Barcelona’s Public Water Fountains

In 2023 we spent three months in Barcelona with a few mini trips squeezed in! You can see our Barcelona posts here, and some Paris posts here.

One of the more “everyday” items that we loved in Barcelona was the water fountains!

Barcelona has over 1600 public drinking fountains spread throughout the city, and the boys wasted no time sampling every fountain that they passed!… which was a lot of fountains. I probably should have taken more photos just to emphasize how often we stopped for a drink.

The fountains easy to recognize because they all have a common drinking tap, but beyond that similarity, we loved how much the fountains varied in design. We arrived in the middle of a heat wave last summer, so in addition to drinking from the fountains, the boys took advantage of the cool water by wetting their heads and necks. It definitely helped keep spirits high as we were exploring the city!

Continue reading

Visiting the Louvre

We’re spending three months in Barcelona with a few mini trips squeezed in! You can see our Barcelona posts here, and more Paris posts here.

While in Paris, one of our bucket list items for the boys was to visit the Louvre. They are museum-lovers through and through, and they 100% know DaVinci and the Mona Lisa, so it made sense to give them this memory as part of the trip.

What I wasn’t prepared for was how their current reading binge would impact our visit!

Continue reading

Rocky Pop Hotel

We’re spending three months in Barcelona with a few mini trips squeezed in! You can see our Barcelona posts here, Paris posts here, and soon we’ll have a few more Chamonix posts.

We don’t stay at hotels often, but let me tell you about this one that has now ruined us on all others.

Continue reading

Visiting the Eiffel Tower

We’re spending three months in Barcelona with a few mini trips squeezed in! You can see our Barcelona posts here, and more Paris posts here.

When we told the boys that we were going to Paris for a few days, one of the things they were most excited about was seeing the Eiffel Tower. Luckily it’s a fairly request to fulfill!

Continue reading

A Visit to the Paris Catacombs

We’re spending 3 months in Barcelona, but come along as we take a little trip to Paris! You can find the rest of our Paris posts here and our Barcelona posts here.

GUYS! Never in all my life did I see this adventure coming. Until I had kids… kids that love bones!

It wasn’t until last year that I learned that you could visit the catacombs. You know, without sneaking in some spooky locked gate and getting lost down there forever.

Continue reading

Three Days in Barcelona: Museums, Food, and Fun!

Since this post was written, we’ve now returned to Barcelona and will be sharing more details about the city in other posts. You’ll be able to find them all here (as they’re published!).

In my first post about Barcelona, I shared some of the logistics: where we stayed, travel guides, and the bus. This post covers some of the finer details that made our time in the city so enjoyable.

Continue reading

Gaudi’s Casa Batllo

We’re spending three months in Barcelona! It’s a dream come true. If you’re interested in our trip, you can find our archive of Barcelona posts here.

Casa Batllo

Casa Botlla is one of Gaudi’s most famous creations in Barcelona. It’s a beautiful house full of colorful mosaics, swooping curves, and fine details. Come along as we take a walk through the house.

Continue reading

Van Trips & Summer Plans

We’re not sure about you, but to us it feels like something happened over the past few weeks. Is it mass vaccination?! Could be! Is it the arrival of sunshine and wildflowers? Is it delirium and dizziness from seasonal sinus pain? Or maybe it’s the realization that we’ll get to hug more family and friends this summer than during all of 2020? Whatever’s going on we’re into it! Cruisin’ into the 3-day weekend with a master plan behind the wheel of a big black van!

In the celebration of summer (23 days away!), here are a few posts to spark inspiration to get lost on a road trip, plan a family camping trip, and most importantly: just get out there!

Camping on BLM Land is a fantastic idea and exactly what I plan to do all weekend! BLM Land is much more prevalent in the western states, here’s a map.

This weekend marks the first van camping trip of the summer for me. Katie already snuck one (or maybe two?) in! Either way, I always double-check my van camping supply containers and cross-reference my kitchen box with this Van Camping Kitchen post by Katie.

How To: Plan Your Family Camping Trip Step-by-Step is a great guide if you’re still in the planning stages.

32 Things to Eat, See, Drink, and Do in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill

Let me be clear, this is mostly a list of awesome breweries, bars, and bites to eat in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. This list is not comprehensive. This is my list that I pass on to people who are visiting the area. I lived in Chapel Hill for about five years. I loved every second of it and you won’t catch me saying anything negative about the triangle. It was truly a really pleasant place to live. Here are my favorite eats and drinks – enjoy!

Raleigh

  1. Beasley’s Chicken + Honey https://ac-restaurants.com/beasleys/ So tasty! A must-try. I like the chicken biscuit and the classic chicken, yum!
  2. Death & Taxes https://ac-restaurants.com/death-taxes/ Upscale. Amazing. Great at local sourcing. Menu changes daily! Dishes made by my favorites at Haand.
  3. The Pit https://www.thepit-raleigh.com/ The Pit http://thepit-durham.com/ really taste barbecue and nice atmosphere.
  4. Whiskey Kitchen https://www.whiskey.kitchen/ I like the food and I like whiskey!
  5. The Raleigh Times https://www.raleightimesbar.com/about/ tasty drinks and great food too. I think of this spot as an after-work delight or a quick drink and eats place before a night on the town.
  6. North Carolina Museum of Art Sculpture Garden https://ncartmuseum.org/visit/the_park I like museums, but they make me sleepy. Check out the outdoor sculpture garden, it’s a great place to walk around.
  7. Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve Nice woodsy area in Cary. Click for a list of the short nature walks. 

Durham

  1. The Durham https://thedurham.com/restaurant/ stylish hotel with a great rooftop bar with small bites and a nice view. There’s also another delicious restaurant indoors, but I think it’s temporarily closed due to COVID, so check before going. 
  2. The Pit http://thepit-durham.com/ really taste barbecue (and right next to a brewery and across the street from a hip little drinks place. There’s also a location in Raleigh.
  3. Beer Study! https://beerstudy.com/ Bottle shop and beers on tap – so many beers and ciders! They have shops in Chapel Hill & Durham.
  4. Bull City Cider Works https://www.bullcityciderworks.com/durham Cider! Great cider spot especially for those who think they don’t like cider.
  5. Cloudworks https://www.cloudsbrewing.com/ Brewery with tasty food.
  6. Fullsteam https://www.fullsteam.ag/ cool brewery next to a delicious barbecue restaurant, good food trucks, and another hip bar.
  7. Pour https://www.pourtaproom.com/locations/durham/ self-serve taproom where you can choose to only try an ounce or two of beer, cider, kombucha, etc.
  8. Hi-Wire Brewery https://hiwirebrewing.com/ cool, spacious, a great place to chill and drink delicious drafts.
  9. Barrel Culture https://barrelculture.com/ it’s out of the way, but it’s worth it if you’re serious about good beer.
  10. Ponysaurus Brewing https://www.ponysaurusbrewing.com/ nice covered patio and lawn area. Durham spoils you with chill breweries and this is just another one of those gems.
  11. American Tobacco Campus https://americantobacco.co/restaurants-retail/ restored tobacco factories transformed into housing, retail, restaurants, and event venues. It’s a cool place to just take a little stroll. It’s also next to the Durham Bulls baseball stadium. The one restaurant that is actually amazing is Saladelia. The rest are very meh or chains. I would get Saladelia takeout and sit outside somewhere on the grounds or I’d grab a morning coffee somewhere and just take a stroll through. Phoebe Judge records Criminal at the NPR radio studio onsite! There’s also a cute stationery shop for the paper lovers among us.
  12. Duke University if you’re into walking around looking at an old campus.
  13. Sarah P. Duke Gardens https://gardens.duke.edu/phase1 Free. Beautiful! The gardens may or may not be open so check before going. Apparently, they were closed for an entire year! That’s just nutso.

Chapel Hill

  1. Top of the Hill https://www.thetopofthehill.com/#toporestaurant this is a good spot to dine on the patio and people watch several stories above the busiest corner in Chapel Hill. The food doesn’t blow me away, I come here more for the view (and the drinks because it’s a distillery!).
  2. Al’s Burger Shack https://www.alsburgershack.com/ fresh, local, sustainable southern grub. The burgers come in three sizes so you can snack according to your stomach size. These are some of the best burgers I’ve ever had! It’s also right next door to Beer Study.
  3. Mediterranean Deli https://mediterraneandeli.com/ So many mains, sides, wraps, deli salads, Mediterranean desserts, etc. It’s deli-style so they fill containers with whatever amount you want. Nice for a picnic! There is seating inside and out too. It’s cheap, quick, and ridiculously filling.
  4. The Pig https://thepigrestaurant.com/ Delicioussss bbq! Super authentic NC style. It’s in a weird-ass spot, but it’s so good that I’m willing to overlook it.
  5. Allen & Son’s https://www.facebook.com/AllenSonBbq/ Super authentic! Just check out that facebook page, hah! But don’t let the pics scare you. This is one of the most delicious “down-home” bbq spots in NC. There are more upscale suggestions elsewhere on this doc, but I love stopping by the take-out window at Allen’s. DO NOT eat in unless you want to be surrounded by taxidermy and have your wrists stick to vinyl tablecloths. 
  6. Venable https://venablebistro.com/ describes itself as a rotisserie bistro serving elevated southern comfort food.  Each meal incorporates southern elements, but the portion sizes keep the food coma at bay.  The cocktails are amazing and worth every penny, but I know that’s not what you’re after!
  7. Elmo’s Diner https://www.elmosdiner.com/ Full Breakfast or Brunch – is always my top pick for a sit-down breakfast. If you’re eating when the rest of Chapel Hill is, there’s usually a wait, but Elmo’s is located in Carr Mill Mall so you’ll have little shops to visit while you wait. My favorite in the plaza is Townsend and Bertram, an independently owned outdoors store with the kindest, most helpful employees.
  8. Beer Study! https://beerstudy.com/ Bottle shop and beers on tap – so many beers and ciders! They have shops in Chapel Hill & Durham.
  9. Cafe Driade https://caffedriade.com/ is an absolute gem. It’s tucked away just outside of town on East Franklin Street, this is a cafe that locals know and love. The entrance to the lot comes up quickly so you may zoom by it. There’s seating sprinkled around the front and side of Cafe Driade, but take a look around the back.
  10. Honeysuckle Tea House http://www.honeysuckleteahouse.com/  is a great little excursion especially if you just need to decompress for a beat. Cool open-air tea house with a treehouse vibe – created from old shipping containers. It’s a little bit of a drive into the country. It’s a mini oasis or you might think it’s like walking onto a hippie compound 😉 Beverages (tea, kombucha, beer, smoothies) are on point, there wasn’t much food when I would visit, so you may want to.
  11. Open Eye Cafe https://openeyecafe.com/ is the sister cafe to Driade. They are both under the umbrella of Carrboro Coffee Roasters so if you need good coffee for a gift for someone, it’s excellent! They used to offer classes here where they’d teach you how to brew coffee on the machine of your choosing. So neat!
  12. Fearrington Village & Jordan Lake – A visit to Jordan Lake could mean hiking, kayaking SUP, walking along the beach, etc. Even just driving by is lovely, especially if you drive this way. Fearrington Village is this oddly ritzy, little community. There’s a good bookstore, a cafe called the Belted Goat that’s yummy, and some other shops and a spa. Adorable cows, goats, and other animals roaming in the large fields.