Last month, my husband and I had the opportunity to take our youngest two kids to Barcelona for their spring break. Because of my schedule at the university, we don’t get to go on spring break or really any other trips during the school year. A couple times we’ve made a Thanksgiving trip to Disney World, but that’s about it, because that’s the time we can all be off. A year ago when we knew I wouldn’t be teaching this semester, I started asking the kids where they wanted to go since this would be the one spring break trip they would get. Our daughter is a junior in high school and our youngest is a freshman, so this really is the one opportunity before they graduate.I wanted to make the most of the opportunity to do something special and build memories, while also doing something new.Since they are both studying Spanish in school, and we haven’t traveled to Spain yet, that became the goal. A colleague at the school has an apartment outside Barcelona, so we rented that from her family. Such a great launching pad for a restful week of exploring a new place and not rushing like crazy.

Usually, when I plan a trip, it involves racing around and maximum planning so that we can see and experience everything. This time I intentionally slowed the pace down. We had tickets to two places before we went (a key to most major European cities is the skip-the-line, buy-ahead tickets). Those were for the Sagrada Familia and the Picasso Museum. The Sagrada Familia was stunning. We all felt like we’d stepped into a Star Wars set or Rivendell. It was so different from the other cathedrals we’ve visited in England, Italy, and Germany. (I can’t believe I just typed that sentence!). The Picasso Museum was pretty incredible, too, as it gave us an appreciation for the depth and breadth of his artistic talent.We did a lot of rambling and shopping on the Ramble. Not going to lie. That was fun. And then we found bookstores and wandered through those. There was a lovely English language bookshop, Backstory, that we enjoyed. It’s always great to see bookstores in other places. I always get so inspired. Speaking of bookstores, a couple nights ago we were at our local Barnes & Noble, and saw that my books have broken into the Mystery and Thriller section. Woot!The Accused releases next week! I’m so grateful to everyone who’s been an early reader and leaving great reviews as part of the launch team. You can see those reviews on Goodreads.