It’s a simple truth to live by - the best trips always begin with an invitation.

Oz pals Nick + Farah asked us to spend time with them and their young family in rural France. To get there required going through Spain. So we made a trip of the trip to get to them. Thanks to brilliant travel tips from friends we dialed in a fabulous itinerary of: Madrid, Granada, Bilbao and San Sebastián, topped by a private set of tours into UNESCO prehistoric caves.

Madrid was a stunning start to our adventures. Literally.

We always love that first morning of each trip, waking up to the buzz of local life on the streets below. We had arrived late the night before into a bohemian neighborhood and now the day was already in full motion.

Well, at least for the moment.

Over breakfast, Adisa noticed the lights started to flicker and before we could fully comprehend the situation, the power went out.

And I mean, OUT.

Turns out we were just beginning a country-wide black out that would last until midnight. That means no phones, google maps, atms, credit cards, traffic lights or hot coffee. Police soon began patrolling by horseback to calm everyone down.

Initially was a bit nervewracking as people struggled to fill the information void. And then the human spirit kicked in as people began adapting on the fly: the local barber moved his cutting chair to the sidewalk, the local grocery store opened their front door with employees running the aisles for aqua, jamon iberico, baguettes and queso. As the day wore on, every plaza filled with curious people huddled near transistor radios running on AA batteries, ears peeled for the latest update.

In a single exasperating moment, the city went from a capital of 3 million citizens to a WWII analog vibe. Vibrant and non-digital.

Que esta pasando con el corte de electricidad?

Then the frolic kicked in. Musicians soon appeared on balconies, bars briskly sold their warming beverages at a discount. And best of all, nearby plazas erupted into an impromptu ‘End of the World’ festive celebrations, complete with tin foil hats to keep the harmful juju at bay until the hard facts started to surface. The truth came out many hours later - a grid fluctuation that created a domino effect of outages across the country. All of Spain was dark - 48 million people were in the dark without their personal technology, power or easy access to food.

Madrid rallied beautifully and with heart. A calamity that was also a trip highlight.