Buenos dias Barcelona, Espana!

Made it to Barcelona. So hard to believe that we were in Paris this morning at a patisserie, and this evening we had some great Catalonia food.

No exploring yet, but went to a local restaurant recommended by the trusted Lonely Planet. So basically, this blog entry will be a breakdown of our meal (which was way too big because we wanted to try everything!)


Leon starts with a beer he called "hoppy"...I called it yellow-looking foamy


I had some fancy water


This is a tuna dish with herbs in a spicy sauce you put on "toast"


the "toast" with tomato sauce baked on top


cod, zucchini, and parmesan cheese with some oil and spices


fatty beef dish with mushrooms

We also had a chorizo tapa dish that was marinated in red wine...but it did not look appetizing and those reading this blog would think it was something else. It tasted great though!

Now came dessert and we got a surprise...


We ordered lemon sorbet and it came...soaked in tequila (that's the liquid you see)! WTF? I know...it did taste good though. Would never have thought of that as a combination.


My coffee...which in Spain seems to translate to espresso

We have only two full days here in Barcelona so we plan on tackling alot tomorrow.

For now, buenos noches.

Au Revoir Paris!

A quick post before we head off to Barcelona. We ended up getting to the Eiffel tower last night just before closing to get to the top. It was quite a view and quite the crowd. Certainly can see why it is a top proposal spot, but with the crowds there, maybe not as romantic as you envision. Leon did well, even with his fear of heights - but no looking straight down for him.

Here's some pics from last night...


This is our feet while waiting in line


And that line was VERY long


Beautiful view from the top

This morning we had our last breakfast at our hotel. Did I ever mentioned that when we ordered coffee here, they bring a whole pitcher of perfectly frothed milk? I will miss that.

Since we didn't really get to try any patisserie's while here (well, one chocolate beignet yesterday), we decided to get some goods to go at a patisserie right down the street.

Mmmmm...so much to choose from


We took two of those giant macarons


These are called choquettes, a popular french pastry...I tried mastering these at home, but still working on perfecting them. It is hard to find the pearl sugar that goes on top (found some at Ikea of all places!). Very yummy and airy.

We will miss Paris...

Now on to Barcelona!

Paris - Days 4 & 5

I was so tired yesterday, I couldn't muster up the strength to post. But alas, today was easy breezy and time for catching up.

Yesterday, we headed by train to the village of Giverny to see Monet's home and gardens in person. What a sight to see! So unreal to see the home and the famous 'Water Lilies" pond, along with the "poppy field" we have seen in his great paintings. It was a truly beautiful place.



Skipped the nap and headed off to dinner on the metro. It was raining, but we wanted to brave the rain to head to a place we read about that quoted best value for your dinner. Can you believe the photos below were from 10:30pm? Still so light out, it tricks you.


Well another night and another wonderful dinner. Yum! I started with a crab served with avocado mousse, while Leon started with a sundried tomato, goat cheese, egg concoction. I had duck and Leon had lamb. Last but not least there was dessert. I had a homemade chocolate mousse and Leon had a mango and rasberry crumble...heaven, ALL of it. We rolled out of there and had to unbutton our pants.


Today was a kickback day. Since we are in France, we were determined to find a crepe place. Well, apparently, Paris isn't known for it, but the internet is our friend and helped us to find a wonderful crepe place best known for it's buckwheat crepes. after stuffing ourselves again, we headed over to the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore, known for many a famous author to frequent. Did a little bit of shopping too, but decided to head back here to the hotel.


We are up in the air about heading to the Eiffel tower again tonight to try and make it to the top, but thinking we may try and find a lovely sweet crepe tonight.

Paris has been wonderful and I can't believe that this is our last night. Certainly, it is a city I may come visit again.

P.S. just have to mention a R.I.P. for Michael Jackson. We've been hearing his music EVERYWHERE today in Paris.

Paris - Day 3

Another busy day. Much warmer weather but still so nice and breezy.

We started out today tackling the Louvre. It is quite alot to see, but we (like many) made a beeline for the famous Mona Lisa and got to see a few other works we knew, like Venus de Milo.



After a short ice-cream break, we made our way to the next museum not too far away called Musee de l'Orangerie. It housed a few Picasso's and some of the famous "Water Lilies" paintings of Monet.


We then visited the Arc de Triomphe again to make our way to the top. Another exhausting climb in a skinny stairwell, but the views made it worth it.



Took another short break at a cafe where I enjoyed a soy and cherry smoothie (surprisingly good) and Leon enjoyed a beer while we snacked on a club sandwich and frites. The we headed to the Sacre Coeur basilica. No climbing this time, we decided on the tram up the mountain to spare our tired soles. Another amazing view of Paris.


We headed back to our hotel and proceeded to sleep for the next couple hours. We then had dinner at a local cafe. I chose the beef tartare and Leon had a salmon dish. And as we have been used too, we always have wine and dessert with coffee, yum!

Still waiting to run into the "rude" Paris folks people have told me about. Thus far everyone has been very nice. They put up with our little known French in which most of the time we are asking if they speak English. I also have eaten like a king, but was told by some that portions are so small...not so my friends! I've been very full the entire time I have been here.

We have decided to move up our trip out to Giverny to tomorrow as it is suppose to rain on Friday - which wouldn't make for a pleasant trip to see Monet's home and gardens.

On a random note, Leon and I have been seeing advertisements all over the subways for the movie "The Hangover", which in France seems to translate to "Very Bad Trip". Funny how translations work, but not as funny as in Asia I must admit.

Paris - day 2

Wow, we have had quite the day. I do credit us for squeezing alot in, without feeling like we rushed it. Day 2 and I am liking Paris even more.

We started the day with a visit to Musee d'Orsay which had quite the impressionist collection. I was geeking out at all the art I had only seen in books, but now got to witness in person. Recognize any below? The Monets and Van Gogh blew me away. I am getting very excited about our trip this Friday to Monet's home in Giverny.




Next stop, the Musee Rodin - which as you can guess, houses alot of Rodin's work...including his most famous, The Thinker! I saved Leon from the "copy this statue" pose.



By this time we were ready to use our Metro skills. With Leon as navigator, we ventured into the subways of Paris. Next stop was Notre Dame. I am sorry to report that there was not a hunchback in the tower ringing a bell. It was a beautiful site inside and out to see, however.



And since we were at Notre Dame, it was time to test out this famous Berhillon ice cream everyone kept telling us about. Verdict: very good, but we've had better. Just bein' honest!



A short nap and 2 hours later, we are back on the town to try out Le Ralais de Venice, which came highly reccomended by friends. That crowd you see in the photo below was the line to get in! This was a popular spot, and at 24 euro for all you can eat steak and frites, it's not surprising to see why. I was only able to put down 1 1/2 servings, but squeezed in some chocolate cake and cafe au lait for dessert.



To cap off the night, we headed over to the famous Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately, we got there right at 11pm and could nto head to the top. However, we were quite spent for the day, so maybe it was for the better.



It has been unreal to see these things in person and photos certainly do not do justice. Although I never had a real deep desire to see Paris, I must say that I am really glad we took the trip.

Tomorrow, big plans for the Louvre and whatever other museums we can squeeze in on our two-day pass.

It's about 2:50am and I am obviously still getting used to the jet lag. Better get some shut-eye.

Bonjour! Comment allez-vous?

No...you didn't happen upon someone else's blog, I just happen to be in Paris! Yeah, it's been a long time since posting I know, but it has been VERY busy:

We sold our house
We moved temporarily while looking for another house
Leon graduated from Stanford GSB
We went to a wedding on Saturday
On Sunday we left on vacation

This all happened in the same week...really I wasn't kidding about being busy! :)

Here's a quick pic from the wedding. It was Nick and Lorianne who got married at St. Patrick's Church followed by a reception at the St. Regis hotel which was AWESOME. We had so much fun, and get this...the biggest dessert bar...EVER.



It was almost a bittersweet time as our friends Brett & Annika and Brad & Heather will be making a permanent move down to SoCal. Having all that fun at the wedding makes us miss them already! Good luck on the move guys and we really hope to visit..not just say it!

So cut to Sunday and here we are in lovely Paris. What is good about taking a laptop on the trip? Well, I'll get to blog about it. After a four hour nap due to jet lag, and taking a final online, we roamed around our hotel and elsewhere. We ate a very yummy dinner which consisted of a salad with melted brie, followed by chicken & potatoes for me, while Leon had skirt steak and frites. Washed it down with a carafe of wine. Then dessert was this sort of french toast concoction with vanilla ice cream, followed by espresso....whoo hoo. Can't wait to see what the rest of our meals are gonna' look like. The waiter was super nice, and patient with us Americans who were clearly underdressed for the affair.

We then headed over to the Eiffel Tower and took the stairs up to the first viewing point (elevator was closed). It was quite beautiful to see in person and at night.


postcard perfection


up close and personal


ok...this scared the crap out of me. doesn't he look creepy even though he was not real? here we are taking a romantic stroll on the viewing point and this guy is staring at me.

Tomorrow is more wandering around museums and monuments. Until then, au revoir!

KOL

Currently listening to: Charmer - Kings of Leon

Wow...great...fantasmic....rockin... guess that's how I can describe it. I have been wanting to see Kings of Leon in concert for a long time and they didn't disappoint. Even Leon himself (no pun intended) has become a fan. Saw them this past Thursday night in SF at the Bill Graham Civic Center.

Some highlights of the night...

A very drunk/high group of girls were next to us proclaiming their "space" during the concert (It was standing room only on the floor). One turned to me and said, "You know, if it's ok with you I'm just going to pee here because the line for the bathroom is too long." I told her I don't mind, so long as she does it away from me. She proceeded to pee into her vodka cup, while her friend took pictures of her..um...private parts in the process. After she was through, her friends were telling her not to leave her cup around there and to get rid of it. Her solution? She threw it over the audience ahead of her!!! If those people knew that was piss...wow. Then her friend was showing pics of her vajay-jay on her i-Phone to her and everyone around her. Did I also mentioned that this happened before KOL even hit the stage? As a friend I know (okay Annika) would say... Handle your sh*t!

Another drunk lady who was a little older and totally picking up on this guy next to her was telling us all not to move and to claim our space. Then she reached out to touch my arm and tell me once more. She proceeded to rub my arm and tell me "your skin is SO SOFT"...then she rubbed my arm for the next five minutes saying "it's amazing...so soft!" Awkward.

Two guys were almost in a fight next to us for about twenty minutes for pushing. I almost kind of hoped for it, as it might have cleared some space for us to get closer to the stage.

So these all may not sound like highlights that made it fun for us, but it actually was pretty entertaining. You could say these people were our entertainment before the actual entertainers came on stage.

Kings of Leon must have played three albums worth of songs, they barely took any breaks. When they did, the lead singer Caleb kept telling the audience how much he appreciated us "spending our money, in times like these, on a concert to see us" or "I remember when we were the opening act here only a few years ago, thanks for supporting us". He also mentioned "drive home safe" or "thanks for being respectful to each other" (obviously he didn't see the drunk group of people standing next to us). It was cute actually and I was crushin' on him by the end- is it his Southern charm? :)

Some pics from the night...


Leon (my king) & I


Everyone sits and waits...drunkards not there yet


KOL hits the stage


Matthew, Nathan, Caleb


Caleb & Jared


Caleb with the O face


Rockin out


This was the moment that Caleb looked driectly at me and said "Sandy, this song goes out to you because I am in love with you," and he proceeded to sing Use Somebody....ok that never happened, but I pretended it did


Caleb


Encore

When the Boys Are Away, the Girls Will Play

Currently listening to: Notion - Kings of Leon (yeah you know, just doing my homework for the concert this week!)

So Leon went away on a four-day boys weekend in Pismo and I was left alone Thursday through Sunday...but not really. Angie, Shannon, and Ann stopped by last Friday and we had our own mini-potluck. Yum! It was great fun eating while we figured out how to rent a fairly huge houseboat on the closest lake in the Bay Area, that must have a slide....long story, but let's say someone will enjoy their birthday compliments of Ann :)

Saturday I participated in a walk at work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Since Leon was away, Angie was SO NICE to fill-in for him at the walk. Thanks again Ang, you're the greatest!!! {{{hugs}}} Sharkie apparently had some issues with me as he approached me more than once either biting my head or taking the team sign and banging it on my head. What's up with that? No instagation on my part, but I did whisper to him while taking our team picture "Go Ducks!" Here's some pics.


Angie & I staying cool in the shade

Team picture with Sharkie (a.k.a. the Shark that has a grudge w/me)

Angie and I spent the rest of the day shopping. Angie is a good shopper as she assists in rationalizing your purchase. Leon would appreciate me going shopping with Angie! :) Guess what though Angie? I splurged and bought those sunglasses after all...they were calling me!

On a very hot Sunday morning, we had brunch with Lorianne who is on a countdown to her wedding day. We can't wait! She filled us in on a dessert bar of some kind with candy, sundaes, and....get ready....COTTON CANDY! How awesome is that? So excited for her and her fiance Nick, they make a great couple. It was also a nice cap-off to the weekend hanging with the gals.

On a totally random note...I am looking so forward to Glee. I am already singing the commercials and have it programmed on the DVR.

I Heart Kings of Leon

And really it is not a bias with their band name :)

I like some good old Southern Rock sometimes (Creedance anyone?) but this latest album has me listening at least once everyday with a song or two on my commute. Maybe their old fans won't like this "new" Kings of Leon (I call it improved), but it sure has gained them a whole lot more popularity in the States. Personally, I like this sort of arena rock thing they got going on now.

I am into them so much that we are going to see them in concert next week. This really will be my first "rock" concert and it is at a venue that is basically standing room only....Rock on!

Happy 5th B-day Tank

Ahhh...how time flies. Our little Boston Terrier Tank turned the magical 5 years old yesterday. That means he is almost caught up to us in human years, but he still has more spunk than his parents by far.

Tank got to celebrate his birthday in style. We grilled Fred Steak for dinner. Tank had some and so did we (hey we have to join in on the festivities, right?). And since Schaub's just so happens to be right next door to Sprinkles, we picked up some dessert too.

By night's end, Tank's belly was full and he was snoring contently. Leon followed suit soon after :)

It's been awhile

... a long while since I have posted. Perhaps it is because I am caught up in other timesucking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Redfin, etc.

So I choose this Monday to share with you, and to let you know that my blog is still alive - even if barely kicking.

Here's a way to get you through the week: check out this website. It's called Texts from Last Night and you can guess the fun stuff that comes out of this one. I discovered it last week and have been logging in sporadically, but always to some funny finding.

A couple from today:

(202): He's so far in the closet he's in Narnia

(508): hdsncx Gizmo asnqw toilet blanasdi
(214): ok, stay where you are, be there soon

(610): I thought she had blonde hair
(302): No, Gonorrhea actually

Hanging with peeps

No...not the marshmallow ones!

I finally was able to get my camera back from Leon (yes I realize we live together) so I can download my photos. Here's what's been going down.

Our friends Matt & Lara had a baby boy, making this the second to add to their growing family. His name is Niklas and he's a cutie. We visited them on 3.21 (yeah...late posting)


Niklas & Leon


Me & Niklas (trying very hard to keep his eyes open)

Then the Windelers came to town the same weekend - yay! Jenn & Brahm without the little ones in tow. What better way to spend the weekend than to visit the Cal Academy of Sciences? It was so great to see these Michigan-ites...we feel very nostalgic when they are back in Cali and hope to visit with them again soon.


Leon fearing this horned beast


The living roof was cool...and also cold...and also windy


Leon, me, Brahm, Jenn - all freezing

Come the next weekend, the Lawrence family was heading back up north from their hood down south at the end of Spring break. So, we met them halfway in a town called Cayucos, along with friends Brett P. and Adam. We rented a 70's porn house (well it looked to be that way), with an awesome view right on the beach. These people know how to have a good time and we shared some interesting stories over smores & poker. Tank became good friends with Brooks, so much so that I think he wants to be adopted into the Lawrence family. We're trying to convince him we're cool parents too! It was a fun way to end spring break:)


Leon lighting up a cigar to start the weekend!


Tank checking things out


All the boys! Brett P., Adam, Leon, Brett L. (Tank in the background)


Cutest baby EVER! A.K.A. Brooks, digging himself a hole


Brooks & Annika chill out while the guys play Bocci

Wish every weekend was like this. *sigh*