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First European Adventure SPAINFirst European Adventure SPAIN
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Adventuring to Europe for the first time. Kyle worked hard and achieved President’s Club at his company, we are using the first week to explore and the second week celebrating his achievements with colleagues in Madrid!! Read more
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  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    Day 1

    DTW to AMS

    April 7, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    And we’re off!!! Started at the Delta sky lounge of course. Kyle had his traditional mimosa (or two) to calm his flight anxiety. Next we waited at our gate which was conveniently located next to my favorite airport stop - Vino Volo where we shared a “Reds Around The World” flight. Had a few people betting on Kyle’s over/under for the bathroom usage on the plane but made it safe to Amsterdam where we’ll spend a few hours trying to close our eyes before our next flight. Next stop: BARCELONA!! 🎉Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    Day 2

    AMS layover

    April 8, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    We got hyper excited between dtw and our first premium select experience. Kyle’s hangover started to kick in somewhere between 5 AM and 7 AM (11-1 AM in Detroit). Regardless we were able to get into one of the lounges in Amsterdam which was quite the experience. Regardless of the open and self serve bar, something we’ve never seen, we cuddled up in some chairs and tried to close our eyes. We got maybe 30 minutes of quiet before the airport was alive. The next few hours we walked around like zombies, ordered a few coffees and hopped on our KLM flight which wasn’t even equivalent to a Spirit Airlines or Allegiant, much much worse. Thank goodness we landed safely but our jet lag was way too real.Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    1
    Day 2

    Barcelona Day 1

    April 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Landed safely in Barcelona, where we never thought we’d make it after our first European flight experience. It was rough to say the least. Our hotel welcomed us with an upgraded room and some cava although we just were looking to shower and take a quick nap at this point. We got ready and headed down Las Ramblas, extensive shops and street vendors selling theirs “designer and luxury” brands of purses, belts, etc. Kyle was way too nervous about the pick pocketing he would not stop sweating. We made it to La Mercado Boqueria - AMAZING! The stands, fruit, seafood, tapas, and pastries were some of the most fresh. We had an aperol (first of many) with some tapas which included what Kyle would say was the best shrimp of his life. I was in love with the patatas bravas. We grabbed a sangria pitcher just outside the market and then headed towards our hotel, which seems to be a popular area. Neither of us realized it’d be a little colder than expected so we made a trip to ZARA for some jackets and sweatshirts. Enjoyed the view on our rooftop bar at the hotel and then went for more tapas (especially patatas bravas) shared a bottle of wine and then to bed! Early night and lots of sleep to catch up on!!!Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    Day 3

    Barcelona Day 2

    April 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    ¡Feliz Pascua! Happy Easter! What a beautiful experience to be in such a God fearing country (as my Dad would say) the devotion they have to their faith is both inspiring and exciting partaking in. We went to Easter Sunday mass at the Cathedral of Barcelona, from what I read I thought getting there 45 minutes early would barely guarantee us a seat in the massive church. Lucky for me but unfortunately for Kyle’s patience and stomach (no public bathroom here) we weren’t even allowed to enter until 8:30 for a 9:00 mass. They did not allow pictures during the celebration but it was breathtaking inside, so many dedications to different saints, kyle described it as the most gothic and history bearing church he’s ever been in. Sainte Anne’s is a close second LOL!

    We went to a brunch place that reminded us both a lot of American upscale brunch (instagram worthy and expensive) not that great and spent maybe 3 hours between the wait and our food came before our drinks and that’s when we canceled our “bottomless aperols”. We ventured out to Parc de la Ciutadella, found a sangria bar on the way and the park was very different than back home. More monuments and dirt with trees. But it seemed endless! We saw a dance class going on that Kyle refused to participate in, also afraid to be pickpocketed but also we would not have been able to keep up as you can see in the video.

    We tracked back to the hotel to get our steps in and coincidentally found a show right back in front of the Cathedral, kyle was convinced once again he was going to be pick pocketed but watching the show I convinced him to spare 40 cents to the performers lol.

    For dinner we found a cute spot with of course patatas bravas but also one of the most amazing filet, mini cheeseburgers and I mean REALLY mini, with churros for desert. Kyle was especially excited for the homemade churros we watched be made.

    We had not yet had a liquor drink so I googled a cocktail bar, found a place called Hemingways (The Sun Also Rises is one of my favorite literature reads from high school) and their drinks were quite impressive. We accidentally both ordered drinks that went hand in hand, Kyle “The Jon Snow” and Molly “Mother of Dragons”. We enjoyed those, plus an Espresso Martini from a pipe straw, and met a couple from Philly where we were excited to speak English with some people. Between all five drinks we would have spent double the cost at a place like Ebenezer so we are loving the prices here.

    On our way home we ended up grabbing a few more drinks on the way home. We listened to some live music next to our hotel and then FaceTimed our families to say Happy Easter! Weird not being with family but we enjoyed our day and had a great amount of time for reflection and appreciation of this life we’re excited to build starting June 9th!    Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    1
    Day 4

    Barcelona Day 3

    April 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Let me start this one off by saying neither Kyle nor I are big into art, history, or group tours. Guess what we had planned today - four of Antoni Gaudi’s biggest Barcelona tours. The first house I personally opted out of, it took one blog that I read to convince me that $50 euros a person was too much to spend to visit this place, so we admired it from the outside (for maybe three minutes). I realized the outfit I chose, leggings, a workout tank, and a Jean jacket were just not going to make me feel like I was standing out like a sore thumb. Kyle graciously offered to walk us back to the hotel to put on a more ~European Outfit~ consisting of jeans and a blouse. Fast forward this wasn’t a good choice for the 12 plus miles we ended up doing.

    We went to the next masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí, La Pedrera, known as Casa Milá. We did opt for the ultra touristy audio guide tour. I found it so interesting and extremely relaxing having headphones guide you through this home/apartment that he inspired. The explanation was interesting but the views even better, he was an extremely faithful man (hence his final work) and made his inspiration around the two biggest churches in Barcelona.

    Next we went to Parc Guell. The walk was literally two and a half miles….uphill. The jeans and blouse become more of a bad idea, we found a smoothie joint and I’ve never need energy more. We get to the park, unsure of what we’re experiencing but the three crosses and more of Gaudi’s work make it a site to see. At one moment Kyle looked at me and said “I don’t get it, if you wanted to see some art in the park bullshit I’ll take you to Plymouth in July” we had a lot of laughs here. Mostly interested in the obsessions of random things. We overheard an approximately 6 year old English boy go “what’s the point of all this” Kyle agreed. A cool park nonetheless.

    Walking home all two and a half miles (downhill thank goodness) we spotted a sandwich shop. Foccaia of the day, pistachio mortadella with burrata and pesto. YUM I mean hand cut meat in front of you, we are in heaven. If you don’t know Kyle buys pistachio mortadella at least twice a week from cantoro. Best sandwich of our lives.

    Spent a few hours at the pool reading and then…Last tour of the day La Sagrada Familia. To say this was breath taking is an understatement. We didn’t know what to expect but the magnitude was incredible. We reflected through an audio tour that quite literally pointed out every detail and explanation of the work Gaudí spent his life until death working on. Not only the religious aspect but the artwork was just astounding. There wasn’t a detail left behind.

    Walking home we were exhausted and decided we both do not like being tourists. We grabbed some dinner at our hotel, where Molly opted for a dry day and treated herself to some gelato, of course kyle joined but this was the first day his stomach actually was upset….dairy ugh. Overall an amazing day and learning a lot while falling in love with this city. One patatas bravas at a time.    Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    1111
    Day 5

    Barcelona Day 4

    April 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Day Four in Barcelona was a memorable one! Started our day off by heading out on a sailboat to the Mediterranean where the were able to turn off the engine and pull up the sails while drinking Cava! After our fun little excursion we decided to walk the beach and grab a pitcher of sangria with more patatas bravas! On our way back to our hotel we swung into a popular wine bar and enjoyed a couple different wines - one of which we ended up purchasing a bottle of to bring home (or drink one of the upcoming nights) after our long walk home we decided to stop by this restaurant called Anxoita where we tried our first ever raw cod skewer. Safe to say it is something we hope to never see in the US! Luckily, to no surprise, we were ordered more patatas bravas.

    After a nice little siesta in the sun we grabbed a couple cocktails at our rooftop bar in the hotel and enjoyed the view of the city! We then headed off to Kyle’s pick for dinner called Solomillo and as usual it was “interesting.” You can see in a couple pictures we had two different filets, mortadella, and a dish called lettuce and onions. It was quite literally romaine lettuce and yellow onions with dressing. After leaving dinner we headed over to el Nacional for a glass of wine before ending our night at Obama’s where Molly was invited to sing for the bar! She was killing it up until she got stage fright and forgot the lyrics! We knew it was time to go after that and our night was done.    Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    Day 6

    Barcelona Day 5

    April 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Woke up feeling slightly hungover but thank goodness we had the best cure - massages at AIRE ancient baths. A friend recommended this place as they have a few locations around the world. It was just the relaxing morning we needed. There were jacuzzis, a steam room, hot tubs, a salt floating bath, and even a cold plunge tub. We enjoyed these for a little before a much needed massage. With all of the walking this was quite perfect timing. After the massage we enjoyed fresh juice and the tubs for a little longer, we were both strong enough to do the cold plunge Molly lasted a few minutes Kyle maybe a few seconds, but it counts!!

    We went back to our room where we decided it’d be a great idea to hand wash our clothes (we thought we’d be able to do laundry at the hotel but it was 5 euro for a pair of underware and 15 for a shirt) safe to say Molly walked straight to the supermercado and grabbed hand washing laundry detergent, a long while later hopefully we’ll have clean clothes.

    Kyle found a cute Italian joint for lunch (this is a big deal as he always takes us to the most interesting places).

    We took a walk down Passeig de Gràcia where they have all of the most famous designer brands. Prada, Hermes, Gucci, Christian Louboutin, Versace, etc. We discovered while a little cheaper still nothing truly worth it aside from a find at Salvatore Ferragamo that was around $160 cheaper for a belt Kyle bought Molly (and returned) a few years back. We also learned the $550 Gucci sunglasses Kyle wanted in the USA were only 60 Euro at the local Gucci outlet, we were upset to find out it was over 45 minutes away and closing soon. We are going to try for the outlets in Madrid.

    We enjoyed a sunset on our rooftop one last time before going to dinner. We chose a Chinese restaurant and it was actually very good! We needed a break today from tapas (don’t be fooled we are still not sick of patatas bravas.)    Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    Day 7

    BCN to EAS (San Sebastián)

    April 13, 2023 in Spain

    Today we departed from Barcelona, although our first impression of the city was that it was quite dirty and a little too city/touristy for both of us. We grew to love it and honestly were sad to leave.

    We spent one last morning at our tiny hotel gym, it’s not lifetime but it sufficed. Then we packed our things which included blow drying some of the clothes that didn’t quite air dry, LOL! Kyle felt bad and went to surprise me with a pastry. After that we walked down La Rambla one last time to get a few souvenirs and got one last aperol spritz and a few tapas before heading to the airport.

    The airport security was quick and we sat in one of the lounges were we did opt to enjoy the open/self-serve bar this time. And then it happened. The worst flight we’ve ever been on. We go to the gate where we did not see our plane so we were a little confused, we had to hop on a bus that took us out in the tarmac to get onto the plane. It was a quick boarding process still, we taxi off, ready for takeoff and then we go full speed to ascend and all of a sudden the plane comes to a violent stop screeching the breaks, we were both sweating buckets. The pilot came on and said something in Spanish, we assumed we were going to be delayed or transferred to a different plane. The man across the isle kindly translated that the pilot was going to “try again” and that there was a software problem. This did not make us feel good. The turbulent flight was 1000x more sketchy. We had never been more relieved to step foot on land.

    Our first impression of San Sebastián is that it is a quaint and cozy place. Our hotel room at SANSE Bay sits right on the marina. We plan to sleep with our balcony door open tonight as it is a cool night and the sound of the waves is quite soothing. Unfortunately the weather is quite rainy and Molly is pretty much out of clothes for this weather so we headed to Zara for a rain jacket and got Kyle some socks (less expensive than washing his). We also bought an umbrella that the wind took and broke almost two minutes after the purchase, we’ll try again tomorrow!

    We grabbed some dinner where we learned not many will speak English here (see Kyle trying to translate) and then stopped near our hotel for a bottle of wine and oysters. With the weather we decided to head back and drink some wine in our room, early night and ready to explore tomorrow!    Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    Day 9

    San Sebastian Day 2

    April 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Our morning started with a good 2 mile run in the rainy streets of San Sebastián climate. Next Molly craving a good American Breakfast we’d make back home so we found a place that served protein and veggies with a detox juice (carrot, apple, ginger). This was a much needed refresh after the discoteca. We then walked along beach where we got to watch surfers and wind surfers! Reminded us where we are complaining about the wind others are celebrating it! We arrived to Mount Igueldo where we were took their mountain side rail car up to the top! We thought we were going to a fully open Amusement park but instead due to the rain we got one roller coaster and incredible views! Molly insisted we ride the one open coaster than took less than a minute and kyle’s legs barely fit. It was a quick but fun thrill!

    Once we departed back down in the rail car we went to see Queen Maria Christina’s summer house where they actually went to avoid all the diseases tearing through Spain! She lost her husband at a young age of 26 to influenza. After that we decided to explore the other side of San Sebastián where we went back to that incredible bakery for a treat and cafe con leche with brown sugar (mollys new obsession). We then stopped in for some Pinxchos and oysters before heading home for a quick refresh!

    We found a bar that served real martinis before dinner so we stopped in their for an espresso martini and mollys famous dirty martini! After this we were able to go to our reservation at a Michelin star restaurant where we enjoyed an assortment of out of this world thoughtful curated dishes that were served course by course! It was truly a dinner to remember! Post dinner we stopped in for one last Aperol Spritz where kyle decided to try raw octopus - safe to say it was not good. The locals were out and about this evening, we even witnessed some teenagers smuggling alcohol into a water bottle which made us a question the drinking age. Finally we went home and turned on some TV for the first time and enjoyed a glass of wine but mostly each others company chit chatting way too late considering our day flight tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerFirst European Adventure SPAIN
    Day 10

    San Sebastian to Madrid

    April 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today we woke up and went for one last walk in San Sebastián where we bought the hoodie Molly had been eyeing all weekend! We enjoyed one last baked good before we headed off to EAS (which may be the worlds smallest airport). We were escorted on the plane across the runway and then were in the air to Madrid.

    Once in Madrid TR had a car service set up for us to take us to the Four Seasons. Our driver was awesome as he was sharing all the top things to do, see, and most importantly eat in Madrid. We got checked into our hotel and we’re able to get into our room which is by far the nicest hotel room we have ever stayed at. Waiting for us was a bottle of Champagne, strawberries, and small cookies! We unpacked and we’re able to get to the gym for a quick workout!

    We then headed off to the first of many events this week for the awards trip where we were greeted by a violinist at the Real Academia de Belles Artes. We enjoyed small tapas and wine with Kyle’s company colleagues for a couple hours before heading off to the four seasons roof top bar. We got seated in our own little private garden area where we indulged in a drink and Salmon tartar. Along with this was a 15 dollar bottle of tap water which Kyle thought should have been served on a gold platter for that price. We then headed back to our room for one last glass of Cava before hitting the hay with a busy next day.    Read more

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