barcelona, spain.

well, barcelona you did not disappoint.

you were everything i remembered, and as always, you're full of surprises. 

please sit back and enjoy a photo tour of a day in the life of some very lucky wanderers.

olive trees everywhere...in this case, right outside the store where i bought some shoes.

the boqueria market, full of ham - that is one happy husband

well hello little bar that popped out of nowhere. don't mind if we do!

always lovely, i'd never seen parc guell at dusk.  we had a lively hike up to the park...it may or may not have had to do with our directional abilities, but we got there- just in time, and it was a hit.

this had to be the greatest surprise/ recommendation ever.  our friend ben likes to eat & drink as much as we do, and he was right on the money recommending can paixano.  a tiny narrow bar, down by the water, with cheap tapas and 5 euro bottles of cava.  yes.

stay tuned for a practical take on spain, coming up later this week!

spain, we love you.

we are now in madrid and despite the rain, we're having a great time.  fun fact: rain is a great excuse to check out those indoor tours that always seem to take a backseat to sitting on our bums in a park.  that being said, we spent a few hours in the royal palace of madrid today.  

here are a few snaps from our time in barcelona {and a day trip to girona} this past week.  so much fun.

also, i have to say how happy i am with our apartments during this vacation: we found them through way to stay and we've been so pleased with the apartments themselves, but also with the people running this operation.  if you're headed to europe anytime soon, check them out.

nighttime view from our apartment, sagrada familia down the block

fruit stand at the boqueria market

walking the city wall in girona

can it get any better?

we are looking forward to the next few days here in madrid, hopefully heading to toledo tomorrow and segovia on saturday.

life is so good.