Spain - Madrid & Barcelona

----Madrid----

Standing in Plaza Santa Ana with our hotel Reina Victoria in the background.  

Dessert at Cinco Jotas

Entrance to the Prado Museum. 

Side view of the Prado

More Plaza sittin

Tapas and Sangria?  Yes, Please.

We watched this "statue man" scare people for a good half an hour.

Puerto Del Sol

Jamon (Ham) Market.  Thanks, Rick Stevens!

We ate so much ham in Spain.  I am going to need some time before eat ham again.  

Wine Museum

----Barcelona----

Bottle of wine in Plaza Sant Agusti

Sangria on La Ramblas

Most amazing experience on the trip - Sagrada Familia

The audio tour was definitely worth it

The colorful stained glass windows were Christine's favorite part.

It is already a Basilica and UNESCO world heritage site and it isn't even finished.  It was started in 1882 and hopefully will be finished in 2026.  Gaudi at his best.  

Arc de Triomph

Cathedral de Barcelona

We were able to go to the top of the Cathedral and view the city.

The building by the water is a hotel called W.  We went to the top for a drink the night before we left.

The palace is the National Art Museum.  We went on a Thursday and basically had it to ourselves.

The museum is near the Olympic Park.  We walked all around the area.

Listening to the history of the Barcelona Cathedral

Took a port cruise 

It was sunny and relaxing after walking the entire morning.  

Christopher Columbus 

Beach near the W.  Lots of nudity on this beach.

One view from the top of the W.

The W.

Got some paella and pizza both of which are very popular in Spain.

 View from our top floor room in Barcelona.  Not too Shabby :)

Can Culleretes - historic restaurant we at at before we left.  The old lady who took this picture held the camera backwards and accidentally tried to take a picture of her eye.  It was hilarious enough to bridge the language barrier and get a good laugh from everyone.

  

The Netherlands - Zwolle & Amsterdam

Over 12,000 Miles Traveled, 5 hotels Slept In, 3 Countries Visited, and 1 Very Special Wedding Anniversary.  Just a few stats on Christine and my trip to Europe during beginning of October.  I will share the highlights. 

    

-We arrived in Chicago and had to sprint through O'Hare to catch our next flight.  Thanks to the consistency of O'Hare, our flight to Amsterdam was also delayed and we made the flight easily.   

Made it to Schipol Airport and took a train directly to Zwolle. 

Rented bikes with our luggage strapped on by bike tire tubes.    

Beautiful view of the canals in Zwolle's City Center.

Ate a nice meal at the Brusserie in the city center.

We took a bike tour of the city last Saturday and stopped by the college I attended.  Allow yourself a second to try and pronounce the name on the sign....we just called it the GH :)  

 We climbed to the top of the Pepperbus, the Basilica that is the highest building in the city. 

 Sassenpoort

 We took a nice bike ride outside of town. 

 Dutch Traffic Jam.

 Best highlight of our time in the Netherlands was reconnecting with Bernard and Esther and getting to meet and play with their kids.

It was nostalgic and fun to be in Zwolle again, but it was truly special to spend time with friends that I have't seen in 8 years.  A big thank you to the Petter's for their hospitality including the special supper (Gourmet) that they prepared for us on Saturday night!

We spent most of our time in Amsterdam near the Rijksmuseum which is where our hotel was. 

In front of the Rijskmuseum

We took a canal tour and got to see historic Amsterdam and hear about the city's golden age.

Supposedly, you can see seven canals through here.

Our tour guide looked and sounded like Austin Powers goldmember character.

We able to try some delightful Belgian beers.