Our Favorites - Barcelona

We were in Barcelona for four nights and loved every minute.  Barcelona has a lot of old world charm mixed with modern art and a fun energy.  Here are some of our favorites:

To Explore:

One of the top things we were told to do was wander down Las Ramblas, the main tourist street in town.  We thought Las Ramblas was a little too crazy and touristy, and really preferred wandering the streets alleys of the Gothic Quarter, where there's a new shop around every corner, as well as the beachfront in Barceloneta.  The Gothic Quarter and Barceloneta also have much better food options.

To eat:

Passagis de Pep - If you love seafood, this is the place for you.  They don't have a menu, and instead serve you whatever they found fresh in the markets that day.  We had amazing clams, squid, black rice, lobster tail, sea snails, and our new favorite, padron peppers.  The meal also started with complimentary pan con tomates and a bottle of cava, two staples in Barcelona.  Make sure to look up the address before you go, there isn't a sign outside and we circled the block about four times before we found it.

Tapas 24 - The head chef is a disciple of one of the best chefs in the world, Ferran Adria.  We tried some traditional tapas, but where they really shined was in their specials.  Order the truffle braised oxtail sandwich.  Yes, it's just as good as it sounds.  It was pretty hectic and noisy inside, so try to get a table outside if you can.  

To see:

Gaudi - The must-see architecture in Barcelona is all by Antoni Gaudi, who I'm pretty sure was the inspiration for Dr. Seuss.  Even if you aren't that into architecture, his stuff is pretty cool to see.  We really enjoyed Parc Guell as well as La Sagrada Familia.

Montjuic - Not only is this where we got engaged, it's also where the 1992 Olympics were held.  It's an easy hike up to the Olympic Stadium, and you can actually go swimming in the pool, which has an amazing view of the city.  We also really liked the Magic Fountains at the foot of Montjuic.




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Internets, I've been holding out on you...

Our trip abroad was amazing.  Having never been overseas before, it was fantastic to be able to experience other cultures and meet so many new people.

On the plane getting ready for the flight

After arriving in Barcelona super jet-lagged (the boyfriend didn't sleep a wink on the plane!), we decided getting a little exercise would be a good idea since we were too early to check in to our hotel, so we set off to hike up Montjuic.  Montjuic is a big hill right in the middle of downtown, and is where the '92 Olympics were held.

At the start of our hike, still excited for walking

We first went to see the Olympic pools and the stadium, which the boyfriend was super excited about.

In the Olympic stadium

View of Barcelona

We then headed up to the top of Montjuic where there's a castle and lots of cannons to play with.

The boyfriend kept ducking off into weird corners and into turrets.  I eventually stopped following him into them because I was so tired.  I was just going to snap the picture of him below and move on, but he said I should come down and look at the view out of the window.

When I turned around, he was down on one knee!! I took one look at him with a ring in his hand and my head went a little fuzzy so I missed pretty much everything he said, but I got the gist what he was asking me and said yes.  We're officially engaged!!

This is the ring he proposed with.  My fiance is one smart man, because he proposed with a cubic zirconia ring, so I got all of the surprise, but I still got to pick out the real ring too.

I guess I'm going to have to figure out something new to call him besides Boyfriend now!  In the meantime, my head is still in the clouds and apparently there's this big party I have to plan now, so I think I'm going to take a little break from blogging for the next week or so.  When I come back, I'll have a few more posts from our trip, hopefully a look at the engagement ring we picked out over the weekend, and a whole lot of fall fashion.  Have a fabulous week!!

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Spain and a Giveaway

I looked at the calendar and realized the boyfriend and I leave for our trip to Spain in Morocco in just a month! We've been talking about it for so long, it seemed like the trip would never actually come. We finalized the lineup, and will be making stops in Barcelona, Sevilla, Marrakech, and Casablanca.  I'm getting really excited to eat lots of tapas, see a bullfight, explore the markets of Morocco (& do a bit of shopping!), and hopefully have dinner in an old Moroccan palace.

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Whenever I go on a trip, it seems to be an excuse to go shopping ;) It's probably going to be really hot while we're they're, so I've been stocking up on lightweight tops and dresses as well as some maxi dresses and skirts for Morocco.

On my wishlist:

Dress - F21

If anyone is interested in guest posting while I'm gone, shoot me an email at kristina@kristinadoestheinternets.com

And now a little giveaway through The Darling Prepster.  The items up for grabs are below.  The giveaway will be open until August 3rd at 12 AM PST.  

Caroline from The Caro Diaries is giving away 60 days of ad space!

Jessie from JPerry Fitness is giving away a Shakeology sample, Shakeology Shaker Cup, and Shawn T's Fast & Furious Insanity DVD! 

Kristina from Kristina Does the Internet is giving away $15 Sephora E-Giftcard!

Alicia from River City Chic is giving away a $10 Target Giftcard!

Ashliegh from The Darling Prepster is giving away 1 month of ad space!

a Rafflecopter giveaway







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