Rhode Island

During my CT weekend, we drove to Rhode Island just to say I've been to that state. It was dark, I don't remember much; but I am counting it!

Pennsylvania

Back to reality (home and work - not Europe).... and back to documenting where I've already been.

"Book" sights that I've been to:

Gettysburg National Military Park and Cemetery
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Independence National Historical Park

I've visited this state many times. Hershey is a particular favorite of mine.

Europe 2009

These are the places from "1,000 places to see before you die" that we visited on this trip.

London
The Connaught Hotel
Tea at the Ritz
Paris
Hotel de Crillon
Cathedrale Notre Dame de Chartres
Biarritz
The Dordogne
St Emillion
Madrid
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
San Sebastian
La Cathedral de Toledo
Catalan National Art Museum
La Sagrada Familia
Figueres

Restroom bathroom loo WC toilette aseo

Sometimes.....when traveling.....you need to urinate - especially if you drink enough water to stay hydrated. Some of the places we visited were quite hot.

Paris is the worst city to be in when you need to pee. There is not a bathroom at the top of Notre Dame cathedral.

I may have mentioned this before, but I rarely (really!) eat at McDonald's at home. I sometimes eat at McDonald's while out of the country because I need to use their toilette. McDonald's in Paris requires a purchase before you can use their WC. I love Paris, but I hate this aspect of Paris.

There are lots of pubs in London and they all have loos, so it was pretty easy to find facilities there.

I haven't had any trouble finding aseos in Spain when I needed them.

When in Europe, don't ask to use the restroom or bathroom - people here won't know what you mean.....unless they have traveled to the US.

Barcelona Spain

4 places from "the book" to check off:

La Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's unfinished cathedral (might be our last cathedral of the trip).
Museu Picasso
Figueres - not in Barcelona. We drove through this part of Spain on our way to elBulli. I wish we had spent the whole day here.

Catalan National Art Museum

We didn't see as much in Barcelona as expected because nearly everything was closed on June 24th for some holiday.

We did spend some time in Guell Park - a park by Gaudi. It was cool. Jill did some swinging. The girl on the swing next to her lost her smile every time the swing slowed down, and smiled big again when mom gave her another push.

elBulli

I've been to some of the best restaurants - Charlie Trotter's and Alinea in Chicago; the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia; and Taillevent in Paris.

Last night we went to what some believe is the best restaurant in the world - elBulli in Roses, Spain. The picture is not egg yolk - it is mango in the form of a "bag of goo" (Jill's term).

I took pictures of every one of the 34 courses; and I will post them on Facebook and perhaps Webshots. Dinner took 5 hours.

It was a unique experience. The restaurant itself is small and lovely - set on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. We also had the bonus of seeing fireworks - locals were celebrating the Equinox.

The course that surprised me the most because I never ate this before and was uncertain about it was sea cucumber. The course I hated the most was something with bleu cheese. I really liked the tomatoes and the last part of the meal -- the chocolate.

Valencia Spain

We went to the Valencia Cathedral - which is beautiful. The main reason for the trip was to see the Holy Grail. Yes, the cup believed to have been used by Jesus is in this cathedral.

We walked around the science museum and art museum. Both have very unique architecture.

We then went to a beach north of Valencia and played in the sea and napped on the beach. I am very red right now.

We drove to Barcelona - the last stop on this trip. Finding our hotel was a bit stressful, but we are here now. I need to find some ice to cool off my sangria!