Enjoyed the first ballgame of the year. A picture perfect night.

First backyard BBQ of the season.

Marcy May Marlene makes ten. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t have an ending.

The whole family is at work today.

Because of our travels, our first order of business was to find a professional dog sitter/trainer that would board Hemingway in her own home while we are away. Today, we found that person. Hemingway and the trainer’s dog, Brian, became instant friends have vowed to tire each other out daily.

Really hope to see a great movie soon. This was not it.

Read this for work. Having built a billion dollar company, I’m sure the author is a better CEO than writer because the book is mostly fluff. Nevertheless, I did glean a few nuggets I hope to implement at LA Fashion Insider, Inc.

I have been incredibly sick this week. I felt close to death last night. The congestion in my head, especially in my ears is not only disorienting, but suicide provoking. And my daughter, the smart girl that she is, realized I was at my weakest moment today and seized the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream. Meet Hemingway. He’s a rescued King Charles Cavalier/Dachshund mix.

You can’t tell from this picture, but Brittany’s stomach was in her throat as she prepared to begin her driver’s test. Her brother and two best friends failed on their first try, so we were all resigned for this to be a test run. But, lo and behold, the girl passed. Yes, she was one error away from a fail, but still impressive considering we just recently started to practice with her.

The Kitchen backsplash is finally done.

All but the guest bathroom of our house had been remodeled when we bought it. It’s now time to finish the job.

This is what we’re starting with.

First we stuffed ourselves at Sherwood with Eggs Benedict, sushi, prime rib and mimosas.

Then we swung by Rocket Fizz and bragged about it to Devin. He may have hated us for it, but he was happy to pose for a picture with Mom.

So, I was wrong. Turns out the last meal was on the last night. We took a chance and put our name on the waiting list of the only three Michelin star restaurant in Madrid and got the call at around seven that we were on for 10pm. Spainards don’t eat dinner until 10pm by the way. Santceloni only has one seating a night, and having finished the meal we feel extremely lucky to have been seated.

Just a few nights later, my greatest culinary experience was surpassed. The service alone was a ballet worth the price of admission. As for the meal, words wouldn’t do it justice. Unfortunately, Santceloni wasn’t the kind of place I could snap pictures with my iPhone, but I did manage to sneak a few,

After dinner cheese

Our personal menu and drinks.

plaza de la independencia

City Hall

A book fair with real books.

Retiro Park. Like NYC Central Park.

Our last hotel.

Restaurante Alejandro del Toro

Our hotel, the Westin Valencia was the most secure in town as it hosted the world banking community as well as government big wigs from Spain to figure out what to do about Spain’s tanking economy. Lots of police, security agents and metal detectors greeted us the front door every time we entered. We chatted with the President of the Central Bank of Columbia at the bar, but couldn’t get any inside information from him.

The Ritz Carlton Hotel Arts is a great hotel. However, it’s not infinitely better than a number of hotels we’ve stayed at. This one in particular is on the Mediterranean which makes it special, especially in Europe. Personally, I would have rather stayed in the old part of town. Nevertheless, number 59 is done.

On the train.

El Bulli was ranked the number one restaurant in the world a record five times in a row before closing in 2011. It was described as “the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet.” The chef, Ferran Adrià, is credited with creating modern molecular gastronomy. His number one protégé, Paco Perez, has two restaurants, Miramar and Enoteca. The latter just happened to be in our hotel and we were lucky enough to get a table.

We ordered the 11 course tasting menu and, without question, it was the best culinary experience I ever had. Everything was completely unexpected. If described beforehand, I don’t think I would have ordered half of the items. I mean, a small cone with guacamole and lime ice cream doesn’t sound right, but it was amazing.

The head chef, Paco’s #2, chatted with us for about twenty minutes and answered all of our many questions. He then gave us Paco’s cell phone number so we could arrange a table at his Miramar restaurant the next time we came back.

It took some effort, but we finally found this BC artifact.

The Temple of Augustus in Barcelona was a Roman temple built during the Imperial period in the colony of Barcino (modern day Barcelona) as a place of worship for Emperor Augustus. It was the central building on Tàber Hill, currently in Carrer del Paradís number 10, in the city’s so-called Gothic Quarter. At one point in history the temple was demolished, and its ruins were not discovered until late 19th century, when three of its columns appeared on the construction site of Centre Excursionista de Catalunya.[1] A fourth column was then exhibited at the Plaça del Rei and was later added to the structure, as it can be seen nowadays. The temple is likely to have been built under Tiberius, who instituted a cult of Augustus.

At the Picasso Museum.

At the Four Cats Cafe. Picasso had his first art exposition here when he was a teenager. He also designed their menu cover.

We had dinner at Dos Palillos, a Barcelona staple. It’s heavy in the Asian, light on the Spanish fusion. We did the tasting menu. This is probably Tom’s kind of place. I’m glad I tried it, but won’t be eating eight different kinds of sea weed and conch any time soon.

Sagrada Família. Something you have to see to believe. Gaudi began overseeing the construction in 1882. It is expected to be completed in 2026.

Remnants of a Roman aqueduct

La Boqueria

Christopher Columbus Monument

The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

Hiked to the top of Barcelona and through Park Guell.

Park Guell

This is Brit’s most recent recruiting video. The hardest part about being gone is missing her play today. Against all odds, they beat their third premiere team in as many weeks and have advanced to the National Cup Elite 8.

When we’re talking world wide, the Barcelona Footbol Club is the biggest thing in sports hands down. We had front row seats of what was essentially a meaningless game since Real Madrid won the league a few days before. Even so, the 98,000 seat stadium was completely sold out. We watched Messi, the best player in the world and probably of all time, score four goals and extend his record of the most goals scored in a season to 43.

On the bullet train to Barcelona.

The Flamenco is one intense dance. We will not be learning how to do it anytime soon.

It’s amazing to think that this restaurant was established in 1725. It is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest eatery in the world. The artist Francisco de Goya worked here as a waiter while waiting to get accepted into the “Royal Academy of Fine Arts”.

Botin and its speciality of cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig, which we had) are mentioned in the closing pages of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises. It was Hemingway’s favorite restaurant in Spain.

Our hotel room overlooking Plaza de Santa Ana.

Our Hotel

Restaurants and bars in every corridor and alley

Puerta del Sol

Jamon and Paella

Plaza Mayor

The Royal Palace

Setting my watch to the King of Spain’s clock.

Added this Seinfeld print to my graphic art collection. If you don’t like graphic art or Seinfeld, you won’t get it.