The Naylors in Germany & Beyond

Our trip to Barcelona started off a little rocky with our bags getting left in Madrid but we made the best of it and did a little shopping at H&M :) We got our bags back in Munich once we were home for a few days. So, here is our two days in Barcelona in pictures! Enjoy :) We started off our day with a Fat Tire Bike Tour . They have tours all over Europe and I have done a few of them. Bike tours are a great way to see a city especially when you are short on time. Barcelona is a big city so we were glad we did a bike tour! Our first major stop was at the Arch de Triomf which was built for the 1888 World Fair. Our next stop on the tour was Ciutadella Park which is home to a beautiful fountain. We then biked for what felt like a really long time to our next location. I never realized how spread out Barcelona is! We then made it to La Sagrada Familia. (That is the picture at the top of this blog post) La Sagrada Familia is very interesting because it is s...

I studied abroad in Madrid 9 years ago and last month I got to go back. It was SO fun showing Drew around my old stomping grounds and exploring new places that I wasn't able to go back then (read: broke college kid). Madrid holds a very special place in my heart! For all my former students reading this: When you are in college, I highly recommend you study abroad!! It will change your life and is such an enjoyable experience. If you are reading this and you studied abroad or you love traveling: Would you comment and let my students know where you went and how traveling has impacted you? Anyway, back to our Madrid trip!  We flew from Munich to Madrid on the last Saturday of December and landed mid afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we headed to get some tapas. (Tapas are small portions of any type of Spanish cuisine) We went to a place called Pez Tortilla and I highly recommend it! Tortilla is a typical Spanish dish made out of egg, potatoes, and onions. At Pez Tor...

Okay, let me be honest with you for a second... I am OBSESSED with Christmas markets. I didn't even know much about them until I moved here and Y'ALL, they are incredible! Basically for the entire month of December that is pretty much all that we did. Christmas markets are so magical and really get you in the holiday spirit. I actually made a spreadsheet of the majority of the Christmas markets in and around Munich so I could keep track of which ones we visited and how we liked each one. We ended up going to 10 different markets this year. We had to save some for next year :) Anyway, the cool thing is that each market has its own vibe and character. Each market sells food and hot drinks and also has tons of vendors selling different trinkets, ornaments, scarves, etc. I totally thought that I was going to buy a lot more than I did at the markets. I only walked away with a Santa decoration, three cookie cutters, and a small ornament. (You're welcome, Drew) My favori...

Okay, I just had to do a whole post dedicated to our Florence cooking class experience. This was hands down our favorite thing we did on our trip to Italy back in September. When I found the company online and read the reviews, I knew it would be tons of fun and I'm working on my culinary skills so it was a win-win situation :) Our group had a total of 8 people. This included a Canadian couple on their honeymoon and two couples who were empty nesters from Colorado. There is something about traveling and being in a new place that allows people from all over the world to come together and have common ground. We all had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know each other. We started off by going to an outdoor produce stand to grab some of the ingredients for our meal. We got zucchini, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Outdoor fruit and vegetable markets are all over Europe and I'm obsessed. I love the colors and the social aspect of buying your fruits and veggies from a ve...