Barcelona

Barcelona was an AMAZING city to visit.  We took an overnight bus from Marseille to Barcelona and arrived at 5:30am.  After exploring the streets, checking out the local market, and taking a nice nap in the park by the water it was time to meet up with the owners of our apartment rental.  The apartments have little balconies that are loaded with plants and laundry hanging out to dry.  The streets were bustling.  I love the narrow streets around every corner.  It is so much fun to get lost and explore.  Local artists set up around every corner selling their goods.  We were in the heart of the city and it was the La Marce celebration.  This festival is held in honor of Mare de Deu de la Marce, the Partron Saint of Barcelona.  There was live music, parades, marching bands, light show, human pyramid competition, and more.  The city was so alive and energetic.  They all come together to celebrate and be part of this annual tradition.  We would sit on steps of a park and watch marching bands compete with their friends and family walking behind them dancing in the streets.  We found this great bar that you can get liters of Sangria to take away.  It was delicous and so fun to just walk to the streets.  Everyone was so happy.

The food in Barcelona is out of this world.  Tapas and Paella were the food of choice.  Delicious.  We went to an amazing Tapas place on our last night.  Barcelona is such a spectacular place to visit.  I am definately coming back to explore more of Spain.  

Paris and Marseille

I have not forgotten about you all.  I have been having way too much fun, if that is even possible exploring Paris and Marseille to the wee hours of the morning.  :)  Our remaining time in Paris was lovely.  Paris is like walking through a paining.  The buildings surrounding you are  incredible.  Anita and I spent our last two days exploring.  We stopped at the Louvre, walked through St. Germain, sipped Champagne at a lovely cafe, ate delicious pastries (Kouing Aman's & French Macaroons), checked out the french opera house, Notre Dame, ate delicous Onion Gratin at a lovely cafe near Hotel Deville, and then running to the our train with a few minutes to spare.  Our train ride was a blast, we sipped on wine, listened to music, and some drunk pariasn tried to pick a fight with Kian.  :)  

Marseille is quite different than Paris.  When taking the cab from the train station to the hotel it looked quite sketchy, though during the day it was not so bad.  The hotel was right on the harbor, but there was so much construction you could not really enjoy the view unless you were up high. Oh well.  Anita and I took a bus to a the town of Cassis.  It is a lovely coastal town on the French Riveria.  Turquoise water, high cliffs, marina, and shops and restaurants along the sidewalk.  First order of business, go by the water and take a little nap in the sun.  While l I took a nap, Anita did some Yoga.  After relaxing a bit we walked out and grabbed a bite to eat.  Anita got some Mouseles and Frittes and I opted for some pizza.  She squeezed what she thought was lemon on her Mussels.  She was even amazed that there was something in the lemon packet because it was so hard.  She looks at it and realizes that there are bubbles forming.  She smells and tastes it and realizes it is a hand towelette.  :) It was so funny, but I am sure you could appreciate it more if you were there.  After lunch I stopped for some Ice Cream.  The ladies in front of me were speaking english so I asked them where they were traveling from, they said "Minnesota".  So I chatted with these lovely women.  The highlight for me that evening was when we decided to head out around 11:30pm and while coming to a square with music and tons of couple dancing the Tango.  Some would switch partners, but it was so beautiful to watch.  Stuff like this truley does exist outside of the movies.  :)  The following day Anita and I did some more exploring of the town.  We decided to have dessert for dinner which consisted of Nutella Crepes with Whipped Cream, Chocolate Sauce, and Ice Cream.  Delish.  We hopped on a bus for our next destination - Barcelona.  I will update later.  

J'adore Paris

A friend told me before I left that if I fall in love with Paris, then Paris will love me back.  I can say that it was love at first sight.  After a whirlwind trip to get to Paris we made out way to Champs-Elysées.  We were lucky to stay at a fantastic hotel on one of the the most famous streets in the world.   Due to our hotel room not being ready we stopped at one of the many cafes for lunch and then walked a mile or so to view the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe is a beautiful structure located at the end of the Champs-Elysées, in the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle.  After getting some much needed rest and shower our Kian aka Tour Guide had our afternoon/evening planned for us.  We hopped on the metro and we were off.  Anita and I had no clue where we were heading we were just guided on one train to another.  We got off on our first stop.  Kian guides us out of the metro, down the street, and presents us with a magnificent site, The Eifel Tower.   I am not going to lie, Anita and I did get teary eyed.   We have all seen the Eifel Tower on t.v. or movies, but when you see it first hand it is so spectacular.  Once we glimpsed our eyes on the tower we went to a local market and picked up some bread, cheese, fruit, and a bottle of wine.  We sat at a lovely park, had a fantastic picnic, and admired the Eifel Towers beauty.  

We decided to go up to the top of the tower.  There you get incredible views of the city.  We got up there for the sunset, which was so beautiful on such a clear day.

Once we got back down to solid ground our tour guide took us above the city to the Butte Montmarte where The Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) and a charming square of outdoor cafes and artists painting.  You also get a great view of the Eifel Towerl lit up.  The Bascilica is absolutely stunning.  After visiting the Bascilla we sat at an outdoor cafe, watched street performers, and people watched.   We all had a sweet tooth and decided that Gelato and a Nutella/Bannana Crepe would be perfect.  I highly recommend visiting this area if you are ever in Paris.  It is such a cute and quaint square.   

There was no stopping there. Kian got us back on the train and we headed to our final stop Moulin Rouge.

  There were so many people lined up late to go see a show.  Unfortunately we did not have tickets, but Anita was thrilled to see a candy stand right across the street to satisfy that sweet tooth.  :)  We contemplated headed to another location, but seeing that it was midnight and we really had no sleep that past 24 hours it was time to head back.     I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.  For those visiting Paris get some tips from Kian or just travel with him.  He is a fantastic tour guide and we would have not seen as much as we did without him.  

LONDON - Day 1 & 2

London was fantastic.  On pretty much 11 hours of sleep in the past two days we were able to cover a lot of ground in such a short period of time.

Day 1 

As soon as we were able to get into London we dropped our luggage off at a friends hotel and hit the town.  We walked, and walked, and walked.  We weaved in and out of the side streets, wandered through Kensington Park, made our way to Buckingham Palace, checked out Big Ben, wandered the grounds of Westminster Abbey, and ended the evening with  wonderful dinner with Kian's cousin & family.  When my head hit the pillow I was out. 

Day 2

Back to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards.  Although we were a little late to see the guards and band arrive, we were able to see them leave.  :)  There were so many people.  Crazy busy, but very cool to see vs. on T.V.  While making our way to explore some more we ran into Prince Charles the Pelican.  It's not everday that when walking along the walking path and enjoying the views you come across a massive, beautiful Pelican.  He was so cute.  Alot cuter than the actually Prince Charles.  :)  We continued to weave through the side streets and ended at the Camden market. I have never been to a market with so much funk.  It was fantatic and nice to do something so different. After the days events we went back to Kian's cousins house for a nap and delicious Persian Meal.  They were fantastic hosts.  Once we left their house our crazy night began.  I thought it would be cool to experience London at night and see these amazing structures all lit up at night.  In case you didn't know, London on Sunday evening is pretty quiet.  Pubs close early, trains don't run that late, and really nothing is open.  We walked along the river, checked out the London Eye, Big Ben, the London Tower Bridge, and Tower of London.  This all started around midnight.  The highlight of the evening was the London Tower Bridge.  The bridge is so beautiful.  I would say this was my favorite place we visited.  We went at the best time and there was no one there other than us and a few workers taking down the olympics sign.  

It was a fun filled two days in London.  We caught a bus for the airport at 3:45am to catch our plane to Paris.  We are still working on no sleep.  I will fill  you in on my Paris experience soon.

To be continued.......

Krista Joon

I'm back.

I have been wanting to get back to blogging and now I am finally back.  I am ready to embark on an amazing adventure and want to share it with those who are interested.   My travels will take me to Europe.  I won't be traveling alone, I will be joined by fantastic company, Kian and Anita.  :)  The journey starts Friday, September 14th.  We will be meeting in London, then off to Paris, Marseille, Barcelona, Cinque Terre, Florence/Tuscany, and then I depart for home from Geneva, Switzerland.  I will be gone a total of two weeks and I can't wait.  I hope you will join me on my adventure. 

Hugs and Love,
Krista