City mouse, Country mouse

The first two days were spent in Barcelona proper, gallivanting about by foot and via bicycle with Colin, Elena, and Sarah.  We ogled mimes, ate tapas, tried to bike up San Francisco-esque hills on Dutch cruiser bikes, failed miserably and flew downhill past Gaudi's stunning La Sagrada Familia.   After a delicious dinner of Tortilla de Potata, jamon and enslada de la casa bopped around until daylight.  We then woke up (somewhat) begrudgingly bright and early, grabbed a tiny coffee and hightailed it to the mountains with pastries in tow.

Needless to say, we wouldn't have found the hills of Montserrat without the guidance of Sarah Lade, who lives nearby, so THANK YOU SARAH!

 Cheese

Siesta

After a stunningly beautiful train ride through the country with the backdrop of the Pyrenees guiding the way, I arrived from Paris to Barcelona safe and sound, minus a toothbrush and a pair of contacts.  In the words of my grandmother KayKay, "They always say" when you leave something behind it means you want to return.  This is 100% true (Paris, we will meet again soon).

Barcelona!

I arrived at 3 pm, right in the middle of Siesta.  An hour and a half later (my phone call clearly interrupting the landlord's nap), I got keys to the apartment.  A week in Spain had officially begun.

My little corner of the world (with a little help from my friends)

Paris pictures 2

 Fondue = Friends

 Le Petit Panda

 Serge Gainsbourg

Again, credit to the good half of these to Molly

Paris Pictures 1

A good half of these are courtesy of Molly Conant and her amazing camera. 

Paris is the place for me....

Paris is wonderful.  We got quite lucky towards the end of the week with the first hints of Spring causing bulbs to come up, shrubs to leaf out, and a Magnolia or two to actually flower.  At the Jardin des Plantes there were even rows of Poppies flowering out! 

Molly is an excellent traveling companion and we made the most of our stay.  The Rodin Museum was pretty excellent-  though I was slightly disappointed to find out that "The Thinker" in Paris is the original, NOT in Philadelphia like I thought.  The Musee D'Orsay had an incredible collection of Impressionist paintings, and I realized that I actually kind of like pastels.  What else?  Hanging out in the Pompidou with all the art school kids, fun street art, crepetastic sweets, wine cheaper than water, and of course, CHEESE!  Paris also gets bonus points for being really easy to get around. 

Sitting in the Amelie Cafe right this very moment

Gooooooood morning from Paris!  I write this as I eat a croissant in the Amelie Cafe, sitting across from Molly!  Our apartment is actually a half a block from this adorable little spot, and it is fortunately one of the few places other than McDonald's that has internet.  Why have we not come here yet?

It has been a fantastic few days, though the first hours in Paris were a little frantic.  Molly and I couldn't find each other, the elevator was broken in our subway that was 5 stories underground, and I was pickpocketed.  Good news is that we found each other and after I threatened the pickpocket's manhood he gave me back my ipod.

We have had a blast just walking around.  It is hard not to, with all of the incredible beauty everywhere!  Highlights include Versailles, seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, getting lost in the Louvre, and of course, the abundance of cafes everywhere, beckoning us to sit and have a glass of wine and take it all in. 

Montmarte

Looking out our window

That is the Eiffel Tower over Molly's shoulder

In a NEAT curiosity shop

Versailles.  No big deal.

I Louvre Paris aahaha