I try to travel overseas 1-2 times/year, but with COVID and my not wanting to quarantine upon arrival, I haven't traveled anywhere for nearly 3 years. However, with COVID restrictions loosening and a surfeit of accumulated PTO, I decided to take 6 weeks off to travel to Europe. My itinerary was as follows:

Paris, Lyon, Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Bruges, back to Paris

I flew into Paris and did a lot of nothing. I was basically there just to get over jet lag and to get a COVID vaccine QR code (which I was not asked to present anywhere I went, so that was a waste of money). Then, I was off to Lyon via train to meet up with my travel partner. I had no real plans in Lyon except to walk around.








After a few days in Lyon, we were off to Barcelona via train. First stop, Park Guell.






Then Casa Batllo and Casa Mila.














The architecture in Barcelona is unlike anything else I've seen in Europe. Granted, I've only been been to about 20-25 European cities, but most city centers' building designs feel somewhat similar. Gaudi's influence on Barcelona is pretty evident.




Sagrada Familia has been one of my bucket list places and one of the few that exceeded expectations. My travel partner mentioned how the outside of the church reminded her of Stranger Things (we happened to be watching season 4 at the time) and now that's all I can think about when I see it. The inside, however, has no resemblance to the show and is spectacular.
















Up next, Italy.