Two perfect days in Dublin

We were about ready to go home and not really looking forward to cold and rainy Dublin (especially after the perfect weather in Barcelona). We got lucky. No rain, sunny blue skies, and nice warm temps. We went to the botanical gardens, slept in the grass, watched some fun street musicians at night, and laughed at all the crazy local drunks living it up on their bank holiday (I have no idea what the holiday was...). The next day we slept in and caught a train to Howth, a little fishing village about 20 min away. We hung out by the sea, and hiked about 4 km along the cliffs near town. Couldn't have asked for a nicer end to the trip. 

Botanical gardens and cemetery:

I didn't know artichokes bloomed!

Howth:

church from 1400's

Last day in Spain and some street art pics

We had a late flight back to Dublin so we spent the day at the beach. The lady at our hostel told us to skip the main beach and go down a few more metro stops instead. She was right. The beach was still packed, but with families and topless locals instead of rowdy tourists. The water was perfect and the sand was nice and clean. We went swimming three times over the length of your stay. It might not seem like it, but me and Sunni are huge beach bums. We don't really have too many pics because we just brought our towels and a book each day. So I included some cool Barcelona street art too.

Beach:

Look at that beach bod!

Street Art:

Gaudi's church

If aliens found the bible and decided to build a church this is what it would look like. Gaudi's buildings are all nuts and this one takes the cake. It reminds me of the set of a science fiction movie. Jesus coming down on a parachute, psychedelic stained glass, twisty white pillars reaching into the sky... It's not even done yet and they've been working on it for 100+ years.  It costs a fortune to get in, but I guess it's worth it. No place on earth quite like it.

that's natural light!!

Miro and the botanical gardens

Joan Miro has a foundation in Barcelona that you have to take a funicular up a hill to get to. The collection is great and really well laid out. Seeing the span of his work laid out chronologically is pretty amazing. No pictures allowed though. We walked from their to the botanical gardens. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. The views were spectacular and the gardens were beautiful and very well taken care of. Never pass up a botanical garden when visiting a city! They rarely disappoint and give a nice time out to the hustle and bustle of a big city.

 I fell in love with this "bee hotel" I'm building one for us and one for my mom as soon as I get home.

Ending our trip in Spain

We've been in a Barcelona for a few days now. We couldn't decide where to go after Rome. Barcelona was cheap enough to fly to and has some of the best beaches. Italy was oppressively hot and swimming sounded like the perfect solution. The weather is so much nicer, the streets are spotless (Rome was a dump). We are staying in a Hostel that shares the street with an Armani and bunch of other high end stores. It's one of the nicest and best run places I've ever stayed in. The goal here has been to wind down. Sleep in, swim, see what can at our own pace. The city stays open late, so there is no rush. Museums stay open until 9 and restaurants until after midnight. Barcelona has a reputation for robberies so we've been traveling light just in case we are mugged. It feels very safe, but some girls at our hostel were robbed and we saw the crime scene of a shooting on our second day.

Skateboarders and Break dancers:

Around the city:

Contemporary museum: