Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday, May 30 around 11:30pm. We checked in to the hotel and grabbed a quick snack at the bar before crashing!

When we arrived at the airport, there were scraps of paper everywhere. Apparently the cleaning staff went on strike and this was part of their protest!

We had to leave the hotel at 8:15am to be on the free "crew" shuttle to the ship, so we got up around 7:00am and had breakfast. When we got to the ship, we realized the ship had just come out of dry dock and only had guests for one week since the last inspection, so our work was pretty easy. We were back at the hotel before 11:00am, just in time for another nap! We slept/relaxed until 5:00 and then went into the city. We only had a few hours in the city because the shuttle back to the hotel left at 8:15pm, but we made the best of our time! We had a snack at our favorite Irish pub and then did some shopping! My husband spoiled me and bought me 2 new skirts from Desigual! I love them! We went back to the hotel at 8:15pm and watched a movie before crashing.

Kevin on Las Ramblas

Trying to be artsy. Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

One of the many Desigual shops, but this is where Kevin bought me my new skirts!

So excited and HOT!

We woke up around 8am on Friday morning, but went back to sleep until almost 1pm! We got into town around 2:30 and ate lunch on Las Ramblas before heading up to the Sagrada Familia. This is a cathedral that has been under construction since the late 1800's and is still not complete. We visited the cathedral in December 2008, but I was really interested to go back and see the progress. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised! The exterior was still under construction, but it seemed to me that the interior was pretty much complete. The last time we went inside, most of the interior area was roped off and covered in dust and plastic. This time it was all open and was pretty spectacular! When we were done at the Sagrada Familia, we went back to Las Ramblas to do some more shopping. While we were walking around, we literally bumped into one of the Sports Supervisors from Royal Caribbean, who was on vacation and signing on as a guest to the ship we were inspecting the following day! It was so crazy to see him in such a populated spot in Barcelona! We ended up spending the remainder of our time that night with Sam. Our evening was unfortunately cut short when I had a run in with a nasty Swedish drunkard, and had an emotional breakdown. We took a taxi to the hotel and after I calmed down, I passed out!

Drinking a delicious Sangria on Las Ramblas.

One of many street performers. I can't even imagine how hot they get!

The finished interior of the Sagrada Familia.

The picture of the left is from 2008 and the one on the right is from 2012. It was incredible to see the transformation! 

Beautiful stained glass! There was stained glass surrounding the cathedral. 

Breathtaking!

LOVE him!

More stained glass :)

The exterior of the Sagrada Familia. 

Our friend, that we literally bumped into, Sam! 

On Saturday, we went to the ship.  We got back to the hotel around 3:00pm and went back into the city around 6:00. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then spent some time at the Magic Fountain. This fountain is turned off during the day, but at night it is turned on and they city puts on a beautiful light show. We stayed until about 10:00pm and then went back to the hotel to pack our things. We flew home back home on Sunday. 

There were ponds outside our hotel with tons of frogs. We enjoyed listening to them "sing" in the evenings. 

Waiting for the Magic Fountain show to begin. Do yo like the new skirt!?!

The beginning of the show. 

The show lasted longer than we expected, so we went for a walk to get a better/different view. 

It was beautiful!

I am glad we finally got to see this. Apparently the show only takes place Thursdays through Sundays in the summer and only Fridays and Saturdays in the winter. 

This is the National Museum of Art (Catalunya). It was a beautiful building just behind the fountain.

I loved the colors of this fountain! 

Lisboa, Portugal

On Monday, May 28, our one year anniversary, Kevin and I flew to Lisbon, Portugal. We flew from Colorado Springs to Denver, Denver to Newark, and Newark to Lisbon, and arrived in Lisbon around 8:30am on Tuesday morning. We were unable to check-in to our hotel until 2pm, so we decided to go out and sightsee! It just so happened that our hotel was right next to the first stop of the hop on hop off bus, so we booked two tickets. This is the first time I have ever experienced a city in this way, and I was pleasantly surprised! This was the 3rd time I have been to Lisbon, and the 1st time I have ever had a chance to go out and explore. The city was not as bad as I had originally thought. Every time before this visit, we were in town on a Sunday and the city was literally shut down. I was shocked to even see people on this trip! The bus took us through the "downtown/old town" area first and we just admired the sights from the bus. The next main area we saw is called Belem, and this was an area we explored in a little more depth. We got off the bus at the Jeronimos Monastery and walked around a bit. We walked over to The Discoveries Monument and then to the Belem Tower before getting back on the bus. We took the bus back to the downtown area and ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe before checking-in to the hotel and taking a long nap! We woke up around 7:30pm and went down to the lobby for dinner. We took a few sleep aids and crashed around 10pm.

Riding around on the Big Red Bus.

Mandatory self-photo (always have to have one!)

The back of the King Jose I statue in Terreiro do Paco (Palace Square). 

In front of the Jeronimos Monastery and the Church of Santa Maria.

The entrance to the Church of Santa Maria.

Beautiful stained glass in the church.

The Discoveries Monument.

A close up of the explorers honored by the monument. 

Self-photo in front of the Belem Tower.

The beautiful Belem Tower where Magellan and many other explorers began their voyages!

The April 25th Bridge, built by the same architect who built the Golden Gate Bridge, and a wannabe Christ the Redeemer statue. 

We checked out of the hotel on Wednesday morning, before going to the ship, and then went to lunch with some of the sports staff from the ship. Our flight to Barcelona did not leave that night until 8pm, so we had some more time to explore the city, and our bus pass was good for 48 hours! We went to the downtown area and walked around the main shopping street. We got a quick bite to eat and went to the airport around 6pm. It was a great new experience in Lisbon!!

The Arco de Rua Augusta, once the main entrance into Lisbon. 

Getting some last minute sights in before our late night flight. 

This was too cute! A man trying to make money by playing his accordion also used his adorable Chiuaua to get some extra coins. The Chiuaua won me over! 

Interview!

I realize I am so far behind in updating the blog, and I hate to go out of sequence, but I really wanted to document a major milestone in my life that happened today! As some of you know, I have spent a good majority of my summer preparing to become a full-time teacher. I do not currently have my teaching license, so I have applied and been accepted into an alternative licensure program, which will allow me to teach full-time while I get my license. Well, today I had my first interview! It was a district level interview in the Widefield School District, one-on-one, with the Human Resources Director. If he liked what he heard, he will pass my information on to the principals in the district and I will then have a Site Interview in the next week or two! Crazy to think I could have my own classroom by Labor Day! Good vibes would be greatly appreciated!!

My interview outfit! Thanks Mom!! 

One Year Anniversary!

On May 28 Kevin and I celebrated our one year anniversary! I cannot believe how fast one year went! The main part of our celebration this year was doing a photo shoot with Shannon Coker. Shannon took our engagement photos and our BBQ reception photos, so it was only fitting to have her do these as well. Because Kevin and I were leaving on a business trip on our actual anniversary, we did the pictures a few days early! Here are some of my favorites!! 

After our photo shoot, we went to eat at Il Vicino's, which was were Kevin and I went to eat on our very first date! It was a very low-key evening, but we loved it!