Barcelona Adventures

We've been maintaining a Barcelona Visitors Guide for friends on this site for a while now — a running list of neighborhoods, restaurants, cafes, bookstores, markets, and things to do for friends and family visiting the city. It was useful.…

This is quite a project Kate took on last Christmas! Wow. You can read all about it here. Have there been any missed citas? Not really. Maybe a few that were a bit more impromptu and didn't make the notebook. And many that happened…

Beyond the other trips, summer and fall were busy. We made it to London a couple of times to see Lilly and catch a Vikings victory, and had visits from both friends and family. We had an amazing Thanksgiving, and were just exploring.

So, during the month of August, just assume Spain is closed. You want to go to your favorite coffee shop? "See you in September!" Need a new outfit? "We return September 1st." The fish market? "We are on vacation." The pharmacy?!?!…

A little Baltic getaway for Kate and me while Cameron was off visiting Lilly in LA. Stops in Riga, Tallinn, and Pärnu—some great meals and cocktails, some medieval streets, some sandy hikes, and more than one topiary elephant. Both Latvia…

While the kids were off in Cali, we snuck in a road trip birthday getaway—first to the Guadalest Valley, then up to Matarraña. Both were quiet, beautiful, and just far enough from real life to feel like we’d gotten away with something. Stayed…

Spring Break in Tenerife, where we all got some much-needed deep breaths & relaxation. Plus I won the Wiki bet on The Canary Islands being Spain, but also Africa. Mostly tennis, beach, pool, and just enough sunburn to feel like we earned…

What a great time with family in Barcelona! First-time visitors, repeat visitors, and long-term visitors! Absolutely amazing. We were so excited to have Anna and her family become locals along with us for a while, and hopefully, just the start…

When you're walking around Barcelona, first, make sure to look up. The architecture is amazing and it is easy to miss a beautiful building or view. But don't forget to look down too. Barcelona sidewalks are created with different tiles in different…

Spring was full of festivals and visitors-- it was amazing seeing so many of our friends. Oh, and we bought an apartment! Always a random festival somewhere in town.

We were lucky enough to visit the Living Table (Chef's Table) at Disfrutar twice in the fall of 2023 -- with two sets of amazing friends. Barcelona is home to countless great restaurants and lots of Michelin stars, but Disfrutar is something…

Priorat, boating and watching the America's Cup practices, a quick trip to Minnesota, a rental on the Costa Brava, and wonderfully long visits from family and friends.

The Beach, F1, Barça wins La Liga!

An amazing wedding a a trip up the PCH to see family & friends.

A last little trip before returning to Southern Pines... Paris, London & Amsterdam.

Some color photos and a couple videos from our trip to Cape Town and Safari. Lions on the hunt Our Hyena friend Elephants at the pool

A quick trip to Belgium to see the old house, and show the kiddos where the Petsolt clan spent a few great years so many years ago. Lots of Waffles & beer, the Manneken Pis & a bit more of Christmas decorations.

My sisters join us in Turkey for an incredible trip in a stunning country. Sharing our experiences in Istanbul & Cappadocia was perfect. We can not wait to go back!

With Kate's Dad in tow, we hit the road to visit Normandy--which is incredible. We make lots of stops in France along the way, but the most unbelievable are cave paintings from 17,000 BC. However, we were NOT allowed to take photos of thos…

Lilly joined the Madrid Osas for the Lisboa Cub Lacrosse Tournament in Lisbon--she was AMAZING! Then we rented an RV and camped along the Southern Portugal coast to celebrate Cameron's 13th birthday. The go-ahead goal on the broadcast…

Lots to see and do... Paella, Priorat and events around town. Vamos Rafa! (It was fun seeing him win a tournament on his home court.)

I'm on a roll - two posts in one day! Had some thoughts so going somewhat stream of consciousness on my Wednesday. Had class from 9 - 1. Four hours is a lot each day but still loving it thanks to an amazingly patient, kind, dedicated and…

Cooler days in Barcelona. Lockdowns aren't so bad here.

Our first summer in Barcelona.

I can’t believe we’ve been here almost a month already! Wow, it is speeding by faster than I even imagined. We don’t even have a well working shower yet—ours is like a combination of getting hit with a fire hose while someone simultaneously…

Our second weekend in Spain and we decide to go to France. In Eze (one of my Mom's favorite towns) we happen to catch the Tour d'France!

That's what my four year old nephew shouted as we drove away after saying goodbye. Side note: it will also be the last line I use at his wedding toast someday. Love that kid. The last couple days brought with them a lot of sad goodbyes. Sisters,…

We learned today that our fathers had never had craft cocktails. Never. That's part of Kate and I's food triangle. This was something we obviously needed to remedy. Luckily, we have a favorite cocktail bar in Barcelona, the Collage Cocktail…

Quick note: on our way to our paella cooking class our taxi couldn't get through because of the march for International Women’s Day...so he dropped us and told us to hoof it the rest of the way. What made this challenging was the thousands…

Kate always finds us hidden gems. We just watched castellers practice. Denny & Lou watched from above with a beer & brandy and Kate & I hung out by the practice floor. There were over 100 people supporting this design. Amazing! Side…

So while boarding in Munich on our way to Barcelona, my dad was pulled aside by a very rule oriented, strict, authoritative (aka German) Lufthansa employee to weigh his bag. Apparently, it was ONE kilo over the limit. Who would have guessed…

My dad arrived for our pre-trip meeting (scheduled at his request) loaded with questions. We began with updates--hearing about what he's packing, the apps he's downloaded, the nuances of Lufthansa's overhead rules (1" smaller than Delta it turns…