Paris, France

Paris, France July 8- July 15

Daron and I spent one full week in Paris because it is such a large city, and we wanted to be there for Bastille Day.  We were so lucky to have my wonderful cousin, Audrey, as our tour guide.

Daron outside Notre Dame.

Notre Dame.

Notre Dame.

Love lock bridge.

Walking the streets of Paris.

Luxembourg Gardens.

Luxembourg Gardens.

Exploring Paris (more like getting lost in that huge city!).

Waiting in line to get our butts kicked by the Louvre.

Outside the Louvre.

Paparazzi surrounding the small Mona Lisa in the Louvre.  

After leaving the Louvre, Daron and I felt like we had both been hit by a truck.  We even had to grab a seat in the Tuileries and take a break.  Not only did we not even see one wing of the Louvre, we only saw 13 paintings (thank you Rick Steves for leading us around).  The Louvre is so big, full of so many people, it is a struggle to get anywhere in that place.  One stranger we bumped up against expressed the same concern about so many people (and so many asians, he added).

View from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Stairs leading up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Daron at the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Outside the Palace of Versailles.

Elegant chapel in Versailles.

Elegance, wealth and beauty surrounding the Palace of Versailles.

Eiffel Tower built by Gustave Eiffel in 1889.

Beautiful, but windy, 360 degree view of Paris from the third and top level (276 meters high).

A trip to Paris wouldn't be complete without the cliche picnic complete with wine and baguette on the champs de mars.

Audrey and I outside the Sacre Coeur.

Bastille Day in Paris! 

Bastille Day is the French's independence day which is complete with jets with streams of red while and blue trailing behind, parachuters, a parade, and a firework show behind the Eiffel Tower.  Lucky for Daron and I, we had my cousin Audrey to show us around and do as the French do.

Jets over Notre Dame.

Daron and Audrey exploring different areas of the city.

Next stop, Venice, Italy!

Ibiza, Spain

Ibiza, Spain July 5- July 8

From left to right, Elias, Alice, Kirstie, Sasha, Alex, and Daron.

From Barcelona, Daron and I flew to Ibiza with 5 new friends. Between the 7 of us, we had the entire West coast of the US covered from where we were from, although we had the unique experience to all meet up in Barcelona.  All 7 of us have different stories about why we were in Barcelona, and where we were at in our lives.  Daron was taking the summer off to travel before starting medical school at the University of Washington.  Elias is from San Diego, between jobs, taking the summer to visit his Spanish relatives in Barcelona.  Sasha is living and working for the US Army in Germany, and friends with Elias from high school.  Alice is Sasha's sister, who was studying in Spain for a term.  Alex is Sasha's girlfriend who was stopping by Europe on her way to Argentina to study for a term.  Kirstie is Alex's friend from California, who was also studying in Spain for a term.

But what we all had in common was our love for travel and appetite for new experiences, new cultures and new places.

Ibiza mainly consisted of the beach during the day, and partying at night. 

Elias walking along the cliff overlooking the beach and beautiful clear water.

Sasha and Alex

We all rented scooters and drove around from beach to beach during the day. Elias was an awesome teacher, and we got the hang of how to drive them pretty quickly.  The island is decently big, and we needed them to get around during the day.

One morning, Alex, Elias, Daron and I woke up early (4AM) to scooter to a view point to see the sun rise.  It was a beautiful way to spend our last morning! 

Elias was constantly videoing our Ibiza trip with his GoPro camera, and this was the final footage that we came up with.

Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6JdhxzstHU

Next stop, Paris!

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona, Spain July 2- July 5

After what seemed like hours of wandering around Las Ramblas street in Barcelona, I lugged my suitcase up 3 flights of stairs, pushed open the door to my hostel, and found Daron sitting there on the couch, looking much less haggard than I, even after her overseas flight.  At this point it had been over a year that we had joked and then thought more seriously, and then evaluated the finances, and eventually started booking and planning this trip that was finally here! 

First stop, Sagrada Familia.

Both of us were completely engulfed in Gaudi's work, even if I had just seen this masterpiece the year prior.

View from Parc Guell, another work of art by Gaudi.

Parc Guell.

Finally time to catch up on the last 10 months of our lives.

More Gaudi.  On top of Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera.

Coffee and postcard time, one thing I loved most about our trip. Those breaks to rest and rejuvenate, that allowed us to reflect on the beautiful cities we were seeing, and how lucky we were to get to do so.

The famous La Boqueria market off Las Ramblas.

Since we were in Barcelona over the Fourth of July, we planned to spend it with some fellow Americans, Alex, Sasha, Elias and Daron and I.

Next stop Ibiza, with these lovely people!