24 February 2010

Paris or Barcelona?

its been a while since i have written a post. not for lack of things to say, but because of a genuine lack of time. The last week or so has been unbelievably busy. busy in a good way, but still busy. Since i last posted, we have been to several rugby games, including a 6 Nations party at a friends house. Little ele in her Welsh kit was the hit of the party. Well, the boys might have preferred the beer and rugby, but E was a close second. We have had swmmining, yoga, walking, and play group. Plus a weigh in clinic and doctors visit. and that doesnt even include the all day Londontown excursion which included eleri's first (of many) visits to the Imperial War Museum. Because what 7 months old doesnt like British Imperialism right? Oh, and e reached the 7 month mark.

so a pretty busy time.

and even though everything we are doing is fun, and even though i love every second of every day that i get to spend with my family, i need a break. a fun, exciting, over the top, break from normal life. i need a holiday.

daily i come up with ideas about where we should travel to and what great thing we should do next. this is not a new thing, just ask the girls i lived with in college. Leah and Stef can tell you that i am in no short supply of crazy ideas. The only thing is, i think that every idea i have is realistic. the one about a year living in Australia, working at a surf-shop with little e playing on the floor? totally doable. or the plan for rhys to quit his job, us to take all of our savings and travel around the world until the money runs out? completely logical. believe me, the list goes on and on. and as any normal, sane person can see, most of my ideas are in fact not realistic.

however, this one actually is. really, it is.

my birthday is in 2 months. I have convinced rhys that we should go somewhere as a family for my birthday weekend. My actual birthday is on a friday and the following monday is a bank holiday in the UK so we would have a long weekend. awesome timing; its like it was meant to be. and we have narrowed it down to two options.

Paris




OR

Barcelona




Paris for the obvious reasons. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triumph etc, etc... and even though rhys is actually european himself, he has never been to paris. neither has eleri. plus, paris is a great city. fun cafes, amazing sites and an interesting french culture.

on the other hand, barcelona is probably our favourite european city. it holds special memories for us. rhys first told me he loved me in barcelona. we spent part of our honeymoon in barcelona. we go to barcelona pretty regularly. its the equivalent of dallas to tulsa. or rogers to tulsa. the fun, bigger city you go to whenever you want a change of scenary. we LOVE barcelona. and eleri has never been there. and i would LOVE for her to experience a bit of why we love it so much. the culture is phenomenal, the sites are incredible, the food is amazing and of course there are beaches. and i love beaches. plus barcelona is home to La Sagrada Familia our favourite cathedral. It is the inspiration for rhys' work on his tattoo half sleeve. its amazing.

and whilst typing that out, i realised that i had a lot more positives for barcelona. but i just cant decide. i know i want a fun break. and either one will be great. so, which one? barcelona or paris?

9 comments:

Katie said...

I say Barcelona, just because I've never been there and I would want to see lots of pictures!! Basically, I'm just selfish. :)

How fun! I don't think you can go wrong either way!!

Oh, and do you have any pics of Eleri in her little Welsh outfit?? :)

Diet DP Loving Mom said...

I vote for Paris. I love Paris and it would be such a fun family adventure!

Sohailah said...

barcelona. I've never been there. Ridiculous, actually. Go again for me... okay - go for you. Looks sunny. The Paris sun can be dicey, yes? But rarely so in Barcelona, no? Londoners need sun. E needs sun - Vitamin D and all.

Stefanie said...

My vote is with Barcelona, as well - I recall it feeling much more festive than Paris, and you should have a festive atmosphere for your birthday! Paris would be great, too, just don't let E accept late night rides with strange Parisian men in Mercedes convertibles ;)

racheljenae said...

Barcelona! I want to go both places,,, but i feel like Barcelona would be more layed back.

Ok, and i'm also passing along a blog award to you as well! Here are the details.
http://www.racheljenaeblog.com/2010/02/award.html

Unknown said...

i've never been to either, but both look FABULOUS!! if i had to pick, i'd say Paris simply b/c it's Paris and you've been to Barcelona more. have fun wherever you go!

and i'd love to talk whenever! (785) 766-6941 or you can email me silvyperkins@gmail.com (i can't log into facebook or blogs at work so it takes me longer to respond). i really hope you move to arkansas!

Sheyennew said...

Familia Sagrada is one of my favorite cathedrals too! We climbed all the steps up to the highest tower they had open at the time! I'd love to see a pic of Rhy's inspired tattoo sleeve!! But I vote for Paris...Its been years since I was at the Louvre and have been thinking about it a lot lately... so I could live vicariously through you going there! :-)

Devi said...

Geneva!

Oh wait a minute... how about Paris?? And I can talk Frank into letting me hijack your birthday weekend with a trip of my own?

AcresofHope said...

I don't normally comment and am kind of a lurker, but I wanted to put my vote in!

PARIS! You can go to Barcelona any old time. And Paris would be a fun, new experience for your family to do together. You will definitely create new memories.

Just wanted to put my vote in! I really enjoy your blog!