FC Barcelona

Day 2 has come and gone. It was a great day of sight seeing and relaxation. We slept in, ate breakfast, and lounged around at the hotel. Mid-day we headed to the western portion of town where the local futbol club, FC Barcelona, is located. The organization itself is impressive. They have several teams within the club - soccer, basketball, ice skating, hand ball, and roller hockey. It's a bit different than normal sports organizations within the United States. The club has an impressive and storied history that is intertwined with the politics of Spain over the past 100 years. The largest team by far, is soccer. Last year, they were the first team ever to win every tournament possible - around 6, I think.

The club has a wonderful museum that is connected to the stadium, Camp Nou (seats 99K). We had an audio device that gave us the history and significance of each piece within the museum - mostly memorabilia from old teams. The pictures are below:

Britt with her new favorite athlete, Carles Puyol:

View from the press box:

This is a chapel in the tunnel as the players walk out:

Beer Machine

They have beer machines here. Can you imagine what Americans would say about this? It was pretty shocking to both of us.

When In Rome... Oh, I Mean Barcelona

What a great day! We arrived safely in Barcelona (we are 6 hours ahead of CST) after an easy flight. According to Jorge, I got about 10 hours of sleep on our 8 1/2 hour flight and he got about 4. What can I say, I get my sleeping ability from my dad.

When we arrived at 8:00 AM Barcelona time, our hotel room wasn't ready so we went and ate breakfast down the street. I think we may have gone the wrong way, because we ended up at an Asian restaurant and had eggs, french fries, sausage, and SALAD for breakfast. It was a little weird, but at least they had Coke. I even ate the salad! After that, we walked down to the Forum for a little bit and slept in the hotel lobby until our hotel room was ready.

Our hotel is really cool - clean and modern. It also has a great view. You can see more of our hotel at http://www.me-barcelona.com/. The experience has been 5 star so far.

We took a nap and headed to Las Ramblas this afternoon. It was awesome! We checked out the bird and pet salesmen, flower booths, and fresh food market. After walking for awhile, we people watched at an outdoor pub. We were told by our concierge that you don't eat here until at least 9:30 PM. The restaurants don't even open until 8:30 or later! We opted for an early dinner at 9:00 at Cafe de l'Academia, a place that Rick Steves recommends. The seafood was fabulous.

The weather here is similar to Alabama. The highs are in the 70's and the lows are in the 50's. It was sunny and beautiful today and the forecast predicts the same for most of our vacation. Hope you enjoy the few pictures we have taken so far...

Breakfast:

Las Ramblas:

Boqueria Market:

Eating at Cafe de l'Academia:

Barcelona - Pretrip

We are heading to Barcelona tomorrow for a week of vacation. This is Brittany's third time to go to Europe and my first. When we initially set our sights on a European vacation, we had great plans of touring the Mediterranean for a 2 week escapade. Reality $et in and we decided that it may make more sense to focus on one city. From Britt's previous visits, she was very high on Barcelona. I was all for it and when we found a great deal on a hotel through jetsetter.com, we booked it. Delta has a direct flight, which is convenient for my first trip across the Atlantic. We're staying at a pretty nice hotel for about $20 more / night than a hostel would have cost. I'm pumped about the trip. The weather looks perfect - highs around 70 and lows around 50.

Our plan is to keep a journal by way of the blog for each day we're there. We arrive in Barcelona on the 11/2 and we'll try to have a post that evening. Tune in and enjoy. Also, if you have good suggestions on things to do in Barcelona, please email us.

And yes, I do have a fanny pack and will wear it proudly.

War Eagle

What a fun football season it has been thus far! Here is a picture recap...

dirty feet = a good time

Summer 2010

Due to lack of excess time and low priority, I have had a blogging dry spell. I will share some pictures of what we have been doing to catch you up on Life With the Stegalls...

Spending weekends, this one being Father's Day, at Lake Martin...

Clancy has taken up fishing...

Attending the most American thing ever - The Fiddler's Jamboree in Smithville, TN...

Spending the 4th of July at Centerhill Lake...

Gardening and enjoying what our garden has produced...

Attending wedding parties and showers...

Celebrating birthdays...

And, last but definitely not least, enjoying this beautiful little baby named Adalaide...

Mr. and Mrs. John Benton Howell

My Best Friends' Wedding... they finally did it! Lacey was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen and the weekend was more than fabulous. Lacey and John were married August 7th, 2010 at Church In The Pines, Lake Martin. The rehearsal dinner and reception were both held at Harbor Lodge at Children's Harbor. It was the perfect celebration, full of friends, family, love, and sunshine. From the locale to the sunflowers, the weekend could not have better reflected Lacey and John's personalities. Sadly, I did not prioritize capturing the good times, so I have bootlegged some pictures from my friend Lauren. Thanks La!

The Rehearsal Dinner...

The Big Day...

And probably my most favorite picture from the night - what a hottie...

Happy Birthday To This Guy...

Happy 26th Birthday My Boo!