take me back tuesday

in the midst of my finals-induced blues, i decided to look through all my photos from my trip to europe this summer (really bad idea. now i feel even sorrier for myself). i got to thinking that i had a lot i had never shared, so naturally, given that it's finals week, this seemed like the perfect time to start sharing!

welcome to the happy list's new weekly feature:

take me back tuesday.

once a week, i'll be sharing a snippet of my journey through paris, barcelona, amsterdam, and normandy, until i'm all out of stories to tell and pictures to show.

sound good?

first up is our weekend in barcelona.

we didn't love the city a whole lot (because really, paris had already spoiled us for 9 days. nothing compares to the city of lights.) but we had a lot of fun and were able to see the entire city in three days.

la sagrada familia. constantly under construction.

while we were there, we ate a ton of delicious food (remember this post about my favorite restaurant?), drank plenty of sangria, and got plenty of sun, which, unbeknownst to us at the time, was just about the last sun we were gonna get in europe, as it rained in paris our last two weeks. we also took a bus tour and saw all the incredible architecture. and we spent an entire day at the beach!

(below is just one of the many...characters...we encountered)

rule #5677 of traveling abroad: always find englishmen to buy you drinks. thanks, friends!

oh, please, take me back! i'd give just about anything to be back in barcelona, rather than stuck in berkeley studying for my final.

happy tuesday!

what happens in vegas...

winds up on the blog.

vegas really is the best place on earth.

it's like disneyland for adults

so much to see and do

never a dull moment.

since i turned 21

i've been to sin city twice.

once for my own birthday

and just a few weeks ago for jasmine's.

love life. love vegas. love my friends.

in the land of rain and starbucks

My sister Kendall is a freshman at the University of Washington.

This past weekend her Huskies took on my Golden Bears

at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

Most unfortunately, my Bears were defeated

but I had such a nice weekend with my fam and sorority little sis Katie.

Seattle is so pretty!

I can't wait to visit again and see more of the city.

On Friday, we all arrived, had lunch, and walked around campus.

Kendall in front of her sorority house

Katie and I took a tour of our sorority chapter at UW. so gorg.

We had dinner at the Ram

(I had a crab and shrimp melt sandwich. to die for.)

and enjoyed each other's company.

Saturday was Game Day

(my favorite holiday).

It was especially fantastic because

we got to go on the field before the game started!

My dad's childhood best friend is the UW baseball coach

so we got the royal treatment.

I was literally steps away from my school's football team.

one of the highlights of my life, for sure.

For dinner we had Maggiano's family style.

I probably gained about 30 pounds but it was so much fun.

Good food, good company.

What more can you ask for?

Thanks for showing us around Kendall!

Cannot wait to come visit again.

Viva Las Vegas

I'm off to Vegas today!

48 hours of sunshine, adult beverages, and best friends.

Cannot wait!

See you Monday!

xo

JK, Paris. We're not over yet.

Remember when I said I was leaving Paris today?

Yeah, me too.

Well, the Air France pilots had other plans for me

and decided to strike.

My flight got cancelled (naturally)

so I got stuck in Paris another night.

Though I suppose maybe stuck isn't the right word

considering the fact that it's Paris.

There are far worse places to have to spend an extra night.

So for now, I'm lounging in a bathrobe, laying on my uber comfy bed, eating a Kinder Bueno (try one immediately) and trying to stay awake late so that I can sleep on the plane tomorrow.

Paris, it's okay if you don't want to see me go. I'll be back again very soon.

photo above is just a little teaser for all the fab photos i'm about to send your way :)

Restaurant Review: Sinatra in Barcelona

The dinners were definitely the highlight of Kate and my Barcelona trip.

I'm a foodie, what can I say?

The first night we stumbled upon this little plaza and had paella.

The second night we went to the plaza again and one of the promoters told us about this awesome restaurant.

It was down a dark alley, so perhaps going to it wasn't our smartest move, but it was well worth the potential danger.

Friends, I present to you Sinatra.

The food was sort of a fusion American/Spanish.

I had the best risotto with walnuts (interesting combo but so delicious) and a Tequila Sunrise (to match my sunburn).

The decor was old Hollywood, and they had a movie screen up with Casablanca playing silently. I died.

If you ever find yourself in Barcelona, Sinatra is right off of La Rambla. You must go.

Barca via iPhone and why I'm about to have the best week of my life...

1. View from the balcony of our hostel

2. Legit spray paint on a wall--so euro

3. My polka dotted shirt!

4. In the plaza where we ate dinner all three nights

sangria and walnut cake--life doesn't get much tastier.

Friends, have you ever been to Barcelona?

Spain's city on the water is the most popular place for people from my school to go abroad.

Kate and I jetted there for the weekend.

We feel like mortal sinners for admitting this and I know my generation will collectively disown me but

...we didn't like it.

The humidity was oppressive, the city was really dirty, and it's very Americanized.

We did manage to have some fun and got to see a friend from school, so I'm very happy we made the trip.

I'm going to try to upload more photos, and I have a restaurant review planned, but I have a very busy week ahead of me so it might have to wait until next week.

You may have noticed the title of this blog post...here's what I got cookin' this week:

Tomorrow: (post-midterm...the only gray cloud on an entire week of sunshine) Shopping on the Champs-Elysees, then seeing Harry Potter at midnight (because France is baller and releases movies on Wednesdays)

Wednesday: one of our friends in our program is turning 21! And Bastille celebrations start Wednesday night.

Thursday: BASTILLE DAY. Since I missed out on the 4th in America, I plan to live vicariously through France and its independence day. Red, white, and blue, get ready!

Friday: Amsterdam!

It's okay to be jealous of me. I'm jealous of me too!

Tomorrow!

Soon enough I will have a photo just like this--that I took myself!

The best of America drifts to Paris. The American in Paris is the best American. It is more fun for an intelligent person to live in an intelligent country. France has the only two things toward which we drift as we grow older--intelligence and good manners.

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

It seems only fitting that my favorite author would send me off on my journey abroad!

I am ecstatic about my trip, and cannot wait to share every detail with all of you.

I am so excited for the eating,

sightseeing,

conversing en Francais,

taking an obscene amount of photos,

making both American and French friends,

and most of all, living as if I were French for a month.

A bientot! (wish I knew how to type accents...)

My France Wish List

I'm headed to France in 23 short days! I've got lots of things to do before I leave. I made a wish list of things I need to buy (hint hint, Mom...)--these are obviously absolute necessities.

Passport cover

Hello, it's super important that I have my passport at all times. It would totally be easier to keep track of if I had a cute cover like this one.

White pants

Someone once told me no one wears shorts in Paris (truth, or vicious rumor?) In any case, I'm gonna need something more summery than my usjh (abbrev of usual--thoughts?) denim.

LBD

Every girl's best friend. I have a fabulous one in my possession already, but I'm saving it for causin' some trouble in Vegas for my 21st.

Weekend bag

Barca is booked, and Amsterdam is in the works, so I'm gonna need something reasonably sized to take with me on my cheap plane flights. And it's obvi gonna have to be stylish too.

Sigh. I wish my taste yearned for less expensive things.

That's all I could think of for now. I think I've got most of the rest of my wardrobe covered, and I already have a suitcase big enough to make me look like a fool as I lug it around the airport.

Anything else I forgot? Any tips for a first-time major traveller?

Paris Blog!

Exciting news! I have officially established my travel blog, Jordan Goes to Paris. I am so so so excited to embark on my abroad journey!

I will, of course, still be here bloggin' away on the happy list!

Hope you've all been well over the past week, and I cannot wait to share photos of my incredible weekend with you all!

be well.