Embarkment.

About to take off on a trip that will soon be the longest one of my life. 4 months, 2 bags, 1 kid.

After two long flights and a lot of sleeping, I'm finally here! It's just about as hot and sticky as I had imagined - maybe even more so. Luckily, I got one of the rooms here that's blue so it at least reminds me of home.

Well, here goes anything!

Antoni Gaudi.

Seeing as I'm going to school to get my Masters in Architecture, I love buildings. And I love history. And even more, I LOVE Antoni Gaudi. Thanks to Wikipedia I learned that he was born in 1852 - for the time, this man had nailed the art of modernism. His work can be described as an eclectic mix of Arabic architecture that came crashing full throttle into an underwater themed gingerbread world. If that makes any sense.. which I'm sure it does! On an extremely long excursion by myself I trekked all over Barcelona finding works of Gaudi - in total I got to see six: La Segrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Mila, El Palau Guell, Casa Battlo, and last but not least, Casa Calvert. This post is dedicated to the latter three - and in no way can portray the grandeur of his works. 

the entrance. 

the Guell house... the most extravagant home I've ever seen!

the living room.. I just couldn't get over this place.

And Now... Casa Batllo!

colloquially known as  the house of bones.

my audio guide pondered as to whether this ceiling accent was the ripple of water from a pebble thrown into a pond or if it was actually Gaudi experimenting with his sexuality... I'm hoping it was the pebble theory, it suits the house better. 

the roof - most of Gaudi's materials were recycled ceramics!

exploring barcelona.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and honestly no more words are needed for these pictures. 

La Boqueria, Barcelona.

Took a quick trip over to Spain and I couldn't have wished for more! I stayed in Sants Estacio - a much less touristy area of Barcelona - and had breakfast every day in The Broken Heart Cafe. To tell you the truth I can't quite remember the name but it was something along the lines of Heart and macabre. In a day trip to Catalunya - the public transportation there was amazinggg - I happened upon La Boqueria, a bazaar dedicated solely to food. My kind of bazaar. There was everything from fresh squeezed juices to goats heads. it was, to say the least, a very cultural experience and a place you could REALLY get lost in.

fruit gummies in EVERY flavor - the colors in the market were fabulous. 

you could break a tooth on these chocolates...

as much as this grosses me out, I just had to share! you're here for the experience.. ;)

door to the other side.

The one thing that seems to make me happier than anything else in the world is travel. If I could do nothing else in life, it would have to be just that. I love visiting ruins all over the world and having a window into someone else's way of life. Soon I'm starting on an adventure that I couldn't even have dreamed possible. 10 countries in 12 months. And what better way to start a journey than to take others with you? Welcome to my adventure.