spanish fiesta

pigs gone wild

sushi and rose for breakfast

the boqueria market

laurel says:


me encanta espana.  my junior year of college studying abroad in alicante on the costa blanca was one of the best experiences of my life.  it is hard to believe i have not been back to spain since then and i wondered if it would be as bonita as i remembered it.  turns out spain is aging like a fine wine and just getting better with time.  we started our trip in barcelona which is one of my top 5 fave cities in the world.  the combo of modern art/boho culture/amazing food/trippy architecture just works.  and our time here was even better because my girlfriends from college joined us in spain's coolest city for a joint 30th birthday extravaganza. we nibbled on manchego and drank copius amounts of cava while taking in barcelona's best sites from the picasso and miro museums and gaudi's church to las ramblas and everything in between. and the party continued (sans emil) on the island of mallorca with days of sun bathing on the glam beaches and posh nights indulging in tapas and mojitos.  (alas no rafa sightings were had.  tear)  although i must say that mallorca has gotten way more touristy than i care for, hence why menorca is the new mallorca.  it was a treat to have some girl time (shopping!  fashion magazines!  sharing clothes!) and i am so grateful to my girls for making the journey over.  muchas gracias chicas!

wedding crashers

barri gotic cathedral

sagrada familia- still a work in progress

the girls and gaudi

park guell

placa de catalunya

beaches of san sebastian

emil says:


barcelona has a fabulous touch of grittiness mixed with the right amount of architectural sophistication and just a dazzling amount of food and beverages to be consumed at all hours of the day and night.  add to which a terrific energy, fantastic cafe and restaurant scene and in several areas just the right amount of seediness. the pictures don't do barcelona justice. it's another 'atmospheric' type city. where the feel seems more intense than the 'things to do' aspect.  the only negative is that barcelona is on that a-list of stops for the "my-first-vacation.com" crowd, and rightfully it should be but the las ramblas area gets easily overwhelmed and overrun by tour groups.  and double-decker bus companies with long queues run rings and rings around the city with a torrid pace (although i loved riding one).  great to see laurel's college lady friends who met up with us here and thanks to them for letting me tag along as the one lone male in the crew (except for the night that our good buddy mike srba joined us).  after a few days of estrogen flying i headed to the fantastic town of san sebastian on the coast while laurel and the ladies tore up mallorca.  san sebastian ranks up there in top small towns anywhere in the world (others on the list: noosa australia, san pedro chile, ubud bali).  three picturesque beaches, one great left breaking surf beach, hundreds of creative pintxos bars (small tapas served on bread), a 10km running esplanade connecting all 3 beaches, and fabulously antique architecture throughout the town and no ill-suited condo developments.  this was the perfect spain 101.

san sebastian

pintxos