13 Barcelona, Spain

Tapas. Sangria. Siesta. Barcelona quickly put us at ease with its laid-back pace of life.

The city's beautiful parks didn't hurt either. We found between outdoor cafes and the many greenspaces that one could spend days in Barcelona without entering a building save to sleep at night. On our first day we treked up to Guell Park and were absolutely wowed by the Gaudi structures scattered all over this huge green area, giving everything a very surreal, very unique style. Tourists snapped pictures right next to locals enjoying the afternoon. We found a similar scene at Parc de la Ciutadella, minus the Gaudi architecture. This is another great sprawling park with a huge fountain as its centerpiece. We even caught a free classical music concert there one night.

The most expansive park area we found was the Sants-Montjuic district. This area houses the National Palace, Botanical Gardens (a great spot for our lunch picnic!), and El Poble Espanyola--a "traditional" Spanish village that we decided had too high an entrance fee to visit. We found out later that this is actually a fake village built in the 1920s! We were saving our Euros for the nearby Olympic Stadium and the Montjuic fort, but were surprised and delighted that both were free! The historic fort had amazing panoramic views of the city and we had a lot of fun sitting up top watching boats come in from sea and planes descend to the nearby airport. We decided to hike up and down from the city level, but it's also possible to take a cable car to and from the waterfront which looked like a more relaxing option. Overall the whole Sants-Montjuic area was relatively uncrowded and serene compared to sites back at sea level.
On our first night in Barcelona, we found a busy cervezeria (beer-eria? yes please!) to sit outside and enjoy some tapas and drink. Katrina had been dying for real sangria since arriving in town, so that was the first thing we found on the menu. Given our budget, we were saddened to see it listed for 9 Euros. We weren't surprised since a glass of wine could set you back that much in Paris. But then we realized it was 9 Euros for a pitcher! And the tapas was proportionally priced. Dining out in Barcelona was wonderfully affordable and we had a great time eating around the clock.

We were surprised on our visit to the Barcelona waterfront to find such beautiful beaches walking distance from downtown. (We're from Boston...think dirty Revere beach.) We hadn't brought our swim gear when we stumbled upon it, so instead we found some empty chairs and basked in the Mediterranean sun. There were also tons of restaurants and cafes lining the beach--great views, but overpriced menus to match. Not far, though, we happened across a fantastic tapas spot in Barceloneta at 56 Carrer del Baluard, in the southwest corner of Placa Poeta Bosca. Tables were shared, Catalan chatter was loud, and we guessed at what to order from a blackboard menu on the wall. We found out later that the "morcillos" we ate is a Spanish spin on blood pudding.

We found two huge markets while in Barcelona, the bustling Mercat de la Boqueria near the cruise port (crowded with more tourists than locals) and the smaller Mercat de Santa Caterina. Both housed butchers, cheese mongers, and stand after stand of deliciously fresh produce. We stocked up on serrano ham and manchego for a nice picnic dinner. Both markets are located adjacent to the older parts of the city, composed of charming narrow alleys which are a maze to navigate. No matter how many times we found ourselves in this quarter of the city there was literally always something new around every corner.

We were lucky enough in our honeymoon preparations to win a free stay at the five-star Claris Hotel from a lastminutetravel.com promotion. We enjoyed four nights of luxury, complete with spacious accomodations, plush robes, sparkling bathroom (including bidet!) and a beautiful rooftop pool with great views of the city. It was a real pleasure returning to our room at night, save for the reception staff. We're not sure if they flagged us as non-paying guests, or if our first appearance in travelling clothes and backpacks grabbing at the free candy gave us away, but they treated us brusquely. Definitely not what one would expect of five-star service.

Looking around the bus on the ride to the airport at the end of our visit it was plain to see from the sun-kissed (even the Brits!), smiling faces that everyone spent their time as we did in Barcelona...outside. Its as if Barcelona was granted by the gods eternal good weather because for four days we experienced almost unabated sun. We know realize that siesta is out of necessity rather than novelity as it would be impossible to make it through a day under the pounding rays from above without a little snooze.More pictures from Barcelona can be found here.

6 La Paz, Mexico

Located less than 100 miles from Cabo San Lucas is the sleepy capital of Baja California del Sur: La Paz. It is here that we celebrated a white Christmas (sand not snow) with Katrina's family.

Flying to La Paz is not an easy feat. Though it has its own airport, getting there from the east coast requires at least two layovers to be affordable. Much easier and less expensive is flying to the tourist destination Cabo San Lucas's airport. From there, we took an airport shuttle to the San Juan del Cabo bus station to catch an Aguila bus to La Paz (they leave every hour or so). For the return trip, you also have the option of taking a Peninsula Ejecutivo bus directly to the Cabo airport from the La Paz bus station--a much comfier ride for only a few dollars more that we highly recommend.

Experiencing La Paz is best done on foot. Though the city is a sprawling grid, most of the action is contained to a condensed area. The Malecon, the paved promenade pictured above that stretches a mile or so along the coastline, marks the length of the compact city center. Many of the larger restaurants are located close to the water and as you walk uphill, you find many small taco stands and street vendors selling candy, mini donuts, and some of the most delicious churros we've ever eaten. Also downtown is the Mercado Francisco Madero where vendors display heaps of luscious fruit and vegetables, fresh fish and seafood. Directly in front of the Mercado was our favorite tortilleria; the tortillas de harina (flour) melt in your mouth.

La Paz is an absolute mecca for seafood-lovers. Between the two of us we ate shrimp, lobster, marlin, manta ray, oysters and salmon during our five-day stay. One of the best taco places in town is Bismarck-cito--but at night they only serve full entrees, which are nowhere near as good as the daytime taco fare. But one of the real culinary highlights of La Paz is La Fuente, an ice cream parlor that caused Pavlovian responses. They offer unusual flavors like corn, tequilla almond and lemon cream in delicious cookie-like cones.

Though La Paz is located on the water, there are no real beaches in town and locals do not recommend swimming in the bay. A 30-minute drive up the Pichilingue Peninsula takes you to many beautiful beaches, so originally we thought we'd rent a car. No luck: all eight or so rental spots in town were completely out of cars (we recommend reserving ahead of time if you want to go this route). We then found a local bus that goes to Playa Tecolote, but alas, the bus schedule is a bit more flexible in the winter months and after being told three different stories about departure times (from the same Aguila employee) we grew wary. Katrina's dad then found a cab driver who agreed to take six passengers in his compact cab and pick us up at a designated time for about $20 each way. Deal! Omar dropped us off at Playa Balandra, a beautiful beach in a protected cove where we played the day away.

The highlight of our stay was undoubtedly the day-long trip we took to Isla Espiritu Santo. We hired a motorboat, kayaks and snorkel gear through Marlin Adventures, and our guide Javier took us on an unforgettable excursion. Our first stop was when Javier spotted the fin of a whale shark and encouraged us to hop in. We thought he was joking, but apparently these huge creatures only eat plankton and don't have a taste for humans. So we broke out the snorkel gear and chased after him. John and Nicole actually touched the 20 foot beast (we found out only later that touching is not recommended) and we found that the real danger was some vicious agua mala--three of us got jellyfish stings. We also got to see some rollicking dolphins and a spouting whale on the boat ride.

Our next big stop was a rock formation off the coast of Espiritu Santo that is home to some 500 sea lions. We again outfitted ourselves in snorkel gear and got to swim with them! Absolutely amazing, but a bit scary as these large creatures get awfully close--especially the young ones that act like playful puppies (one took a major liking to Daniel!) The water was also teeming with exotic fish that would make any snorkeling trip even without their rambunctious sea lion neighbors.

Back in the motorboat, Javier took us to the stunning Playa Ensenada Grande in a northwest cove of Espiritu Santo where we ate the delicious marlin ceviche we'd picked up from Javier's aunt at Playa Tecolote on the way out that morning. The woman makes a mean ceviche! We then hopped in our kayaks and spent the remaining daylight hours exploring the island shores.

For most of our time in La Paz we stayed at Las Gaviotas, where the family rented a two-bedroom condo. The condos are very comfortable, each with its own private oceanview deck, and there is a shared swimming pool. It was great to have our own kitchen to cook with the delicious ingredients and fresh fish from the mercado.

Since we arrived before the reservation at Las Gaviotas began, we spent our first night in La Paz at Casa Jalisco. This was a very nice hotel--spacious rooms, bubblers of purified water on every floor, beautiful pool, and an exceptionally friendly staff that spoke excellent English. The one drawback is location: Casa Jalisco is approximately a mile and a half from downtown with not much going on in the immediate neighborhood.

Though La Paz is much further than many Mexican destinations, the longer haul definitely paid dividends in the end. We found La Paz to be the perfect Mexican mixture of one part idyllic beach, two parts seafood tacos and one part ocean adventure.

La Paz on Dwellable

13 Nicaragua

After deciding it had been much too long since we had left the country, we settled on a brief weekend trip to Nicaragua. Upon arrival at Logan we were joined at the American ticket counter by the New England Revolution who were on their way to LA for an upcoming match. While our flights were uneventful that day (the way we like it!), we found out on the news later that the Revolution were not as lucky.

We arrived in Managua, Nicaragua's capital city, after dark and quickly found our hotel shuttle. Along the road we saw numerous red and black Sandinista flags being waved as people were getting ready for celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution the next day. Our first and last nights of the trip were spent at the Intercontinental in Managua. The accommodations would certainly be considered deluxe by Nicaraguan standards, with spacious rooma, a pool, and a bar that served delicious cherry daiquiris. Thankfully, the hotel was practically free thanks to a great Orbitz flight plus hotel deal.

Still unsure of the safety of our surroundings, we gently settled in to our time in Nicaragua with a visit to a nearby mall that offered a number of restaurants. This mall was not too dissimilar from an American one on a Friday night, with teenagers abound waiting to see dubbed versions of Mamma Mia! and The Dark Night. Though we do love ABBA, we passed on the movies and settled on Tacontento for dinner and Tonas--Nicaragua's most popular domestic beer.The next morning we hopped a bus to Granada (pictured above) to get out of town before the Sandinista rallying, and presumably American villifying, really began. Riding a Nicaraguan bus is an experience in itself. There is no schedule--the buses leave as soon as they fill up with enough people. Along the way an agent stands at the open door of the speeding bus yelling out the destination, hoping to coax more passengers aboard.

Granada is best known for being the oldest colonial town in the Western Hemisphere, founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba in 1524. Upon arriving in Granada we oriented ourselves by first visiting the Parque Central, the city's hub of activity. We refreshed after our bus ride with juices and a vigoron--a local favorite of yucca and fried pork skin. As we slowed our eating pace we were approached by a 12-year-old boy who pointed at our food and gestured to ask if he could have some. He sat down, finished off the plate, and told us the dish was "picante" and pointed to our juice. Before slurping down the last of the drink he was joined by his friend, who was not going to miss out on this fun. And thus, we made our first Nicaraguan friends: Kevin and Jonia!

Unfortunately they did not recognize our hotel name, but we knew it was south of the Parque Central, so we set off to explore. Two blocks later we were in the middle of the bustling city market, the street lined with vendors selling everything from fresh produce to homemade cheese to new white sneakers! We navigated our way through the busy streets, asking people for directions to the Hotel Terrasol, finally realizing we had gotten ourselves much too far from the center of town to be anywhere near our hotel.

Back at the Parque Central (pitctued above), we finally found someone who could direct us. For those of you who decide to stay at Hotel Terrasol--which we highly recommend--it is located three blocks west and one block south of the Parque.

The Hotel Terrasol is owned by a married couple, Victor and Katja, who built the hotel from the ground up just last year. They are wonderfully attentive and helpful; within minutes of arriving they directed us to many must-see sights and booked us on an afternoon boat ride on Lake Nicaragua to explore Las Isletas.

The archipelago is composed of 365 little islands off the coast of Granada that are said to be formed from a volcanic eruption by nearby Mombacho some 20,000 years ago . Our tour weaved in and out of the many islands with a few stops along the way. Our favorite stop was Monkey Island--residents of the neighboring islands rid themselves of these pests by transporting indigenous monkeys to a single island of exile. Since they can't swim, they're stuck there. As we sat in our boat watching the monkeys swing on trees, another boat of visitors arrived and two monkeys hopped right on board! One of them moved to an empty seat in the back and sat patiently waiting to go for a ride. The other (pictured above) was pushy and wanted food. Both took a good amount of coaxing to disembark the boat, and the pushy one put up a real, and momentarily terrifying, fight.

We spent our time on land visiting Granada's old cathedrals, museums, eating delicious food and drinking delicious Tona. The best view in the city is to be had at Iglesia de la Merced. For the price of one dollar you can climb the bell tower of the city's oldest church, built in 1538. To catch some of the sights we missed by foot, we took a horse-drawn carriage ride through Granada's colorful streets to the city's outskirts. Our carriage driver, Otilio, brimmed with pride as he described the sites and history of Granada. The only problem was his descriptions all came in Spanish, leading to many interesting exchanges between him and Patrick who speaks Spanish on a pre-school level. After one particular miscommunication where Patrick generically asked "personas entrada?" we ended up on a private tour of the closed and dark Forteleza la Pólvora.

We were sad to leave Granada after only a short time there. It is beautiful, charming, and most amazingly, wholly unspoiled. The people living there are some of the friendliest and most welcoming we've met in all our travels.

Managua, on the other hand, is one of the most depressed cities we have seen. It has yet recover from the catastrophic earthquake of 1972. Even the cross on the top of the historic old cathedral has been left broken. Managua is not safe to explore by foot, but there are guided bus tours designed for visitors. However, we found a surprisingly cheaper option--hire a taxi for a few hours! At a rate of $10/hour, our cab driver, Guillermo, took us all over the city, offering us his personal narrative in very good English. We saw Loma de Tiscapa crater lake, the 6,000-year-old footprints of Acahualinca, the official presidential palace, as well as the real, heavily-guarded mansion residence of President Ortega. We also saw the huge city plaza, still dotted with red and black flags, that had the day before been packed with tens of thousands of Nicaraguans rallying in honor of the Sandinista Revolution Anniversary.

On our last morning in Nicaragua, we scavenged the Mercado Roberto Huembes. Much larger than the Granada market, we got lost in the aisles of hanging raw meat and walls of T-shirts. We polished off a final plate of gallo pinto, a popular rice and bean dish served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then returned to our hotel for final packing.

As we sat by the Intercontinental pool waiting for our shuttle, we brainstormed destinations we can cram in to our next year of travels. Stay tuned.....

1 West Coast

We have enjoyed our recent trips to the left coast so much that we decided to plan an action-packed Memorial Day getaway out west. Accompanying us for the trip was Patrick's brother, Riley "Carl" Foster, for his first visit out west since the time he prowled Disneyland in a stroller. Much to the delight of the brothers they were able to catch all of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals en route thanks to Jet Blue's 34 channel's of Direct TV (yes we are a walking Jet Blue ad). Much to their dismay however, the Celts lost their first home game of the playoffs. Upon arrival at the Days Hotel in Oakland late that night we were checked in by a large man wearing a sky blue Days Inn polo, suspenders, and a mickey mouse timepiece around his neck. A more welcoming sight I cannot imagine.

The next morning we took a stroll along the highway to get to the Oakland BART station. We obviously looked a bit lost upon walking in to the station as we were immediately approached by a friendly Oaklander looking to help. He asked where we were going, showed us exactly how much fare we needed, and helped us purchase our tickets. As we very gratefully thanked him, he pointed to a destination where he was going, and showed us exactly how much he needed to get there. While it was clear he wasn't going anywhere, we very happily provided him the fare. Our conclusion: the beggars in Boston have much to learn from their helpful West Coast counterparts.

We rode the BART to the Mission District, San Francisco's Latin Quarter, to begin our day of exploring the city. The streets of the Mission District are colorful, lined with fabulous murals, cafes, and markets displaying fresh produce. Dolores Park, a sprawling greenspace located in the heart of the Mission District, provided fantastic views of the city skyline. After a few hours of wandering around we refueled with a strawberry soda from a local shop and hopped a bus to the other side of town. No first trip to San Francisco would be complete without a visit to Lombard Street and that was our next stop. This is the crookedest street in the world--tourists' cars line up to take a turn to wind their way down the hill, dodging people who jump into the street to take pictures (like us).

It has long been a Bergmann family tradition to visit Ghiradelli Square when in San Francisco. The chocolate shop offers free samples as well as every flavor, shape and gift basket they make. The adjoining ice cream parlor makes phenomenal sundaes, including a gigantic creation called "The Earthquake". The 10-scoop, fully-loaded treat taunted us, and we decided to take on the

challenge. The first bite was delicious, but as we worked our way through the task grew more arduous, the process messier. Eighteen minutes later, we finally took the last bite. Victory! As Riley and Katrina hobbled outside holding their stomachs, Patrick boldly declared that he was hungry, and the two looked on as Patrick downed an In-N-Out burger and fries. Once Patrick finished stuffing his face, we walked along Fisherman's Wharf to work off our mid-afternoon gluttony. We passed by street artists, musicians, and the infamous Bushman who jumps from his leafy disguise to scare tourists for tips. When comparing notes with Bay Area natives later we found out that this guy has been working the Wharf for years.

We returned to the Days Hotel in Oakland to get ready for that night's Sox-A's game at McAfee Coliseum. To prepare for the game we decided to indulge ourselves with some of the prominent local fare- Jack in the Box and 40's of Budweiser. After many ounces of Bud we were ready to be loud, rowdy, and represent. Unfortunately the Sox weren't quite as prepared and fell to the local nine 8-3. After the game the suddenly cocky hometown fans decided to verbally berate our red and blue clad crew. Patrick was more than up to the task and the walk back to our hotel was heated to say the least.

Before anyone came looking for the loud Sox fan in the number 24 shirt, we got out of town the next morning. We swung back by the airport to pick up our rental car for the day, Black Beauty, and set off northward for Seattle. The first few hours of the trip were rainy and quiet as people caught up on sleep but all were quickly roused by the promise of a visit to the northernmost In-N-Out burger in Redding. The next leg of the drive was truly scenic with vistas ranging from Mt. Shasta in northern California to the rolling, fir tree speckled terrain of Oregon. We were able to squeeze in a short visit to Portland, Oregon and were impressed by the green downtown and the local Thai food. That Saturday was a busy one as in the span of 5 minutes we came across two weddings and a prom (obvious Hugh Grant joke omitted here). The last miles of our day long drive were highlighted by a Celtics victory over Detroit with an assist from XM radio and a stunning setting sun to the west. After a 3 minute stand off between Patrick and traffic spikes at the entrance to the Rental Car Return, we finally reached our destination...at 10PM on the dot which was Black Beauty's curfew that Saturday night.

It was early to bed that night and late to rise the next morning as we continued our adjustment to PDT. Once the crew, now including Katrina's family, was assembled we set off for Tiger Mountain for a hike in the Washington woods. Tiger Mountain is well-known as a take off point for local paragliders and we were treated to quite the aerial show at both the top and base of the mountain.

Dinner that evening was at the heralded (at least by us) La Cocina y Cantina in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle. There are two musts when you visit La Cocina, the massive La Cocina Burrito and an equally massive Margarita. Impressively, more burritos were finished than not, a rare feat that will undoubtedly live in lore for decades if not centuries to come. Jump-started by the aforementioned margaritas a night of game playing and imbibing ensued that lingered into the morning hours.

The next morning we slept in even later, but determined not to let our next to last day slip away. We rallied and headed to Pike Place Market, Seattle's famous destination for all things commerce (and tourist). There we scoured the sizeable selection of scaly seafood, contributed to the impressive yet disgusting gum wall, and received a singing fortune from Elvis. Next we skipped crosstown to the International District for a delicious dinner at Shangai Garden featuring Katrina's favorite--hand shaven green barley noodles.

From the the International District, Safeco Field is a short walk. Another baseball game you ask? You know it! The Olde Towne Team was facing off against the Mariners and this time the outcome (and ballpark) was much more to our liking. Thankfully following the 5-3 victory the post-game shouting matches were limited to deciding who was going to sit on who's lap as the six of us wedged into a Honda Civic. The loser was Katrina.

The majority of the final day of our trip was spent at the Museum of Flight housed at Seattle's captain of industry's Boeing Field. To say this museum is a must-visit is an under statement. Think Air and Space Museum times ten. We first toured a British Airways Concorde and then an Air Force One that made many historic flights and was in use from the Eisenhower to Clinton administrations. Other highlights included an entire wing on World War I and II history, an exhibit on flight attendants featuring the risque past of airline advertising, and enough interactive simulators to occupy Patrick for hours. The 4 hours we spent there was not nearly enough and we will probably go back to see what we missed the first time.

We were sent off in style that night with a gourmet home BBQ. Armed with a belly full of food to fight off hunger and induce sleep, we boarded our red-eye flight back to Boston. Though we once again had the luxury of our Direct TV there really isn't much on at 3AM. We aren't ashamed to say that a mini marathon of "The X Effect" did help pass the time. Morning greeted us at Logan and we bid goodbye to Riley as we hopped the T for work. Vacation days are a precious commodity and we certainly weren't going to waste one sleeping.