European Outtakes:

When one is snapping photos at seemingly every moment, it is inevitable that there will be some photographic duds. It is also inevitable that you capture some real candid gems...

Rather than have these moments collect dust within my iPhoto library, I have decided to let them see the light of day. I may regret this later. 

[Just doing some parkcore while hiking up the mountain over Nice. When the beau caught this moment so perfectly it sent us into giggle fits. I still laugh at this shot!]

[Keeping ones eyes open in direct sunlight for multiple photos can be taxing. Seriously.]

[Remember when we rode that ferris wheel in Nice? I neglected to reveal that I am terrified of heights and the moment we started to gain some real altitude I got the nervous giggles, big time. This was a child's ride, right? It hadn't crossed my mind that it would be terrifying!]

[Okay, this was the part where the nervous giggles turned into shrieking. Check out the death grip I have on that pole as well! I couldn't bring myself to let go for over half of the ride.]

[While in Monte Carlo the wind was out of control near the water. Here I am trying to get a handle on my hair for a photo op for a solid five minutes before my boyfriend was finally able to get a decent shot.]

[Still attempting to wrangle in my tresses...] 

[Oh look, I still can't get it under control.]

[JR would always have to wait for my to do a little self-styling for a picture... He got tired of this and opted to start snapping photos during this process on our way to Cannes. Here I am making my scarf just right...]

["Babe! I gotta put my sunglasses in my bag first!"]

[Lost in Parc Güell.]

[Candid frustration.]

[The wind strikes again!]

[Full disclosure, our last meal (at the airport, mind you) was none other than McDonalds. This honestly embarrasses me more than any of the former pictures! We just had to fill our bellies quickly and the smell of the french fries proved far too comforting to resist.]

Tomorrow, I share some of the highs and lows of our trip!

Barcelona, Sagrada Familia:

La Sagrada Familia was pretty high on my must-see list for Europe. On our last afternoon in Barcelona before heading home, we finally paid the in-progress Basilica a visit...

We were quite blown away by its sheer grandeur, until we walked inside of the main temple... And then we were left speechless. I will let the photographs speak for themselves.

Oh, the light! As the sun set new angles and colors and shadows were revealed in the most magnificent of ways. I couldn't get enough.

On the outside, the details were what captivated us. The intricate carvings, the depictions of the stations of the cross... We studied and stared for forever.

In the basement was a museum of sorts, dedicated to telling the tale of the construction; past, present, and future. It is also the final resting place of Gaudí himself. 

Completion is set for the year 2030, and I couldn't help but think how exciting it would be to show our children one day and say, "I saw this phenomenal place while it was being built!". They have yet to even erect the primary center tower, which will make it almost twice as tall as it stands today! I absolutely cannot wait to see the final product.

We had to head back into the main chamber again, just to see it one more time...

To end our final night we went to the Irish Pub across the street that came highly recommended, where we drank Magner's Cider and watched Arsenal v. Newcastle. There was even a friendly wager on the match between the beau and I since those are our respective Premier League teams. If you know anything at all about English soccer than you know that I lost before it even started. ::Sigh::

A tipsy walk back to the hotel, a rough night's rest (why are beds in Spain as hard as a board?!), and then we began our journey back to Los Angeles. There are no photos from that day because, well, we were purely and utterly exhausted. We were both quite the cranky messes by then, to be honest. 

Tomorrow, some outtakes from our trip... Aka, that time I posted a bunch of embarrassing photographs of myself. See y'all then! 

Barcelona, Parc Güell:

Another quick Swiss Air flight over the Matterhorn and into Zürich, then back to Barcelona we went. This time we opted to stay in a less touristy district to get a more local feel for the city. It was far more quiet and slow-paced than the Gothic District. We liked that.

In the morning we started walking with two objectives: Breakfast and Parc Güell. We didn't have to look for any more signs or pull out our map once we got close to the park... We simply followed the swarm of other tourist-types straight to its gates.

While there we marveled at more epic views over Barcelona and explored Gaudí's former home; we especially enjoyed seeing the desk at which he worked (pictured below), still adorning the room adjacent to his bedroom.

Continuing along, we stopped to take in the architecture and mosaic artwork that truly makes this a special place. There was even a string band playing in one of the corridors with excellent acoustics that really made it feel all the more European. 

Once we were done and our bellies were starting to grumble, we hopped in a cab and headed straight for the center of the city for some more leisurely shopping. (I just couldn't get enough of the cheap prices at the multiple Mango and Zara stores scattered throughout every city we visited!) 

Tomorrow, we enjoy our final afternoon and evening in Europe...