Kingsley and I just returned from a magical two weeks in Spain, Austria and Germany where we ate great food, drank great wine and visited with some wonderful family and friends. Our first stop was Barcelona which is currently perhaps one of my favorite cities in Europe.  The Tapas, the beaches, the shopping, the city vibe...I loved it all. 

Even though it was early March and we thought it a bit too chilly to be hanging out in a swim suit there were tons of people walking, running, surfing and even a few brave nudists enjoying the beautiful Barcelona sunshine. 

In stark contrast to how we typically feel after flying to the US from Singapore, we felt surprisingly good after our 15 hour (RED EYE) flight from Singapore through Dubai and then on to Barcelona.  So instead of just crashing into the hotel we decided to take a walk down La Rumbla (best people watching street in Barcelona) to the beach. We stopped at Maka Maka a cute little beach Tapas cafe for the hummus trio requesting extra carrots instead of pita bread...

Typically in Singapore asking for extra of anything will not only increase the bill significantly but often you will be given a teeny tiny portion extra...not so in Spain...we got EXTRA carrots!  And they tasted amazing...And to the shock and awe of our waitress we polished off every single carrot! Kingsley then dared me to call over the waitress and state that we had specifically asked for extra carrots and inquire into their whereabouts but she looked a little harried so I wasn't sure she would find the same humor in the situation that Kingsley and I did. I think it was the best decision but Kingsley and I giggled about those carrots for the rest of the trip! 

Life takeaway...never underestimate how good real food will taste after 15 hours of airplane food and the things you think are funny after sleep deprivation are quite possibly not so funny to the well rested. 

We spent the next few hours at the beach wandering around and enjoyed a beautiful sunset and then went off in search of our first Tapas dinner.  We were recommended to eat at Cal Pep Tapas but they only opened much later in the evening and Kingsley and I were starting to fade so we enjoyed a quick dinner at Taller Tapas and then slept like babies that night.