop for lunch. At the very last minute, we decided to take a diversion to Cognac, where visited the Maison Hennesy. Enough time to buy a bottle and carry on with our trip.

After leaving Cognac, we read about the church of Saint Pierre of Aulnay , built in the 12th century and decided to stop by and have a look. What it surprised us was that there were no tourists there, the entry was free, and we enjoyed a Romanesque jewel.

This is what the optionality gives you when travelling: Unexpected and enjoyable experiences.