Paris- February 25- March 4

We only had a week in Paris and it went far to quick.  Our condo was a 10 minute walk to the Eiffel tower so you can imagine we spent a lot of time just walking to the park and admiring the beautiful structure.  One day during the week we made the trek out to Versailles to see the Palace of Versailles.  We spent the cold day exploring the Palace along with the Grand and Petite Trianon and the Queens Hamlet.  Every time I come to this estate I always leave wishing I was a princess, however knowing the ultimate fate of Marie Antoinette changes my mind.   One of our days in Paris we spent the whole day just exploring museums from the Louvre to the Orangerie which houses Monet's Waterlilies.  It was amazing to be standing along side the works of such great artists.  We spent the rest of our days at cafes sipping cappuccinos and eating eclairs and croissants, we had a wonderful time.

Versailles Chapel

The Queens Hamlet

The hall of Mirrors

The Queens Quarters

Lock Bridge

Versailles entry way

More of the queen's hamlet

Spain - Feb 11-25

We arrived in Spain to sunshine, warm weather and art.  I greatly enjoyed this city.  Adam and I spent the first couple of days exploring the streets around our apartment.  We walked everywhere from the beach to Gaudi’s beautiful La Sagrada Familia cathedral to the shopping district. 

On Saturday our friends Teguise and Tony picked us up to show us true Catalan food and culture. (Teguise was our exchange student 6 or 7 years ago) We started our day with a drive up a hill in the countryside to a restaurant that serves true Catalan food of the season, Calcots and grilled meat.  Adam and I saw a special on Anthony Bourdain about this kind of traditional food before we left.  Calcots are small onions that they grill and then dip in a cheese almond sauce after peeling off the outer shell of charred layers. This dish was followed by grilled lamb, chicken, sausage, and rabbit.  By the time we were done we were stuffed.  Tony and Teguise then took us to see the small suburb they lived in and then up this huge hill to see a view of the city.  We had an amazing day with great friend and amazing food.

On Sunday we attended La Laia festival in the city.  We watched the parade of Giants and the local spaniards build human towers with a little 5-7 year old on the top.  It was crazy. The last two days we spent our time observing the works of Gaudi from the La Sagrada Familia and to his park.  We felt blessed to be able to see these amazing works created by Gaudi inspired by the nature that God created.

Calcots

Our Friends Teguise and Tony

The Giants at the Festival

Human Towers at the festival

Casa Batllo

Casa Mila

La Sagrada Familia

Parc Guell

Italy Feb 1-10

We arrived in Rome at the start of our Italy trip and did a whirl wind tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican museum, the Sistine chapel, the Roman forum, Palatine Hill and the Colosseum.  We ate pizza and pasta every night and gelato about two to three times a day.  Our health meter was not great and when we arrived in Florence it became evident.

When we got to Florence both Adam and I fell sick so our time spent in Florence was not crazy active.  We saw Michelangelo’s David along with a couple art museums filled with frescos.  We spend a day going to the Cinque Terra, which is a set of villages along the sea that are only reached by hiking in-between or train.  We were disappointed to find that the hiking trails were closed due to major flooding that occurred during the winter in all the cities but we took the train and fully enjoyed these quaint little towns admits the afternoon snow.  On the way home we stopped at Pisa just as it started getting dark.

St. Peters Basilica

St. Peters Square

The outside of the Basilica

Inside of the Basilica

The Roman Forum

The colosseum

Trevi Fountain

Cinque Terra

Pisa

Florence

The Duomo in Florence

Michelangelo's Pieta at the Vatican