Took what I think may be my last (one of my last?) European trips, this time to Barcelona for a long weekend! I thought everything would be so great, based mostly on weather forecasts and the fact that when I told my PhD supervisors I was leaving I didn't get yelled at for half an hour. But no. I started to suffer from an extremely nasty flu the day we left, the weather wasn't that great, and vegetarian food was actually pretty tough to come by (I thought that would have improved in the seven years since I was last there). Other than that, we had a great time, which reached a zenith when we accidentally stumbled upon the nighttime portion of the La Merce festival. People dress up as devils and put on massive dragon costumes and spray fireworks directly onto on another. It was madness! I think we saw one ambulance standing by for about 5000 people! But no one seemed to get burned or otherwise injured, and it was a really surreal experience. Amazing!


View of Barcelona from Park Güell


Casa Batlló by Gaudi


Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia Garden


Arc de Triomf



The Cascada in the Parc de la Ciutadella


Josep Subirachs sculptures on the Passion façade of La Sagrada Família


On the beach!


caught in the middle of the La Merce festival!