Bonjour y hola!

Finished finals = off to Europe the next day. Must ... make ... most ... of ... summer!

We started off in Paris.

Underneath the Arc de Triomphe

Foie gras and figs. I obviously couldn't wait to take the picture before eating. The French really know to present a plate.

Eiffel Tower from the River Seine. I fell asleep for a couple minutes toward the end of this cruise, as we had landed in Paris that morning at 10 am after traveling for 14 hrs. Our theory was that as long as you keep walking, you won't fall asleep. The cruise had seats. Zzzz ...

The Louvre. It was windy. All the time. Turns out Paris, not Chicago, is the Windy City.

You know how you're on vacation and surrounded by local culture and suddenly wearing certain things sound like a GREAT idea? Restrain yourself. You might look like this guy. No boys, Americans cannot wear berets, not even in France.

Canova's Cupid and Psyche

Fromage! Oh, the cheese. We had to try the whole "cheese for dessert" thing. The cheese was good, but um ... cheese, bread, and a salad is like the last thing you want after a meal.

Confit du canard (duck). Soooooo good. One of the best meals I had on this trip.

Garden behind the Grand Trianon at Versailles.

Musee d'Orsay. What a beautiful space!

Sacre Coeur. There was a guy strumming a guitar who, after being encouraged by applauding listeners, was inspired to sing his next song with extra gusto, which unfortunately contained some impossibly high notes.

Next stop, to the Basque Region in Spain, near the border of France - San Sebastian. This sleepy fishing/tourist town was great after the frenetic pace of Paris. Plus, practicamos nuestro espanol! So handy to know Spanish here, not so many English speakers about.

Churros y chocolate for breakfast. I actually saw people drinking the chocolate (we dipped). It was as thick as pudding.

View from Mont Urgull of the other side of La Concha Bay.

Oh-so-deliciously seafoody paella. Doesn't get better than this.

Beach! Not quite as nude as Nice.

Tapas

We found this in our hotel room. It doesn't make sense.

Next to Bilbao. Nice clean city with a super simple metro system - one line!

The Gehry-designed Guggenheim. I've now been to 3 (NY, Venice, Italy, and Bilbao) of the 4 Guggenheims. Just by chance. "Oh, you really like the Guggenheims!" "Not particularly." Not as if I'm SEEKING them out. Actually, I quite enjoyed the Picasso museums we went to, both in Paris and Barcelona.

Campo Volantin footbridge at night

Onward to Barcelona. Or, as the locals say, Barthelona.

Gaudi's salamander at Parc Guell.

How adorable is this? School entrance at Sagrada Familia cathedral.

Sleepy dogs. Their owners were making aluminum can sculptures.

And THEN, back home. Boring home. Hahaha. Actually, it was nice to come home to where you can walk around without being paranoid of pickpockets. Home sweet home.