Garfinkels in Europe

[thegarfinkels]

Happy 2018! May the new year bring you and your loved ones all the happiness and joy you deserve. ❤ #nofilter #howisit2018already

[thegarfinkels]

Happy Hanukkah!

[thegarfinkels]

#lincolnparkzoo #zoolights (at Lincoln Park Zoo)

[thegarfinkels]

It may not be much, but it still counts! #snow #whyareallthetreesstillgreen

[thegarfinkels]

Frost on the windows this morning, and a tiny bit of fall color (finally! So pretty!)...but it's going to take some time to get used to cold weather again. 😬

[thegarfinkels]

Sam and I went to see #hamilton! We got to go back stage (thanks to @chuckbontrager, concertmaster extraordinaire) and even said hi to @mig.cervantes!! A super awesome show and evening. (at CIBC Theatre)

[thegarfinkels]

Amsterdam was so much fun! #canals #tinybuildings #quickrainstorms #heinekenexperience #vangoghmuseum (at Amsterdam, Netherlands)

[thegarfinkels]

Good morning, Amsterdam! Yesterday we ate delicious #pancakes, visited the #annefrankhouse and spent the rest of the day walking around. Started today off with some more traditional #dutchpancakes (for katie) and #buttermilkpancakes (for sam)! (at PANCAKES Amsterdam)

[thegarfinkels]

So glad that we were able to see all of the beauty that Paris has to offer, and we're off to Amsterdam now! Our hearts are with all of you back home. Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and safe rest of the week. #paris #louvre #luxembourggardens #eiffeltower #notredame #arcdetriomphe #champselysees #montmartre #sacrecoeur (at Paris, France)

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Eiffel Tower!! #toureiffel #rainydayinparis (at Eiffle Tower, France)

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Hasta la proxima vez, Granada--Bonjour, Paris!! #latergram #thishappenedonfriday (at Paris, France)

[thegarfinkels]

Full day in #granada ...la #alhambra and #sacromonte!! And of course all the free tapas this city has to offer. (at Alhambra)

[thegarfinkels]

El miercoles en Granada.

We got to Granada about noon--a quick taxi ride later and we were at our Air BnB. It’s advertised as being “at the foot of la Alhambra”--and they weren’t joking! We’re right at Paseo de los Tristes, which is a long path you can take around el Albaicin and to the city center. We ate some lunch at a cute place down the Paseo. After lunch, rather than taking the easy route Sam and I wandered straight up the hill, my sights set on getting to El Mirador de San Nicholas which has a stunning view of La Alhambra and is right by my school. 

I got us COMPLETELY lost. Luckily, we had nothing planned for the day so we just wandered around (which is easier said than done--this neighborhood was literally built to be a maze and confuse intruders). Sam got to see most of my route from the bus stop to the school (and we got lost again--8 years is a long time to remember specific turns down tiny side streets!!) We finally found El Mirador, and it was entirely worth it. We stopped for some Cafe con Leche while resting our legs. It was a much easier descent--el Mirador is bascially as far up as you can get in el Albaicin, and our AirBnb is all the way down at the bottom. At night we went into el Centro, walking around the Cathedrals and getting some delicious Tapas, before heading to bed. 

What a wonderful day (but Thursday has been even better--just couldn’t get a decent WiFi connection earlier to post this!! Will post about our Thursday later on tonight).

Love, Katie & Sam

[thegarfinkels]

GRANADA!! We were welcomed by rain, but it is so beautiful it doesn't even matter. #granada #elalbaicin #nofilter (at Granada, Spain)

[thegarfinkels]

[Have an unreliable internet connection--more to come on our first and second days in Granada later!]

[thegarfinkels]

El Lunes en Barcelona

Gaudi day has come and gone! And what a day it was...we started out with a nice breakfast, then walked around Parc Guell, down to La Sagrada Familia, and over to Casa Milá/La Pedrera. We paused for some Tapas on Rambla de Catalunya (a beautifully quaint street), and then finished our Gaudí tour at Casa Batlló. 

I bought a Spanish book as we walked back to our hotel down Passeig de Grácia, which has a surprising mix of retail flagship stores, small artisanry/book stalls, and interesting architecture (both Gaudí and otherwise). The cleanup from the weekend’s La Mercé festival had started, but we listened to some classical music being played by a symphony orchestra at Plaça de Catalunya from our hotel room as we got ready for dinner, and ventured back out. We ventured down side streets to dinner and later walked back up Las Ramblas. It looks so different at night than it does in the day--just as filled with people, but brighter than any city block I’ve seen in recent years...and yet somehow quiet. 

I think the coolest thing for me is taking this all in for a second time, while it’s Sam’s first time here. The difference technology is making in the way we can experience new places and things is absolutely astonishing. 8 years ago, at Casa Batlló, i toured around with my classmates. I have a few pictures from then, and a lot more memories--but I can tell you one thing for sure: it was NOTHING compared to the experience I shared with Sam today. At Casa Batlló they have a self-guided tour that allows you to see the house as it appeared over 100 years ago--when Gaudí first completed it. The walls were stunning shades of blue, almost ombre at times, mimicking the ocean and the tour walked us through exactly how Gaudí intended the house to appear, room by room. I’m speechless at how extraordinary his visions for this space were. And so excited that we were able to virtually see the entire space. Quite a drastic difference from Casa Milá, which is also amazingly beautiful--but with furniture, clothes and other vintage items preserved within the space itself, many rooms are closed off to the public (typical for exhibits of this kind, for sure). It’s just an entirely different viewing & learning experience.

Tomorrow is our last day here, and we’ve got a lot more on our list of must-sees! 

-Katie (and Sam)

[thegarfinkels]

Today was all about #Gaudí --#parcgüell, #casamilà, #casabatllò and #lasagradafamilia. Too many photos to post them all-so here are a few! (at Barcelona, Spain)