adventure

Barcelona - the crazy beginning

9:58 AM

Let me tell you a little story. I check airline fares weekly. In Europe there are a few low-fare airlines (like RyanAir and EasyJet) through which European travel becomes beautifully cheap. Of course, you give up selecting your seat, free in-flight drinks and any semblance of leg room but hey, Germany, Italy and everywhere else is less than $100 away.
So my birthday was coming up and I decided to bring some specific flights to Taylor's attention. 
Milan! Copenhagen! Let's just pick a place and go!
"Ok, I guess we can," he said.
So this happy girl went about her normal life thinking a quick trip to Milan would be her birthday gift.

Fast forward two weeks...

We were in the Stansted airport worrying about the security line and when the gate for our flight would open when Taylor actually handed me our boarding passes.
I noticed STD>BCN but didn't have time to process what BCN could stand for. After getting through security, I scanned the departure board for the flight to Milan...but it didn't match the flight number on my boarding pass.
But it did match the flight and gate to BARCELONA....

"Are we going to BARCELONA?!?"

Moral of the story: Taylor is GOOD at surprises. A little too good...

Our hotel was in the center of the city, just a block from Plaza Catalunya.

Plaza Catalunya at 9:00am. A little to early for anyone to be out and about apparently.
The plaza filled up a couple hours later.

Palm trees and some Spanish balconies

I love the colours!



La Sagrada Familia from our hotel rooftop.

It was gorgeous weather, chilly but not nearly as cold as London. Look at all the blue!!!
This is just a teaser. All about our trip, favourite bits and all the pictures coming soon.

Suffice it to say while I'm working on the next post...we WILL be going back to Barcelona. Cracked into the top 3 trips we've made.

carpe diem

My goal for blogging

2:29 AM

I keep thinking that I can only blog when something wonderful happens. Like only once-in-a-lifetime events and achievements are worth recording and posting.


It's a nagging thought. 

BUT I follow some pretty great blogs and one amazing example inspires me to be a little more thoughtful. A little more attention and I would see the grandeur of life around me. I know that there are tender mercies that are meant to stregthen my testimony of my loving Heavenly Father. 

An attitude of gratitude. 

ESPECIALLY right now. My happy thought when school gets out of control, when I feel like complaining or when I just feel like I'm going crazy: London, UK. I'm basically already gone. I know my fight will be with the biggest desire to over-document our time living in Europe. I know I'll be posting stuff all the time. I would love to LIVE in a museum. Walk in Hyde park every single day. Go to Paris on the weekend. See a show on the west end. See everything there is to see. 

However, we still have a life NOW. I have lived in Utah basically my whole life, Taylor has been here for a few years, but that shouldn't make it un-interesting. Our friends are here, our family is here. And while we will make new friends, we can't replace the old ones and can't bring the whole family with us. 





There are treasures here. I want to remember that. And that's my goal from now until July: Appreciate the here and now and quit worrying about tomorrow so blindly that I completely miss TODAY. 

An attitude of gratitude. :)

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