Go Ahead and Mosaic me, Barcelona

This was most likely our last big trip before we leave Europe. We tried our best but still didn't make it to all of the places we wanted. We planned on 3 years here but were cut a little short. I'm not going to lie, I'm tired of traveling. It is something that I've always known I wanted to do and always dreamed of. I'm not quitting or anything, but taking a small break will be nice. There will still be weekend trips and planning for future vacations (which takes a significant amount of work) and that will keep me satisfied for a while.
So, on to Spain. I really wanted to see Barcelona because mosaics are my favorite medium of art and thanks to Gaudi, this city has mosaics. I also love color and the beach and pottery and I really, really wanted to see a Flamenco show. We stayed at the Barcelo Sants hotel which is situated on top of the train and metro station. I highly recommend it because if you want to see all the sights, you're going to have to get on a bus or the metro. We did 2 days of the on/off tourist bus, then metro'd it up. It was really easy to get around but it is a big city so be prepared to walk a lot.
We had a great time and I was able to see and do everything I wanted. I hate to admit this, but Barcelona wasn't my favorite city. I have nothing to complain about it, but both of us prefer France and Italy over Spain. I can't describe why, I just do. Beautiful people and place nonetheless.

Oh, the colors!

Beach in Barcoloneta. Corey had a hard time keeping his eyes to himself. There are a lot of topless sun bathers.

I want this in my house.

I loved their cathedral. It is the most unique I've seen so far.

No building in Europe is complete without scaffolding.

Inside the cathedral.

Front? Not sure.

Random building.

The pottery. This is what I want my kitchen to look like!

Gaudi's Casa Battlo.

Backside of Casa Battlo.

Did I mention that I love mosaics? 

Guell Park, Barcelona.

Guell Park. More mosaics.

Gate in Guell Park.

View of Barcelona from Guell Park.

Gaudi's famous mosaic bench at Guell Park.

Flowers in Guell Park.

Mosaic wall, Guell Park

Guell Park

I'm not sure why this is in English?

MNAC Palace.

Barcelona butt crack.

From the palace overlooking Barcelona. Not sure why, but I'm forgetting how to smile without looking like an idiot.

Building in Poble Espanyol, Barcelona.

Spanish details.

My favorite door from the trip. 

Corey loves cows.

Mosaic chair.

Pottery store in the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia, Corey and scaffolding.

Sagrada Familia

A building that I liked.

Salzburg, Austria

My sweet, adorable husband bought me tickets to the Salzburg Festival for my birthday and planned the whole fun-filled weekend for us. Then he had to go on a work trip that weekend so I took my girl friend whose birthday was the day after mine. It worked out well but I was sad that Corey didn't get to go.
We went to 2 concerts, toured 2 castles, ate at beautiful restaurants and enjoyed being the youngest people in the city. Turns out Salzburg is what you might call a retirement village. It's the Florida of Europe. Luckily I like old people things so we had a great time!

Werfen, Austria in front of the Burg Hohenwerfen.

Austrian Alps

Inside the castle

Hellbrun Palace outside of Salzburg.

Lovely place to dine.

Fountains at Hellbrun.

The unicorn compelled me.

We drove home and stopped at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. It was horrible and so sad of course, but I'm glad I made it out there. I would like to see a few more before we leave Germany so more to come. 

Bruges, Belgium

I love smaller cities so if you do too, go to Bruges. It is adorable, easy to navigate, quaint, full of deliciousness and overall enchanting. This city is old and was untouched during both World Wars so it retains all of its medieval charm.
I ate my weight in chocolate and waffles and didn't regret it for a second. If you wash it down with enough beer, you'll poop it all out the next day anyway.

Look at that little golfer! 

Mmmmm...the beer.

Your car must match your front door. Just kidding. But I think that's a great idea.

Unusual car to see in Europe.

Window details.

There is a canal around the city.

I love the buildings.

Could this be anymore adorable? No.

Little Tea Rooms everywhere.

Street view.

Boat rides on the canal.

Clogs.

Venice & How soon can you have your bags packed for Milan?

We celebrated our 4th anniversary in Venice. Italy is my new favorite place and our latest dream for a vacation home. We're dreamers so it's nothing serious. Why I love Italy:
The food
The accents
The wine
The buildings
The laid back culture
The water
Venice was so incredibly beautiful and such a crazy maze and pretty unbelievable. You can't stop taking pictures because every canal and alley is so unique and perfect. If you go to Venice here are my recommendations:
Stay in a hotel as close to the train station as possible
Don't bring a roller suitcase if you have to walk a ways
Prepare to get lost (good shoes, comfortable clothes, water, etc)
See a Vivaldi concert
Do the Venice Urban Adventures Chiccheti Tour

I want turquoise rolladens

Flower boxes everywhere

So many canals

I can't remember what building this is...

Seriously, I can't take the cuteness!

Heads up, gondola rides are a set price and they are 80 euro during the day

The Grand Canal

My favorite windows of all time

The bridges are steps, there are a lot of bridges, don't bring a roller suitcase

San Marco's Square

A heart in Venice

I was going to take a lot of door pictures, but this is the only one I got

Oh hi, I just live on a beautiful canal

Dressed up for Vivaldi! It's really not that classy but when in Venice...

A stop on the chiccheti tour

We left Venice and drove to Milan to see cousin Doug. We shopped at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the oldest mall in the world, saw the Duomo then wined and dined the rest of the night with Doug (at Naboccu and I highly recommend it). I bought the world's cutest italian leather gloves and decided I'd rather be able to afford another trip back to Italy than buy anything else in Milan. Not cheap.

The Duomo

Shopping Mall

Frousins! (stolen copyright from Stefanie Farnsworth)