Barcelona photos and a relaxing weekend

I finally have my Barcelona pics up, which you can find here.

Curt posted his here.

We had a pretty easy weekend, especially since we didn't have any sort of weekend last week on account of crazy travel and problems with travel. But we eventually got home.

We had dinner tonight with our friend Jason who was in town for work. On the record we had no fun. Off the record it was great to see him and hang out for a bit. Kate, we welcome you next year. We will make it up to you with lots of wine tasting. :)

Long journey home ... but we made it home safely

As soon as I have a chance I will post links to our photos from our amazing trip to Barcelona.

We had a great time.

Curt posted a photo here and there on his blog, you can check those out here.

Coming home was rough ...

Our flight out of Barcelona left three hours late. So we knew we would miss our flight from Frankfurt to SFO. But we figured when we landed in Frankfurt, United would have us booked on a later flight. (Which they did last year when our flight out of Amsterdam left three hours late and we missed our connecting flight in Chicago when the whole Volcano thing was happening.)

We got to Frankfurt and looked for a monitor for our gate to find out where we should go. All we saw on the board was that our flight was cancelled. Cancelled?

We went through passport and tried to find the United terminal, which was nearly impossible. There was no signage. So we just kept asking and they kept pointing us in the direction of Main Hall B, which we never actually saw a sign for that. We finally came to the United counter where there was no one to help us, just other stranded travelers.

Curt started wandering around and got a little info. There was like a 3-hour wait for our luggage. So we knew we likely wouldn't get it. We were given some toiletry kits and Curt and I headed to the Luthansa ticket help desk. We were given No. 808 and they were on 599. We decided after 30 minutes to just head to the hotel they were going to put us up in.

We got to the hotel and had dinner. And then waited for a shuttle to take us to another hotel, which ended up being super fancy.

Curt was able to get ahold of United via phone. When he checked online there was still no info about what was going on. But I had heard from another passenger that they saw on CNN that United was having computer issues. Then once in the hotel I saw on the CNN crawler that United's computer glitch stranded thousands, but that was it.

We got rebooked for several flights to get us home by midnight Sunday night, 28 hours later than we should have gotten in.

The shuttle picked us up the next morning at 6 a.m. We got to the airport about 6:30 and headed back to the Luthansa counter. We had our bags rerouted and boarding passes for our first two flights. Our ticketing agent found that we could get an earlier flight in LA and not have to have as long as a layover. Great! Especially since our layover in Munich was 5 hours.

Our flight from Frankfurt to Munich was short and no problem. In Munich we found a restaurant called Airbrau to have lunch and beer. It was good and filling. Then we wandered to another bar to have more beer. At some point I hit the wall and was super punchy.

We eventually were on our flight and ready to go. As they were doing final safety checks they realized the air conditioning needed minor maintenance. We were told it would take 10 minutes and then another 10 minutes. And then since we were waiting we better wait for passengers from another flight. I think we took off about an hour late.

We got to LA about an hour late. We had to go through passport, grab our luggage and go through customs. Curt's suitcase didn't arrive. So we rebooked my bag and got our boarding passes. We were in Terminal 3 and were told we had to go to Terminal 7. We booked it. Once we got to United it was mayhem. We were pretty confident we wouldn't be making the 9:20 flight.

When we were waiting for our flight from LA to SFO I am pretty sure I started hallucinating. We got in a little before midnight. Mom and Fred picked us up. (They came out for the week for their own mini-vacation and to take care of the house and furbaby.)

I got to bed about 2 a.m. and was awake about 6:3o or 7.

Curt headed to work. I hung out with Mom and Fred until they had to leave for the airport. I did laundry, went through the mail, paid bills and received Curt's suitcase when it arrived this afternoon.

Curt and I just finished eating tacos my mom made for us over the weekend. Delish! Our goal is to stay up until at least 8. We are both pretty tired. But I think we will make it ... since it is almost 7:15.

Mostly Barcelona food updates with a little beach and Picasso thrown in

Curt has posted a few pics on his blog, if you want to take a peek before I get home and upload our photos.

Today Curt and I got up "early," around 9 a.m. and got ready to head to the Picasso museum. Curt and I aren't huge museum people. But we know when we visited a city (or country) there are certain things you just have to see. The Picasso museum was easy and we enjoyed it. We were there probably an hour. There isn't a ton of stuff to see. But enough to appreciate the artist.

After the museum we walked around and ended up at the La Boqueria. We walked around a bit. Found a little cafe for lunch and ate delicious food. We haven't had a bad meal at all. After lunch we walked around the market a little more, made a couple of purchases and left.

We are back at the apartment, relaxing and cooling down. It is humid outside. So we are taking a little break.

Tuesday and yesterday were kinda lazy. Tuesday was Mark and Rosie's last day in town. They came to our apartment about noon to drop their luggage off. Then we headed toward the beach. Had a drink or two at the Princesa beach bar and then lunch before they had to head off for their flight.

Curt and I took a long siesta. After that to Las Ramblas for tapas. We ended up at a place where you just pick from the various options in front of you. Essentially they count your toothpicks at the end of the night and you pay up.

Yesterday another lazy morning and then I headed to the beach while Curt went to Barcelona Camp Nou--the Barca football stadium. He made a couple of purchases and then met me at Princesa 21 for lunch. After lunch I headed back to the beach. As the day goes on the bigger the crowd along the Mediterranean.

And pretty much anything you might want to buy or not want to buy is being sold: pieces of coconut, massages, wraps, food, water, cerveza, braids for your hair, homemade mojitos ...

Last night Curt and I had dinner in the Gothic quarter, some place we had seen before and it looked good, called Chardonnay. We weren't really sure what we were ordering. But it all ended up being really good!

Barcelona updates

I have had a hard time getting on my blog to post. Believe it or not, but having fewer issues with Go Fit Girl!

And I have a limited time tonight before we leave for dinner. So this will be quick.

Today Curt, Mark, Rosie and I headed to Montserrat. It was an amazing and beautiful place. We did a lot of walking and my feet are tired. But it was worth it for the views we took in.

We are meeting Mark and Rosie shortly for dinner at some tapas place Rosie read about. I have to say everywhere we have eaten has been delicious.

Apparently this month in Barceloneta, where we are staying, June is its festival month. So there are parties and bands galore around here. It is mayhem. Huge parties/parades keep going down the street near us. People around here know how to party. And I thought I was wild meeting friends at 9 p.m. for dinner. :)

Yesterday Curt, Mark, Rosie and I walked along Las Ramblas, saw La Sagrida Familia (but we didn't go inside) and headed to Parc Guell and spent part of the day there. When we got back to our hood we stopped for tapas and then home for a rest and to get cleaned up for dinner.

We had a delicious dinner last night, good wine, too. I have green risotto. When we got our check we all got a shot of some sort of liqueur to shoot. Whatever it was it was super yummy. After that we had a nightcap at a local bar. The place was small and cute (they usually are around here).

We have done a lot in the past two days. We have almost everything checked off the list.

Since I am having issues you will have to wait to see pics when we return. I have posted a few on Facebook, as Curt has. But if you aren't on FB, you are out of luck. Sorry, Charlie.

OK, here is a link to a pic if you aren't on the Facebook. And a view out of our apartment down our street.

In Barcelona

Our wifi Internet service in our apartment is sketchy. Some web sites work just fine. Others not so much.

I seem to be having issues with my e-mail and Facebook. Great!

I tried to blog last night from my phone and no go.

Our travel went well. We got to our apartment in Barceloneta at about 4 or so. The streets are small and the buildings are close. There are bars all over.

When we first got here we walked around a bit, hit three different places for drinks and tapas. Then we came back to the apartment and got ready. Then off to dinner with Mark and Rosie. They are our British friends who live in London and are joining us for a few days.

We didn't go to bed until about 11. And I have to say for the first time on my first night in Europe I slept pretty well. Usually I go to bed just fine about 10 and am wide awake for hours at 2. I only woke up a few times during the night and went to back to bed right away.

I am trying to post pics of the paella we had last night and the delicious sangria I drank. But I am also having issues with that. So frustrating!

Tapas, sangria and the beach!

Curt and I fly out to Barcelona today. I am so excited and and a little tired right now.

Most of my packing is done and just getting the last minute things done.

My mom and Fred are here to house and Joey sit. It's nice to have someone here full time to take care of the furbaby.

We love Ruff Ruff and they always do an amazing job. But with Joey being diabetic and being an old man I feel more comfortable having someone here all the time.

Photo to the left can be credited to: http://

www8.georgetown.edu/departments/spanport/barcelona/

I plan to be updating this blog regularly as we have wifi in our apartment while in Barcelona. I will also be updating Facebook.

What's with all the wieners?

OK, here is my rant ... (Which I am retyping on my phone because something screwed up.)
First, hey guys! What's with the wiener texting? I am gonna go put on a limb and say most women DON'T want to receive a text with a picture of your junk.
Second, if you are gonna be a cheater at least wear a BLEEPIN' condom.
How dare you expose your wife/partner to all kinds of nasty diseases. How dare you bring a child into this world when it isn't your wife's and you have a wife.
I am not condoning cheating. But at least show some small amount of "respect" to your partner. You are already humiliating them by cheating on them. Don't bring diseases or a kid into this as well.
OK, I am done ... for now.

Testing out iPhone app

I am writing this post from a blogging app on my phone.
You can add photos and links and text!

I love Mac & Cheese

There is a mac & cheese place called Homeroom, which opened a few months ago, near where we live.

My goal is try to every mac & cheese on the menu.

Technically I have tried every one on the menu. But I haven't ordered every single one. Others have ordered the Trailer Mac and the Vermont White Cheddar, which I have tasted.

Today I had the Classic. It was really good. I added some crushed pepper and Tapatio and enjoyed it.

There used to be a mac on the menu called Spicy Mac, which was my favorite. But, for some reason, it is no longer on the menu. I think my favorite now is the Gilroy Mac. So good.

It's hard not to be tempted by all the amazing restaurants we live near. I did only have half my mac for lunch along with a side salad. I will likely have the other half for dinner tonight.