I can’t lie and act like I wrote this post back in early September when we had just returned from Spain. It’s January 18th and I met a new friend at the climbing gym a month or two ago who was in the process of planning a trip to Spain and it gave me a fresh spark of motivation to edit the next batch of Spain photos and share them with you. Life’s a funny thing that way. It’s also 50 degrees in the mornings here in Vegas and it’s comforting to reminisce about how hot and sweaty it was in Spain. It’s tricking my brain into feeling some warmth in my core. So Madrid Madrid Madrid… beautiful Madrid. I think we left off with Sam spraining her ankle on our way out of the AirBnb in Barcelona. haha. We had to catch a taxi spur of the moment to get to the train station in time after trying to assess if Sam broke her foot or just sprained it. Many mental prayers were made to please let it be just a sprain, and please let the rest of the trip not make her ankle worse. We felt SO BAD! Sam was such a champ and insisted the show go on.. I still don’t know how she did it!
So I like to think of Madrid as being like DC and Barcelona being like LA. One having suit & tie political-esque types, and the other more coastal laid back types. Both having really awesome reasons to visit, just different scenes. The first day we set out to explore Retiro Park and the The Prado Museum. The park was massive and took up majority of the day, but had zero restrooms (why do I even remember that part?), probably because there were moments we had the thought to just pee on some of the many bushes, but we also didn’t know the repercussions of public nudity even when in a urinary emergency. haha. Nonetheless, such a BEAUTIFUL DAY!! Take a look.
All ready to be tourists;)
We strolled by this vibrant bush with pink flowers all over and had a mini photo-shoot in front of it. Aren’t my friends beautiful?
Montana has this ability to always have the cutest most effortless looking hair style.
And Court has this ability to think she doesn’t know how to look good in photos, but even when she’s trying to mock herself, she’s the most photogenic in the group.
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The entry to Retiro Park.
All I want to know is how long it takes to groom and shape all these bushes? How often do they trim things up? And how much do they make?
Can you see the little kitty peaking its head out?
It was hard getting a picture with all 4 of us in it that wasn’t a selfie situation. So we kept trading off who photographed. Everywhere we turned in Retiro Park had these amazing tree archways that kept reminding me of the one street in my college town that had trees touching at the tops as they leaned into the street. I’d re-route my commute to school just so I could drive under them.
Inside the park was The Glass Palace. Basically a building made up of glass walls and ceiling with colored glass installations hanging inside. It was breathtaking! Surrounded by all this greenery it stood as its own art piece, yet you could still see right through it like it was a purposeful collaboration with nature.
I love every shot of Sam from this whole trip. Always a mystery in a poetic way. haha
See what I mean? hahah
After we left the park we headed downtown to find what we thought was a flea market. Ended up being a lot of just roaming and not marketing. We enjoyed observing the architecture and how different it was from Barcelona. A lot more whites, creams and more prestigious feeling buildings.
I also feel like that balcony with the foliage is what actual heaven will be like.
The roaming around allowed us to come across OVEN, a restaurant with amazing decor and even better pizza.
Naturally we all got different pizzas so we could try each others.
I’m so extremely mad at myself for not taking more pictures in the bathroom at OVEN.
It. was. magical.
This is the only shot we got in the bathroom. You guys, there was GOLD GROUT with black tile inside the bathroom stalls. Plus anytime there’s a neon sign where you pee, its a good time.
Before we headed home for the day to ice Sams foot we saw this “REFUGEES WELCOME” banner on one of there political buildings. It made me happy.
When we were in the middle of the longgg flight home to the US we were all going around asking each other what our favorite day was, and though we LOVE touring the museums and churches, we all decided the last day in Barcelona was probably our overall favorite. Why? Well first off, it was the first day we got to sleep in, so there’s that. Secondly, it was a day spent roaming around and having zero set plans, and because of that we spontaneously came upon some awesome stuff! Days like these make you feel more so like you’re living there instead of touristing there, and that’s truly the most authentic version of travel. Well, at least according to me;)
You try carrying a rug around Barcelona and tell me how graceful you look! It ain’t easy!
Later that day we went to a burrito joint that had such a great atmosphere and I wanted to document it so I can remember the feelings I had there. Also it had great music playing, Sam can back me up on that.
There was a bird of paradise planted in the middle of the bench (which also could be opened up to store things). Some future plant installment inspiration.
In the same neighborhood as the burrito place was this pop-up market. Which was perfect for more local market shopping we wanted to do. I think we all walked away with things we loved from here!
Im always so fascinated by the old (like really old) mixed with the new in Europe. Like a cathedral from the 1700s next to a square where all the 20-somethings hangout. It’s beautiful.
At sunset we walked down to the pier to see the actual coast. We had been feeling the humidity associated with the nearby water for 3 days now, so it was nice to finally see the reason my 
The pier is at the end of La Rambla, which is where the terrorist attack happened the day we arrived. We had avoided the area (for obvious reasons) but kept feeling like we needed to go see the memorial that was set up.
The crowd was overwhelming, yet heart wrenching. Its hard to explain my real thoughts on the experience, but it was really powerful to be in the exact location of a terrorist attack. Definitely once in a life time feeling that in hindsight I’m grateful to have been apart of, but hope never has to happen again. I prayed very hard that our fellow travelers & their families as well as the Barcelona locals who were affected by this found comfort as quickly as possible. It helped me gain a new understanding of mourn with those who mourn.
To end this last day in Barceloma we went to a punk concert somewhere in the streets. We didn’t last long because the dense second hand smoke was gross (we’re such light weights haha) We still loved the moments of head banging before we walked back to our Airbnb. Speaking of the walk back, saw a dude pee in the streets on the walk back. I wish that was the only time we saw that this trip… but it painfully wasn’t. haha
The first full day in Barcelona we covered A LOT of terrain, so I had to split the photos into two posts. It felt wrong making Sagrada Familia & Park Güell share a post. It’s like having the Mona Lisa and The Starry Night share one frame… just wrong. haha Park Güell is probably the most iconic image you have in your head when coming to Barcelona, and for a color & pattern addict like myself, I was really looking forward to it! It took less than 5 minutes for me to get yelled at by security upon arriving at Park Güell because I stood on the bench to get a better view. Its kinda scary getting yelled at in another language. haha All in all the tile mosaic covering ALL surfaces was a huge highlight for me. I wish we could have had it all to ourselves because it felt like we had to wait in a line to just sit on the bench, then again, half of it was under maintenance or something, so i’ll blame it on that.
This is my favorite photo maybe ever.
Do you guys know 
The entire park was built in what felt like a tropical mountain garden. Its hard to explain even with photos, but I’ve never seen anything like it. Upstairs was an exotic Jurassic park island and downstairs was skeletal rock formations that look organic, but also completely man made.
Here’s the beginning of Casa Mila. I didn’t take many photos of the inside (don’t get me wrong it was super cool) but the roof was really awesome.
One of many photos of Sam being contemplative looking off in the distance.
That’s a wrap on our first full day in Barcelona! We weren’t sure how’d we like the all day tour thing, especially since it was such a tight schedule, but I’d highly recommend doing these if you only have a weeks time to visit (and learn) about a portion of a country. We found it really beneficial and a time saver in the long haul. It was also cheaper after we added up all the entry fees, travel expenses, etc. We used the 
The group in front of Sagrada Familia. Left to right: Taylor, Montana, Me, Sam, & Courtney
The artist/architect Antoni Gaudi started building 131 years ago. As you can see its still in the process of being built, and is said to be completed sometime around 2026 – 2028. Within our lifetime!
The lighting inside is so hard to capture fully, but just know its felt supernatural and breathtaking.
Gaudi obviously passed away before it could be completed, and the architect plans of the rest of the building had been lost in a fire, so modern day architects and historians have collaborated to complete what they feel Gaudi’s vision was for Sagrada Familia.
This brings us to the Gothic Quarter, also known as the oldest part of Barcelona. This includes the remains of the city’s Roman wall and several notable medieval landmarks, but most of the area dates back to the 18th and 19th century.
This is the remains of the Roman Temple.
Other things in the area. Really unique shops;) hahaha
This made me really miss Tim and Shadow.
And of course some neon envy.
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