Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona just after midnight on Thursday, 15 May and proceeded directly to our apartment in Barceloneta. We were staying in a neighborhood near the beach and our apartment was just a few minutes walk.

On Thursday we walked around the Gothic Quarter; went into the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar and the Barcelona Cathedral; saw Roman ruins in the City Museum of Barcelona; and toured the Palau de la Música Catalana - this is the stained glass ceiling, shaped like a water droplet.

On Friday we walked up and down La Rambla, saw a few Modernista buildings in the Block of Discord, and checked out La Pedrera on the way to Gaudí's Sagrada Família, which was by far the best part of the trip. This building is indescribably beautiful, and the photos in no way do it justice.

On Saturday we relaxed a bit. We went to La Boqueria, wandering the market and eating everything in sight. Well, I did. Andrew was a bit under the weather this weekend, and so didn't get to enjoy as much of the local cuisine. I certainly ate more churros. We sat on the beach and enjoyed the sun for a while before getting ready to leave on Sunday.

One of the best parts of the trip was getting to eat so much wonderful food. In particular, we found two small tapas bars with cheap drink and delicious food. The first served wine and deep-fried sardines. The second served cava, croquettes, and sausage.

 

I'm packing my bags. Check out our photos on flickr and I'll bet you want to come, too.

We're Baaaaccckk....

It's been a while. I know. We've been in Northern Ireland about a year and a half now (about the same amount of time we were in Denmark) and I suppose we've been busy. Andrew loves his job and he now has three semesters of teaching under his belt. I'm working and making friends (Andrew's doing that, too) and we're much more settled.

I'll catch you up quickly on what we've been up to in the last year and a half.

December 2012: Home for Christmas and to pack up our worldly possessions to have shipped to Northern Ireland. Hooray! We're reunited with our KitchenAid!

March/April 2013: Home to New York for Easter and to retrieve the cats - this didn't happen just yet.

May 2013: Back to Aalborg for a visit with friends - photos on flickr. Also, the cats arrive! Thanks, Mom & Dad!

June 2013: A weekend in London. Some old friends are passing through and it's such a short flight - how could we say no? Photos on flickr.

July 2013: Germany! Andrew has a conference in Potsdam (beautiful!) and then a long weekend in Berlin to visit with Justin. Photos on flickr.

August 2013: We welcome the Hamiltons and Lapps to Belfast. A wonderful week showing everyone around Northern Ireland (Giant's Causeway, Titanic Museum, etc.). Also a quick ride across the sea to visit family in Scotland. And Mom and Dad make contact with the Irish relatives. It's nice to know we do have some family nearby. Photos on flickr.

October 2013: No trick-or-treaters and funny looks when I greet everyone with a "Happy Halloween!" at work.

November 2013: We go to work on Thanksgiving. No turkey.

December 2013: We host the Moravecs for Christmas! We have a wonderful time showing them around Ireland! Up the coast to the causeway, a Christmas dinner with crackers and crowns, and a fabulous time in Dublin. Photos on flickr.

January/February 2014: It's very dark.

March 2014: Hiking Slieve Donard with some friends. I'm pretty out of shape, as you can see in the photos on flickr.

May 2014: Barcelona! More about that in the next post.