So... I've Been Slacking Again

BUT! I kinda have a decent reason for slacking a bit. See I was just recently in Barcelona for a week for a work trip. And let me tell you, for a trip that I was not looking forward to, Hoo buddy, was it amazing.

First off, let me make 2 things clear:

1) I worked my buns off between the hours of 8:30 am and 6:30 pm. I was there for a trade show and we rocked it. Set up went off without any major hitches (there's always something, but solving that something is my job) and we spent 9 hours a week straight standing on hard concrete floors talking to hundreds of people per day. It was exhausting, especially the talking to people part for introvert-anxiety riddled me.

Our Trade Show Booth. My home for a week, during the daylight hours at least.

2) Outside of those hours, we played and it was incredible! Our hotel was 3 streets from the beach and 3 streets from the Rambla del Poblenou and I was sure to make the most of my time. I got up early each morning to run on the beach (except 1) and each evening we spent hours chilling at amazing outdoor cafes or the beach or bars on the beach. One evening, my brother (who tagged along for a few days using me as an excuse for a European adventure) took a Sunset Cruise out into the Mediterranean. I got to drive (captain) the boat for about 30 min and honestly, I almost didn't give up the wheel to come back in.

So basically, I'm going to post some photos of my adventures below as my love letter to Barcelona.

The view from my hotel room - 6th floor - 3 streets from the beach

Playa de Bogatell - perfect weather the ENTIRE trip

I only got to see the beach during the day one day - the day we arrived. Even so, this is around 5:00 pm

The street our hotel was on, the buildings were awesome

The Metro station at Plaza Catalonia - I love travelling by Metro

Fira Gran - where the trade show was

The boat we took out for the Sunset Cruise

My brother and I - he never went long without a Sangria in hand the whole trip.
Most of the time, he was on his own cause I was working, but we did get to share this adventure. 

Don't mind me, just hijacking a ship on the Sea of Monsters. 

Could totally get used to this... 

The sun finally setting. It stayed up until almost 10:00 pm!

Head for open waters and never come back!

Alas, we had to come back in at some point... 

Playing in the water in the evening with my friend, coworker, and Barcelona running buddy, Simon

Never did figure out what this was, but it was awesome and there were several up and down the beach

Can't go to Spain without eating Paella

Holy butts was the food amazing. So fresh and yummy!

Sangria anyone? Umm YES!!

Seriously, the food though... 

Okay, last food pic. Let me intro you to a Culinary Wonder of the World - the Sushi Burrito. 12/10

My morning run view. Who needs extra sleep when you could see this instead?

Simon and I knocked out at least 5K most mornings

I loved running though this tunnel of palm trees each morning!

The turn around point of our runs. Hated to turn back, but we were there to work afterall... 

I didn't get to do much touristing, but this building was near where we had dinner one night and was awesome.
It was designed by the artist Antoni Gaudi. And it was beautiful, the picture does it no justice.

In summary, I loved it. I would highly recommend going and would love to go back and do even more. Barcelona, you were AMAZING!!