My sweet sister in law made me an essay about how much she misses me.
I am posting it, and my response to it here:

Oh, How I Long For My Sister By: Kafaleen

I appreciate Jennifer’s sassy charm and quick wit. She makes me laugh all the time,
and I miss laughing all the time. Ryan does a pretty good job of keeping the
laughter rolling, but there’s a certain piece missing….and that piece is my
sister. I appreciate Jennifer’s fabulous cooking and baking skills! Her …

When we were in Barcelona we went to Guell Parc. Outside the park there was a Gaudi inspired turtle person taking pictures with people. When it was my turn, I walked up and the turtle person put a bike helmet on my head and held out her hand. I thought she wanted to shake my hand until she said, “The coin please?!?”  At this point I had to stop everything and rummage to find a coin for her… I swear I was really going to give her  acoin when the …

I’m just sayin…

So we ended walk 39 right where walk 38 starts. How convenient!
Walk 38 was all about Holland Park and Holland House. The walk there was filled with old houses and fall foliage, which made me begin to remember what an actual fall season is like. I haven’t seen one in almost 10 years, so being in the midst of one makes me accidentally say things here like “unseasonably cold.” Phoenix has definitely thinned my blood out.

The park was beautiful and the colors were nice, but the air and the tranquility …

We started with Walk 39 – Kensington Gardens because it is right by Whole Foods, and we NEED to go there every weekend.
Walk 39
Kensington Gardens
We started our walk at the mouth of the Lancaster Gate tube station, and walked acrross the street to the garden, which was designed by Christopher Wren, one of the great English architects. There were all dorts of beautiful birds and statues. This photo illustrates the magnificence of them both:

You can also go into the Kensington Palace to see the State Apartments and Royal Dress Collection, …

My mom sent us these really cool “50 City Walks in London” cards. There are 50 walks, and each one has an area of London and a description of what to see in the said area. It is such a great gift because London is so big and even though we want to see it all, it can be hard to know where to start.
Therefore we will randomly do the walks and report back so that you know which walks are for you when you are in London. Also, …

I realize that it is a little sad that i am just finishing up my Barcelona posts 7 days before we leave for Italy, but some of us are super busy (aka watching 6 Feet Under episodes after work when I should be blogging).
Tuesday we met up with John and Joanne again and decided to take another crack at the Picasso museum.

John learns the museum is open!

It was pretty fantastic; everything divided up into phases and periods of his life. I personally was also quite glad to be in out …

Okay, so my clothes came today. I can’t believe my life fits in two boxes. Well, those and the 2 bags I brought with me on the plane.
On to sunnier news. First, it has been sunny (and chilly, but sunny!) here 5 of the last 6 days. Second, thanks Mom! We received our first care package from Minnesota and it was nice to get something in the mail although some people *cough, cough JEN* got more than others *ahhhh-chooooMEoooooo*. Oh excuse me, head cold.

Anyway Jen got some fashionable neck wear, …

Well sort of. I shipped two big boxes to London with all of my clothes and shoes in them. That was 2 weeks ago. It was supposed to be 6 days. Now I know these things can get caught up and delayed, but right now I have:
3 short sleeve button up shirts
2 short sleeve shirts
3 short sleeve t shirts
2 pairs of shorts
1 pair of jeans
1 belt
1 pair of shoes
1 light weight zip up jacket
5 pair of socks
and plenty of boxers (see mom i listened)
So while I am not in any …

It is about a 45 minute water show in Montjuïc, specifically the Plaça d’Espanya at the foot of the hill to the south of all the museums and the Olympic Stadium.
The magic fountain of Montjuïc’s first performance was on May 19, 1929 during the Great Universal Exhibition. The designer Carles Buigas submitted his plans one year before the exhibition and many thought that the project was too ambitious to be created, let alone completed on time. Over 3000 workers were commissioned to work on the project and less than …