We had a lot of snow recently, and while clearing the walkways the snow was piled up around this tree – and it made it look to me like it was wearing a big wedding dress. Appropriate for Valentine’s Day!
Scene while walking: February 11, 2014
I found the spot!
Scene while walking: February 10, 2014
On a still and foggy morning, the ponds on campus became a mirror for the trees.
Scene in Spain, #13
One of the things I love about traveling is seeing wildlife out and about that here I would have to see in a wildlife preserve of some sort. In Barcelona, that was green parrots. I followed them around like a little kid.
spotting them in green trees was tricky at first
here’s looking at you!
of course, when I got close, he decided to get shy…
Scene in Spain, #12
After our adventure watching the motorbikes get towed, we made our way to Montjuïc (recommended by many, and it did not disappoint).
Heading up the hill to the fountains
the sound was a nice as the view
I gave my husband the camera so here is a rare photo of me in Spain!
The views on top of the hill were amazing.
Inside the building on top was an art museum, and this is the ceiling in the lobby/entrance.
Inside the exhibit was this Dali (non-flash photography was allowed)
I have to admit, the thing I recall most was being entertained by the pigeons on this statue…
Scene in Spain, #11
We set out the next day and found lovely green spaces and interesting architecture as we walked to the metro station.
However this version of an “Arch of Triumph” – while pretty – is not quite as impressive as the one in Paris:
We sat down at a cafe for a bit, because there was something very surprising and entertaining going on. Two motorbikes were apparently parked illegally, and a very specialized truck came along to tow them – but what it does is harness the bikes and lift them high in the air to be secured to the truck!
As we watched, fascinated by the whole process, a woman walked up – apparently one of the bikes was hers. She talked them into giving it back to her – but I suspect she is still paying a fine…
Scene in Spain, #10
After we took a fast train ride from Madrid to Barcelona we got to our new hotel. This was the amazing view from one of the windows:
Looking the other direction we could see this:
In the middle is Sagrada Familia – more on that in a future post…
Then we went walking – here are a couple of photos from that first wander with no destination in mind:
After this we stopped for a while and decided to make a plan. I reached out to several friends I know had been to Barcelona and they gave a number of suggestions, which guided our adventures in the upcoming days. More soon!
Scene in Spain, #9
Here are some random pictures from the rest of our time in Madrid:
The Invisible Man outside the Prado
A random toy shop
I was entertained by this…
one of my favorite photos I’ve taken of my husband (taking a break during a long walk).
The main train station in Madrid, as we prepared to head to Barcelona.
Scene in Spain, #8
I’ve been very neglectful. Sorry about that! To make up for it here are a ton of photos from the botanical gardens in Madrid. Turns out they have a massive bonsai collection that is super impressive. There are a couple of random flowers and some future tequila thrown in for good measure. It was a lovely place. Unfortunately the bonsai are against a green-ivy fence which makes it difficult to get good photos. I did my best!
Go BRRRRRR-ONCOS!
In early December my husband gave me and my dad an awesome early Christmas gift – tickets to see the Denver Broncos play in Denver. Dad grew up in Denver and I was born there and we’re both massive fans. It’s unfortunate the temperature was soooooo cold that day (the title is stolen from one of the signs we saw at the stadium) but at least we were in the sun while it was still up. Honestly, if our feet hadn’t been so cold we’d’ve done fine – I had my warmest hat on and we were bundled up. It was spectacular (except for the 45 minute standing-in-line outside part waiting for a cab afterwards, and even that was fun in its own way).
I couldn’t believe it when my husband handed me these!
After we landed I told the cab driver the hotel and my dad kinda flipped out. All I knew was it was a Marriott affiliated property – but it turns out the Brown Palace is really really famous and it’s where my dad’s senior prom was held. It’s very fancy.
The Brown Palace was all dressed up for the holidays.
Here’s the view from our seats – we arrived quite early because we had access to an indoor club level. These photos are all with my phone (because let’s face it, I was there to watch the game, not to haul a camera around) and they make it seem like stuff is farther away than it really feels. It was a spectacular day (though cold. did I mention it was cold? It was really cold.)
Here’s my adorable Bronco hand-stamp that (along with my stamped ticket) got me into the indoor club area.
90 minutes before the game no one wanted to be outside if they could avoid it…
The festivities you don’t see when you’re watching on tv are a lot of fun! That giant Bronco head was being rotated constantly. There’s an adorable little kid that runs out and grabs the kickoff tee each time, and he stopped and saluted all four sides of the stadium each time. SO CUTE. And every time the opposing team had a pass not caught, the announcer would prompt the fans and we’d all yell IN-COM-PLETE! together.
Here come the players!
Great view of the Bronco!
This is a seriously big Bronco!
And I don’t know how my husband managed it, but this was the game in which a new NFL record was set – we saw a 64 yard field goal kicked and it cleared the goalpost right in front of us just barely (in fact we didn’t realize it was good at first). SO EXCITING!
Denver lining up for an extra point after scoring a touchdown – this is the goalpost the record-setting field goal *just* cleared.
It helped that we won the game by a lot, too (though we were down by 1 at halftime, because of the record-setting field goal it felt like we were already way ahead).
slightly dark, but here I am at the game!
Me and dad, happy at the end of the victory!
Denver is gearing up for its first playoff game later today – I’m already nervous! GO BRONCOS!
@KellyOSullivan 