Bulgaria? Where is that?

With Charles' recent birthday, that meant it was time for another vacation! Our original plan was to visit two new countries--Kosovo and North Macedonia. I know... very random. When he first mentioned North Macedonia, specifically, I was like "what?!?!" After learning a bit about the country, I decided it sounded cool. Unfortunately, the price of the flights went up which prompted Charles to look at other options for our vacation. He found a really cheap flight to Sofia, Bulgaria and our decision was made.  

Bulgaria was another country that gave me pause. What is there even that would interest us? But soon after starting my research I was very much looking forward to visiting. 

The capital city is Sofia and that is where the bulk of Bulgaria's population lives. Bulgaria is a very old country, but has been controlled by many different groups over its history. Most recently, they were part of the Soviet block. Sofia has an interesting blend of all this history. 

All around the city you will find lions. I have not done the research about why, but nonetheless, here's a picture of one of the lions we found while strolling around Sofia. 

There are also a number of beautiful churches in the city. This one was my favorite that we walked by and I was so disappointed not to be able to visit the inside. We visited during a warm week, so I was wearing tank tops and shorts most of the time. The churches in Bulgaria, much like in Italy, have stricter policies about your attire when visiting. I probably could have gotten away with a quick visit inside, but I did not want to be disrespectful.

This church was in an area we visited a few times when grabbing meals. On our last morning in town we had crepes and coffee and sat on a bench in this square to enjoy them while doing some people watching. 

This is the main cathedral in Sofia and it truly dominates the skyline. We visited the inside, but did not take any pictures. I could not quite tell if regular people were allowed to freely take pictures inside or if you have to pay a small fee. So, I just lived in the moment and enjoyed it without the pressure of taking pictures that would not capture the artistic creations inside. 

Can you believe this view from our hotel room? We stayed at the Intercontinental Sofia. Can I just say that their service from beginning to end was top-notch? They were spectacular. They greeted us at the cab when we were dropped off, took our bag to the room for us, let us sleep in a different room on our last night when the club around the corner was playing their music so loud (that's another story), and even surprised Charles' with a birthday treat. Plus the location was perfect for our stay in the city. There were tons of restaurants down the street and it was an easy walk or cab ride to everything else we wanted to see. If you visit Sofia, please consider a stay at the Intercontinental!

Revisiting Lucerne

How often do you revisit places on vacation? We rarely visit the same place twice (a couple exceptions include the Hendersonville/Asheville area of North Carolina and Charleston), but with the wide range of new places to visit we typically opt for new vs. been there. 

This past weekend was another exception. We planned a weekend away in Lucerne, Switzerland for Juneteenth weekend. Hurray for another federal holiday to celebrate! Lucerne was the final stop of our European honeymoon nearly 14 years ago and I loved it. We stayed in a quirky hotel, had the best chocolate we've ever eaten and had an overpriced takeaway pizza. These were all things I wanted to recreate on our recent visit. 

Alas, my expectations were a little too high. For one, we visited on what may have been the hottest weekend so far of the year. If you have ever traveled in Europe you'll know that hotels do not necessarily have air conditioning. Ours did not, but we brought a fan and figured we could tough it out for two nights. 

We also chose to bring our dog along which always limits what we can do while on vacation. And because we brought our dog, we could not stay in the same hotel we stayed in during our honeymoon. But we stayed in a hotel right on the lake just outside of town which included free bus passes! That was a really nice perk. 

On the first evening of our weekend trip, we hopped onto the bus into Lucerne and walked around. The first picture is a tower that is across a small square from where our honeymoon hotel is located. 

The next picture is just a view from one of the bridges. Lucerne is so beautiful!

Our hotel advertised as having a private beach area. That was a fact. The thing I was not expecting was for it to be so small. Also, the door leading out to the beach area had a no dogs allowed sign. Suzie loves the beach and water. Obviously, as you can tell, we chose to ignore the sign and let Suzie relax in the water for a bit. I put my feet in. It was cold! 

Suzie has now visited five different countries, if I remember correctly. Doesn't she look so content just laying in the lake?

Here you can see the full beach area. It did have some nice grassy terraces with lounge chairs where you could sit and enjoy the view.

The hotel was actually really great. Our room, despite not having air conditioning, was comfortable. The hotel restaurant had a lovely terrace where we enjoyed a glass of wine from a winery right up the street. And it had free parking, which can be a rarity in Europe. The letdown was the area around the hotel. It was beautiful, but was mostly residential homes. There was little space to walk Suzie without her burning her paws on the road. So after sweating it out the first day, we chose to cut our losses and head home early where we could at least enjoy our portable A/C unit. Not all trips will meet all your expectations, but at least we can say we visited Switzerland last weekend! 

Barcelona's Sagrada Familia

The best part of the trip to Barcelona was visiting Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's cathedral. It is a very modern building and still under construction (although promised to be completed by 2026). 

We booked a guided tour and a visit to the Nativity Tower. If you visit, you HAVE to do a guided tour. Seeing it before the tour started was cool, but knowing the design inspiration behind everything made me appreciate the place so much more! 

Throughout my travels, I am ever disappointed that I cannot completely capture the beauty I see in real-life in a picture. This church was beautiful, but you have to see it in person to experience the full depth of its beauty. 

The trip to the tower was interesting. You ride in an elevator almost to the top and then go up a little bit on a narrow staircase to the viewing platform. A small viewing platform... I thought there would be another, larger area to see the city view but there is just the one so take full advantage of it. 

O the return to the bottom after your tower visit, you have the pleasure of descending down the narrow, ever winding staircase. I am afraid of heights and normally avoid tower visits. Going down was not fun, but since it was so narrow I felt a little better. I could easily brace myself against both sides, if need be. It was slow going down, though, because the people in front of us were older or stopped to take pictures along the way. 

Charles took this picture because there was no way in heck that I would take a look down the tower.

If you're visiting Barcelona and for some reason do not have this on your itinerary, do whatever you need to do to add it in! 

The Food of Barcelona

I travel to eat good food, but because I have decision paralysis it can be the most frustrating part of our vacations. I have learned to book food experiences to make it easier on myself and less annoying for my husband. 

During my research phase, I saw numerous recommendations for the Paella Club and it was not a disappointment! First rule of the Paella Club, said our host/chef, is TALK about Paella Club! He has an amazing energy and is so passionate about Catalan food and music that you cannot help but have an amazing experience. Plus, the Cava is seemingly never-ending, so come prepared to drink! 

We had a full class and were at the vegetarian paella station. But at the end of the class, we all sat down at a long table and were able to try all the other versions that were made at the stations. My favorite was the pork paella. I have never made paella and had only eaten it once before, so this was a great introduction and I feel confident that I could replicate it at home. 

And because the food experiences were a 'plenty in Barcelona, we also booked a tapas tour through Airbnb.

At the first stop we tried vermouth. I don't think I have ever in my life tried vermouth and I was not confident that I would really enjoy it since I'm not a big liquor drinker. But when in Barcelona, you must try vermouth and it was surprisingly tasty! I did not eat the olive, though, since it was stuffed with anchovy. 

Our first stop also included some Manchego cheese (yum!) and pickled fish. The fish I did not try. Sorry, not sorry!

The crochets, though, at the first stop were quite delicious!

This beautifully displayed dish is tuna loaf. I tried it.

This was my favorite bite of the night--fried green tomatoes and fried Camembert cheese. It reminded me of the South!

At the third stop we tried a bunch more things. Bread smeared with tomato (a Catalan staple), fried Cod balls (my absolute LEAST favorite bite), fried Calamari (I tried it so I could tell my father-in-law that I did) and a cheese, potato and onion quiche-like dish. We had this at the hotel for breakfast, too, so it was neat to find out that it's a local dish. 

At our last stop I completely forgot to snap a photo, but we tried another croquette and dessert. 

We had a fun group with us. One guy was from the Northeast (came across as a privileged white dude), one couple (a cop and a nurse) was from the San Fran area, one couple was from Italy and then us. I don't know how, but near the end we ended up discussing America's 401k system and gun control. Call me a nerd, but I loved every second of it!

Barcelona

After our one night in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, we drove back to Barcelona to spend the rest of our trip. We dropped off the car rental (you can easily forgo a car in Barcelona) and checked in to our hotel. This was hands-down my favorite hotel I have ever stayed in. I booked it mostly, if I am honest with myself, because I love the way it was decorated. It has beautiful pieces of furniture in the common areas, coffee table books, demi-johns, cool lighting, amazing vintage tile and plants. It had other perks too like A/C and a really great breakfast! If I could stay in this hotel for the rest of my life, I would be one happy lady. It was architecturally interesting, beautifully decorated, quiet and in a great location. 

Breakfast included a ton of options--meats, cheeses, pastries, yogurt, fruit, juices, coffee and more! While on a food tour (more on that in another post), we also realized that some Catalan favorites were included in the breakfast each day. 

Walking around Barcelona and taking its metro was great! We walked around La Rambla and had a fresh fruit juice. Check! We walked through some parks and on the boardwalk. We walked by two of Gaudi's other buildings, but sadly did not visit inside (next time!) Pictured above is their Arc de Triomphe (Paris isn't the only place that has one!)

I love finding fun graffiti in Europe. I kept my eyes peeled for the "one" I wanted to remember and came across this on a walk before our paella class (more on that in another post). The nostalgia of this graffiti won me over and reminded me about how my sisters and I BEGGED our parents for Tamagochis when they came out. I even remember shopping at Toys 'R Us to pick them out when my parents finally caved. 

The main draw to visit Barcelona was to see Gaudi's work. I was first introduced to it when watching a travel show (probably Rick Steves). During my research phase for this trip, I read a ton of posts and saw a bunch of pictures. We visit Park Guell as our first introduction to Gaudi. The Park was not as easy or convenient to get to as we originally thought. We easily hopped on the metro near our hotel, but once you get off the train you still have to walk a good distance (partially uphill) to arrive at the park. We had pre-purchased our tickets for the 5-5:30pm window and were so worried that when we arrived about 5 minutes late that we would have to buy all new tickets. Not to worry, though. They scanned our tickets and there were no issues. 

I will have to admit that I was slightly let down about Park Guell. The main viewing area with the mosaic benches was crowded with people lounging on the benches. The lounging is great and what parks are intended for, but it made it very difficult to get some decent pictures. Plus, the pictures I had seen in my research must have been super edited with colorful filters because the in-person perspective was not as dramatic. Do yourself a favor and don't look at all the pictures and just enjoy it in person!

Andorra

On our most recent trip we were able to cross off two new countries--Spain and Andorra. We flew into Barcelona, rented a car and headed up to Andorra for one night. It was not the most convenient nor affordable of side trips, but it was a must to visit the small country that is nestled between Spain and France. 

Andorra is known for shopping (duty free, of course) and nature. We spent our first evening walking down the main shopping street. If you love perfume, this is the place to come. I think every other store was a perfume shop (a bit hyperbolic, but there were soooo many). 

Our hotel room had the best view! There was a rushing stream right outside. It was especially perfect for white noise at night. 

I keep forgetting to look it up, but this statue is based on Salvador Dali's work and it was in the main shopping area of Andorra la Vella. 

One benefit of our hotel was their spa! Andorra has a lot of spas (much like Germany) and we wanted to spend a least a bit of time there. Our reservation included time in the hot tub which we did not realize until check-in. We were fully prepared to pay extra for it, so that was a very pleasant surprise! 

The other nice thing about our hotel was the in-house restaurant. We chose a half-board reservation which means our time included dinner. We enjoyed our first taste of Cava at dinner. Cava is a sparkling wine, similar to Champagne, that is unique to this region. It is very popular in Barcelona, as well.

Breakfast was included and it was so darn good! They had an amazing selection including a full piece of dripping honeycomb. We were definitely fueled up for a little hike and journey back to Barcelona. 

As I said earlier, Andorra is known for nature. There are tons of hiking trails, skiing opportunities (in the season) and outdoor activities of all kinds. Throughout the country are wooden creatures called Tamarros. They are protectors of nature and the forests. There was one close to our hotel that we set out to find. It was a dreary morning, but we started on our trek, nonetheless. However, after thunder, lightening and hail started coming down and no Tamarro Andy in site, we turned around. We still do not know exactly how much farther we had to go to find him, but maybe we will return one day. 

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

 At work we have a tradition of holding a potluck lunch on an employee's last day. We had an opportunity for one last week. Another co-worker offered to bring gorditas. Having never tried them before, I was looking forward to it! Knowing what she was bringing, helped me pick what to bring. I scoured my saved recipes on Pinterest and saw this one for Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad. 

The recipe was super easy to put together and turned out really good! I even received compliments from my two Mexican-American co-workers. Yes! 

Because this dish is served cold, it is a perfect one for a potluck. Bring some extra cotija cheese for everyone to sprinkle on top of their portion and your serving bowl will be empty before you head home. Or if you're lucky like me you'll have just enough to have a portion later. 

*Because I'm not a fan of onions or cilantro, I left those out and it still tasted really good.