Paris

We had one afternoon and evening in the city before leaving early the next morning to fly back to the US for the holidays. We decided to do our two favorite things: wander around aimlessly for a few hours and then eat a delicious meal! To be continued in Feb. 2010.

Risotto with roast duck and artichokes:


Lauren's seafood over gnocchi in red sauce:

Barcelona

After Valencia, it was time for our final bus ride in Spain to Barcelona. Barcelona is a huge and beautiful city, with great architecture, markets and nightlife. At this point in our journey though, we were a little worn out, so we didn't see as much of the city as we would have liked. But, we did make the walk across town to see the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. Sagrada Familia is a Catholic church that was designed by Gaudi and has been under construction since 1882! It is expected to be completed in 2026.

Another highlight of our time in Barcelona was visiting La Boqueria, which is a huge public market dating from 1217. It is just off one of the main walking areas: Las Ramblas. We love looking at all the different fresh foods and sampling a few of them. For our lunch, we shared a plate of a kind of seafood we had never tried before: razor clams. They were as fresh as they come and cooked right in front of us at a small lunch counter inside the market.

Sagrada Familia:


Gaudi museum:


Outside La Boqueria:


Inside La Boqueria:


Our razor clam lunch at La Boqueria: