Close 2 Paris: The "I'm Terrible at Blogging" Edition (Spain)

Sorry
Well, I'm pretty much a blogging failure. I've been too lazy to sit down and cleverly recount the events of late. If only being clever came naturally to me! So here I am, three trips and lots of Parisian adventures behind. Rome and Florence (separately) back in March, and Barcelona with Fred and Brian last week. Barcelona is fresh on my brain, and my favorite European city, so I'm afraid my post-way-too-many-pictures disease will take over. Then I'll try to keep Rome and Florence short and sweet.

First, An Update
Kyle and I are doing really well. We have met more fantastic friends in recent months, which has made everything that much more awesome in Paris! I started holding bootcamps in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower, which I LOVE. Spring is actually here (or so it seems for now). We are happy, healthy, grateful. Good stuff.

Wonderful Barcelona!
Barcelona is the best. I can't say it enough. I'm obsessed with all the Gaudi architecture. The beach is gorgeous. The people are warm and friendly. Great food, wine, culture. So colorful and lively. Does the sun ever stop shining? No, no it does not.
Kyle's dad and brother came to Paris for a visit, so we thought it would be fun to share another great city with them during their trip. The whole thing was sparked by Brian's girlfriend, Sarah. She surprised Brian with a flight to France, arranged for his vacation at work, coordinated with us and Fred. What a gal, huh?!

View from Park Guell - a beautiful park overlooking Barcelona, designed by Gaudi for the wealthy Guell family.

The Close Men :)

Eating his veggies

Kyle and I visited La Sagrada Familia on our last trip to Barcelona, but it's so magnificent we had no problem taking it all in again.

It truly must be the most amazing church in the world (also a work of Antoni Gaudi)

Fred and Brian checked out the Gaudi masterpiece Casa Batllo, while Kyle and I went to Palau Guell. The palace was yet another work commissioned by the Guell family before they moved up to the park.

Welcome to my mansion, allow me to give you the tour...

No trip is complete without sampling the local fare, or vittles as Fred would say :)

Bar Canete is a must if you visit Barcelona. It was delicious. Reserve seats at the bar in advance.

Kyle's breakfast at the Boqueria - baby squid and fried eggs. He swears it was delicious.

Empty cow nose or, umm, special bits, anyone?

We went on a tour with Aborigens Barcelona - the local cuisine tour for non-touristy folks. Highly recommend! Or guides, Alex and Alex, were excellent and it was a fantastic way to experience parts of the city we would have never found on our own.

They even customized our tour to accommodate the beer lovers in the group by taking us to the only microbrewery in Barcelona, Birra 08.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT eat rooster crown. Ever. It is exactly what you think it's like. I'm a little woozy just looking at it. I asked for it though. "I wanna eat like the locals do", I said. The locals may keep their rooster crown, but I thank them for sharing.

Florence
I adore Florence. It is that quintessential Italian town you picture as an American. Actually... as I'm typing this, I'm remembering that we had the craziest dinner with Katie and Derek in Florence. Florence is going to require it's own post now. So much for keeping it short and sweet! This is why I'm terrible at blogging!

Paris
Let's not end on that note... some pics from Fred and Brian's time in Paris...