The Dolomites

September 24th is Barcelona's huge holiday called La Merce. For a full week, the city turns into one large fiesta, with multiple music stages, parades, fireworks, wine tastings, food trucks and more! Since we have been here for La Merce and participated in it's happenings before, we took advantage of the four day weekend we had, and went to the infamous Dolomites.

The combination of seeking cooler Fall weather and longing for more outdoor adventure and natural beauty led us to the Italian Alps. We have spent a good amount of time in some other parts of Italy, but we had no idea that the north actually feels much more like Germany than Italy. In fact, it was Germany until after World War I. So while we expected a long weekend of eating pizza and pasta, we actually found biergartens and knodel. No complaints from us!

We couchsurfed with a great host who was from the town we stayed in, Bolzano. Each evening he helped us pick out a new hike for the next day, showed us the maps, gave us his extra mittens and gloves, and sent us on our way in the morning. He was extremely helpful and truly shaped our weekend into an incredibly memorable time.

The views on our hikes in the Dolomites were breathtaking. We could not get enough!  It was deeply refreshing to breathe mountain air every day and eat Alpine food in mountain huts prepared slowly by local German-Italians.

We hiked to a farmers house that serves all their own food, wine, etc. They spoke no English, but their food tasted great!

 In Bolzano, we also enjoyed the old town, the surrounding vineyards, castles, and apple trees! Just before we left, we were able to take the train to Verona and spend the evening there before heading to the airport. We saw some locals dancing in front of the Colosseum and finally got our Italian pizza.

Coffee in the castle courtyard

Wine makers offering to taste their grapes

Our quick stop in Verona

All in all it was a perfect weekend full of gorgeous views, lots of exercise, perfect weather, and delicious food!

Weekend in Lleida

Just after returning to school this Fall, we had a long weekend due to a holiday. Coming off of a summer of lots of travel, a trip to Greece, and hosting a visitor, we were not up for venturing too far away from home. We took advantage of the day off by visiting a part of our region that we had not yet seen. The Lleida area is full of beautiful landscapes, as it contains small villages, varying textures in the countryside, lakes, and the Pyrenees mountain range. We stayed in a casa rural that had a fireplace, bbq, and pool that was surrounded by sunflowers. We rented a car to be able to see a lot of the variety that the area had to offer, and were so glad we did! We loved the quaint and authentic towns we drove through, and even stumbled upon one town's annual festival. To celebrate, they held a miniature bull fighting event. The fight was not actually a fight, as in Catalunya, harming the bulls has been outlawed. Here, while they call it a bullfight, the participants actually just play with the bulls without hurting them.

The mountains around us were stunning, and we frequently pulled the car over to get out and walk a bit of a trail, take in a view, and then keep driving. We loved starting the year with some time in our own region, getting to know more of the land and people around us. We fell even more in love with Catalunya, and I think it is easy to see why!

Starting the Year With a Visitor

We love having visitors in Barcelona, and have so enjoyed those that have come throughout the last few years. This year, we were fortunate enough to have a visitor right when we returned from Greece. We moved back into our apartment, and the next day, one my best friends from high school, Elana came to stay with us! It was a great way to transition back into our life here, as we were able to right away show someone all the things we love about the city. We took an overnight trip to the Costa Brava and stayed in an adorable wooden bungalow with a view of the water. It was so much fun living life side-by-side with Elana for a few days, just like old times, but as adults!

At our favorite underground cafe, Caelum.

One of our favorite craft beer places by the beach.

Morning coffee before heading to the coast

Hello from inside our bungalow!

Cafe by the pool in the morning

Taking some time to relax

Remember, our door is always open to anyone who wants to come! We would love to see you!

Big Fat Greek Vacation

There are many places in the world that we would love to visit, but the timing is never quite right. We have opportunities to travel throughout the year, but many of our top places to visit depend on the weather in order to be able experience them fully. While we frequently enjoy the perks of off-season travel (cheaper prices, more availability, less crowds), there are some places that you can't even get to if not during the peak season! One of those places is Greece. At some point, the islands actually "close", all the tourism comes to a halt until the days get longer and the temperatures rise again. We have wanted to visit Greece for years, but finally, we were able to carve out a week of time on our way from the US back to Spain.

Our dream Greek vacation started with a bit of a hiccup... we landed on the island of Paros, after losing track of how many hours we had been traveling and how long it had been since we slept. We didn't even care, as we planned to arrive, have a dinner with a beautiful view, dip in the hot top, and sleep off the jetlag. But things did not quite go as planned. After taking a shuttle to our hotel, we arrived and were told that we had no booking. Of course, I had a confirmation number and could show the hotel the email, but they were confident that the agent we had booked through did not book us at their hotel. Thankfully, they allowed us to use their hotel phone.... and for the next seven hours, I was on the phone, on hold, on the phone, crying, re-dialing, so and so forth.... There were times it was pretty hopeless and we were not sure that we would have anyplace to stay, as it was high season on the island, and every place we attempted to re-book was full! Thankfully, when the hotel lobby was closing and they were kicking us out (we were using their phone), we found one hotel that had one space. We took a taxi there, and booked the only room available. It was quite a nightmare... but thankfully, we ended up with a place to stay, got a full night of rest, and were more than ready to relax on the island the next day.

Smallest plane we have ever been on.

..and smallest airport we've ever flown into!

At least this was the view during the many hours on the phone.

Devin snapped this at the beginning of it all...

After the initial drama, the rest of our trip was truly bliss. In Paros, each day started with a large breakfast buffet (with real, life-changing Greek yogurt), followed by pool time, exploring the island by ATV, checking out different beaches, and choosing between the countless adorable garden restaurants for dinner.

After four days there, we took the ferry to Santorini, as we had to see the most "iconic" Greek island. HOLY COW, it did not disappoint! The entire time we were in Santorini we had to pinch ourselves, as the views on the island seem too perfect to be true. Santorini is known for having some of the best sunsets in the world. Two hours before sunset, people from all over the island flock to the side where the sunset can be viewed. One night, we joined the pack, sat on the edge of the castle, and waited for the show. Another night, we took a 5 hour sunset cruise, allowing us a real front row seat for the sunset!

A week in Greece was a perfect way to reconnect after a summer of lots of time apart from each other, and the perfect way to relax before heading into another busy school year. We would love to go back and explore the diversity of the islands and the depth of the history of this incredible country!