Blogs from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe - page 214

When we woke up this morning we were both pretty excited from the very beginning because when we looked outside we actually saw the sun and blue skies. Emily was able to leave the house in a t-shirt and jeans and I think it was the first time I haven't worn my snowboots this entire trip! If I were to classify the type of city Barcelona was I would say it was more artistic than anything else. We spent most of our touring time in Barcelona looking at various architectural feats... buildings, houses, and cathedrals. The city is really beautiful and the weather made it all the more better to look at. Barcelona itself is a very interesting city. Aside from the really cool buildings and views that you can find throughout, there are some pretty ... read more

So I think yesterday may have been my favorite day traveling so far...Melissa, Blair and I woke up and ran to Parc Guel, a Park designed by Guadi. It was about 4 miles and the last quarter of a mile is uphill...we were greeted by gates and towers designed by Gaudi...I again felt like I was stepping into a fairy tale, his work is so imaginative...el cree afuera del box...(he thinks outside the box :). We roamed around the park for a bit, taking in the views above the city as well as music being played by a harmonica/guitar band. We returned to our hostel and spent a couple of hours relaxing and drinking tea with some Israeli boys that we met...great conversation about Israel and the complex situation over there...really interesting to hear their ideas ... read more

Ola, With a combination of siesta's, bullfighting, juicy oranges, tapas, good weather, monuments, architecture, the beach and royal palaces, just to name a few highlights, our two and a half weeks in Spain and Portugal was some experience. Seville, our first port of call is a very colourful city with one of the biggest cathedrals in the world, beautiful parks and gardens, orange trees (which had the juicest oranges Wes has ever tasted) growing on the streets and the Real Alcazar (royal palace) as the main highlights. Off to the south coast of Portugal, we were blessed with some much needed sun after the English winter. Although we went to a very touristy region (The Algarve), because it was spring there weren't too many tourists around. Steep and rocky cliff faces along the coastline made the ... read more

Normally ‘travelling’ doesn’t feel as good as a ‘vacation’. In fact there is a huge difference (which a lot of people don’t recognize) between ‘travelling’ and taking a ‘vacation’. Taking a ‘vacation’ normally involves a guilt-free way to spend time doing whatever, whenever with whoever. With vacations there is no concept of time or money and it is essentially driven by the seven deadly sins- namely sloth (lazing around is primarily why people go on vacations in the first place), lust (people have this crazy thing about finding ‘holiday romances’), greed (everything is about souvenirs & shopping), pride (beauty treatments-manicures, pedicures & massages are always on the agenda) & gluttony (who are we kidding? The best thing about being on vacation is the food!) Also, with vacations sightseeing is not strictly on the agenda. So while ... read more

Hello all of my travel blog groupies... Well I can´t tell you how happy I am to be in Barcelona...warm weather sure does make traveling a bit more pleasant, I flippin wanted to kiss the ground when we arrived and I was so bundled up from freakin freezing France that I started sweating while we were walking around looking for our hostel. WE can´t see our breath anymore...HALLELUJAH...I know, I know I am weak sauce!! Yesterday morning we went running in shorts instead of pants and 5 layers and it felt soooooo good!!! Oh and its been great to use our spanish, although we did master about three french phrases in Paris. They speak catalan here in Barcelona, which is a very interesting mix between French and Spanish. On a receipt that I got today it ... read more