Well, tourist season in Paris is officially over. It’s turned wintry – meaning rainy – over the last couple weeks, and our last visitors left on Wednesday. That in itself is bittersweet. It’s nice to get back to a regular routine, but it’s sad to realize that we’ll be leaving ourselves in just a couple months. I haven’t written much about that because I don’t want to think about it.

But at least for now I can continue to ignore it. Let’s talk about Barcelona instead!

I had actually been to Barcelona once before as a teenager, but I remembered almost nothing, except the Sagrada Familia—it’s hard to forget Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished cathedral. It doesn’t look like much has changed since I was there in 2000. Bets on whether they finish by the target date of 2026? (I’m skeptical.)

Other than visiting Sagrada Familia, we spent most of our time eating. We took a paella cooking class, explored the markets, stuffed ourselves with tapas, and ate Thanksgiving dinner at a seafood restaurant in a Gaudí-esque building. Between meals, we walked to work up an appetite. We rambled down Las Ramblas, walked barefoot on the beach, went birdwatching with one of Colin’s colleagues, and hiked Montserrat. We soaked up the sunshine that’s so rare in Paris these days.

Spain marks the 12th country I’ve been to this year. I’d say I’m racking up the passport stamps, but the whole EU thing means that I actually don’t have many.