Restaurant Review: Trattoria Dell'Arte

In May, my family and I went to see HAMILTON on Broadway. And while I had been a little nervous that the hype was going to be unwarranted - I'm here to tell you that it is as close to musical theater perfection as I will probably ever experience. Lin-Manuel Miranda's talent is mind blowing, truly. 

After the matinee performance, we went out for an early dinner at Trattoria Dell'Arte - whose website uses the phrase "VEGETARIAN EXTRAVAGANZA." While I'm not actually a vegetarian, I absolutely love vegetable-focused menus. (Abby, I said vegetable-focused instead of veggie-heavy JUST FOR YOU, you're welcome).

Trattoria Dell'Arte

Pick 6 - Antipasto Bar

Tattoria Dell'Arte has a MASSIVE antipasto bar with 32 VEGETABLES. My sister and I quickly got down to business - fighting it out over which 6 would continue on in the hopes of becoming America's Next Top Vegetable (who writes this shit?)

After much debate, we landed on:

• Roasted Heirloom Carrots (against the moans of everyone at the table, I bravely defended my all time favorite vegetable)
• Sauteed Broccoli Rabe (our waiter gave us this as an extra bonus)
• Roasted Seasonal Mushrooms
• Eggplant Caponata 
• Zucchini Parmigiana 
• Roasted Cauliflower 
• Spaghetti Squash

My two favorites were definitely the Zucchini Parmigiana and Eggplant Caponata! 

We also chose to add the burrata for an extra $6 and, unpopular opinion over here, I'm not all-in on the burrata craze! I gave my portion away. 

Braised Octopus & Calamari

OH WOW. I've been lucky enough to have some damn good octopus dishes in my lifetime, and this was right up there with some of the most tender, flavorful, octopus. 

Thin Crust Pizza 

Again, this created some debate - with so many amazing sounding options, it was difficult to decide what we wanted. When our waiter informed us we could do half and half, we were overjoyed. OK, maybe that was just me. 

Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese & Fried Artichoke, Seasonal greens

This was everyone else's favorite - and I loved it too, don't get me wrong! It's just that the other half was...

Pesto & Broccoli Rabe

I rarely crave pizza, but I was so excited for this thin-crust 'za. And I ate every crumb that the rest of my family was "too full" to finish. The pesto was made with almonds, pine nuts and basil and it was delicious!

Though I'm not usually one to get excited over Italian restaurants, Trattoria Dell'Arte is worth getting excited over. There are tons of options, and not all of them will leave you feeling like you're stuffed silly. Not to mention the location is ideal for those times when you're stuck in Midtown and not sure where to go for decent food! 

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Restaurant Review: Jean-George's ABC Cocina

Long at the top of my Restaurant Bucket List, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's fancy, fresh Latin American restaurant was a "treat yo self" meal with friends from work. My "birthday week" and a friend visiting from Denver meant that money wasn't as big of a concern as it typically would be.

As soon as I walked into ABC Cocina, I was delighted by the decor. It's a place much like Tao in the sense that the furnishings add to the fancy feel - my friends even sat next to Betsy Johnson the last time they went for lunch!

Imagine our delight when we were seated at a table in a little window nook - our own private spot with plenty of natural light for picture taking ;)

ABC Cocina

Spring Pea Guacamole

Apparently, this guacamole was the guac heard round the world when it ignited rage on the internet in an event known as "Peagate." This is not a drill, folks.   

Personally, I was very PEASed with this guac - I thought one of us might start licking the bowl to make sure we got every last bite.

Also, please note the beautifully orange homemade habanero hot sauce in the cute little glass bottle. We joked about slipping it into a purse on the way out until it became quite obvious there wouldn't be any left by the end of our meal.  

Tuna Tartare

Typically, tuna tartare is a hit with me - give me fresh, raw tuna and I'll probably be happy. Somehow, ABC Cocina got this wrong - the texture and look aside (not exactly appetizing) it seemed like our tartare was loaded with some relish-tasting-addition. Likely, these were the chilies but they must have been pickled or something. Anyway - no bueno on the tartare. 

Ham & Cheese Fritters 

The menu describes them as gooey and spicy, but to me they were a little bland and boring. Half of the table loved them while the other half weren't thrilled. The flavor was fine (the ham was my favorite part) but overall, these weren't anything that WOWed me.

Ground Beef & Celery Root Empanadas

I'm sad to say that these didn't blow me away either - they were tasty, sure, but no different than any other empanada I've eaten in my lifetime (which is admittedly not a very high number). 

Grilled Asparagus, Jamon Iberico & Lemon 

Our meal was back on track with this fresh, veggie-centric dish. Ok, veggie with a healthy side of meat. I felt so fancy reading the menu and knowing all about Jamon Iberico thanks to my cooking class in Barcelona! 

The asparagus + ham combo was light and wonderful with the perfect balance of salty, citrus-y and savory. 

Sauteed Mushroom Tacos 

So much yes! Cashews, mole, kale, lime and sauteed mushrooms were a thrillingly wonderful combination. No cheese necessary. And corn tortillas thank GOD because serving tacos on flour tortillas is a SIN and I'm stickin' with that statement. 

Griddled Fish Tacos 

Deece. (I think that's the first time I've used that...) But to be frank - fish tacos for me are ruined unless they are of the Tako variety! 

Beef Tenderloin "Burnt Ends" with Chimichurri 

The best thing about eating out with friends in a group is ending up with things on the table that you wouldn't have necessarily ordered on your own. Such was the case with this beef tenderloin. Silly me for skipping over this - probably because the menu didn't read "THE MOST TENDER, BUTTERY MEAT IN THE WORLD" and "DROWNED IN CHIMICHURRI SAUCE WHICH, IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, IS CRACK." Chimichurri - you're my new culinary obsession (welcome to club, which also includes dukkah and pesto). 

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Sundae 

I'm not the type of person to skip dessert. I have a sweet tooth, and I'm not afraid to use it. When I heard peanut butter & chocolate sundae, I was sold. But I couldn't have been prepared for what would follow. 

I declare, here, on the world wide web, that this was the most phenomenal dessert I have ever stuffed my face with. 

At first, I was a little confused about the strawberry sorbet and strawberry compote. But as I ate, there was no doubt in my mind that these flavors WORKED together like the damn Schuyler Sisters (had to...). 

A moist, fudgey, gooey brownie piled with chocolate ice cream and strawberry sorbet. Drizzled with sweet, tangy strawberry compote and ringed with massive chunks of homemade peanut butter cups that put Reese's and Justin's to shame on the PB to Chocolate ratio. 

(Sorry, I just really wanted to use moist, drizzled and chunks all in one sentence - how gross can you get?)

Our waiter, when he saw us loving on this sundae, made the remark, "It's great right? Just like a a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

I SHRIEKED as it all made sense - why the strawberry, peanut butter and chocolate were blended in perfect harmony. Why I was almost moved to tears by the empty bowl now sitting in front of us.

From what I can tell, ABC Cocina changes it's ice cream sundae regularly - and when this PB/Choco/Strawberry miracle is no longer on the menu, it will be a sad do for New York City and the world.

Please, just scroll back up for a second and look at the amount of peanut butter. 

OK, I'm done. I promise. 

After a conversation revolving around NYC celebrity spottings, I apparently somehow missed Jake Gyllenhaal sitting at an outside sidewalk table on our way out. COOL. 

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Overthrow Boxing Club Review

My tour de boxing studios continued recently with a trip to the "dive bar" of boxing studios - Overthrow Boxing Club on Bleecker Street. Overthrow is housed in the previous home of the Youth International Party, or "Yippies," a "radically youth-oriented and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s," according to Wikipedia. 

The space stays true to its roots - despite becoming a fitness studio, it is far from "boutique" looking - with much of the original architecture remaining. Overthrow takes its own political stances and jabs, with graffiti like Donald Trump being knocked out and the quote, "When they go low, we go high." 

It's a fitting way of connecting the building's history with our present political reality and the building's new use as a boxing club. 

The Studio

The interior is cramped, dark, and quite frankly, it seems like it might collapse! Up the stairs is a small locker room with two showers and two bathroom stalls - along with lockers that have seen better days.  Bent metal, missing locker doors, wobbly benches - it's hard to tell if many aspects of the studio are part of the aesthetic or actual .instances of disrepair

There are actually two spaces where classes at Overthrow take place. The main level has around 6 bags along with a boxing ring while the downstairs studio has about 12 bags - covered in duct tape, these bags are a far cry from the water-filled tear-drop-shaped beauties at Rumble. Then again, they're only purpose is punching them. There are numbered spaces along the floor, though in my class we didn't really use them for anything. 

The Class 

The first class I took was in "The Underground" (which makes me thing of the upside down, which makes me excited for another season of Stranger Things). 

We all lined up in side by side rows for the warm-up which consisted of lots of cardio drills like high knees, air jabs, jumping jacks, etc.

To me, the warm up seemed to last for a long time. It may have had to do with the fact that I wasn't wearing my usual sneakers and my feet were really bothering me every time I jumped - but I also think the warm up dragged on and on with not much to it. 

Eventually, the endless warmup indeed ended and we were told to pair up with a partner for the next part of class. 

We lined up in two rows down the length of the room, with partners facing each other and being told different combinations - we were technically "boxing" with each other, but obviously not full out punching our partners. Some of the combinations included more than just throwing punches - we were told to "jab, jab, cross, burpee," and various other exercises. To me, this part wasn't very challenging - the pace was pretty slow, which I guess depends on who you get as a partner. 

The line was continuously filtering towards the front of the class - when you and your partner were up in front of the instructor, you did a few punches with her before re-joining the line. 

When this was over, I was still only sweating due to the temperature of the room. 

The next portion of class it was time to bring out the bags - and this is where I sweat buckets and my heart rate rocketed. We were given a ton of different combinations and I pushed myself to keep moving throughout the 15 or so minutes of straight bag work. 

With three of us on a bag and the bags sliding around the pole they were attached to, we did have to stop every so often to adjust the bag and stop it from moving into the group next to and behind us. I didn't have much space and by the end I was getting pretty frustrated. 

Then, before I knew it, class was over. I will say that the time flew by, and by the end I was pretty exhausted - but I left a little "meh" about the class overall. 

The second class I went to at Overthrow I took in the upstairs section - it was a similar set up with half of the class taking place on the bag and half taking place "in the ring" with a partner. But I liked this better because it seemed less crowded and the warm-up wasn't as long. We also finished up class with an ab series that was pretty solid. 

I found myself partner-less and got to work with a staff member that wasn't teaching class at the time which was great! The combination was really tricky and I only got it right about 75% of the time, but I still felt pretty accomplished. At the end, I told him that I was hungry because the mitts looked like they had avocados drawn on them. I think I found the comment funnier than he did. 

WHAT I LIKED: 

Classes at Overthrow fly by. The grunge-y atmosphere is super fitting for a boxing class. Both instructors that I've had were good at explaining things, though at this point I can't really consider myself a "beginner" so I might take some things for granted when it comes to instruction. 

I also really like that Overthrow is located off of the 6 line. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: 

Overthrow is definitely not as organized as Rumble or Shadowbox. Those two studios' classes run like well-oiled machines whereas my second class at Overthrow was more like, "Alright, what should we do next?" "Okay, let me run downstairs and get some gloves for everyone 10 minutes into class." That sort of thing. Rumble and Shadowbox have their shit together a little more in terms of flow and focus - but Overthrow has them beat on the boxing ~vibes. 

THE STUDIO – 7

Nuts and bolts in terms of amenities - but there are lockers (bring your own lock, and beware that half of them are missing doors as part of the aesthetic), bathrooms and showers and it's pretty impressive that they make the space work as two separate studios/class spaces. 

The history of the building is an added bonus - if you're there, see if you can spot the old Youth International Party manifesto on the walls! 

CLASS SIZE - 5

The classes are a decent size considering the small space - and I definitely felt like I was super crowded and couldn't fully enjoy the class because of it. Perhaps the morning classes are less crowded - but I've only been in the evening and each time it was jam-packed. 

SWEAT SCALE – 6

The first half of classes at Overthrow usually are more focused on shadowboxing, form, and a warm up - it's helpful for actually learning boxing, which I appreciate, but doesn't leave me with an elevated heart rate. But the second half is usually much harder - once you start using the bag. In my most recent class, Queen had us finish with 5 Push-Ups, 5 Burpees, 5 Mountain Climbers, 5 Squats, 10 Push-Ups, 10 Burpees, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Squats, 15 Push-Ups, 15 Burpees, 15 Mountain Climbers, 15 Squats. It was brutal in the best way. 

FUN FACTOR – 7

If you like boxing, it's a good time. 

AMENITIES – 6

Everything you need but nothing overly fancy. 

COST - $$$

Standard for NYC, a class at Overthrow costs $34 for a single class. Unfortunately, they don't have any deals for first time students. I attended for free in exchange for a review on my blog! 

BOTTOM LINE: 

I like the vibe at Overthrow a lot and I've learned more here than I think I would learn from taking consistent classes at Rumble and Shadowbox. That being said, if you're looking for a boxing class that doubles as a hard workout (you know, since you're paying $34) I might suggest getting your ass kicked at a different studio. These classes are certainly a challenge - but they aren't 45-minutes-worth-of-non-stop-challenge. 

I'll continue taking classes at Overthrow because I actually want to improve my boxing skills and I think the instructors here have that same goal in mind. Also, keep in mind that Overthrow offers two different classes - one in the "Underground" - more of a boxing bootcamp/high cardio class and one in the "Ring" which is more focused on form and technique. 

Gloves are included in the class and wraps are available for purchase.

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SHADOWBOX: NYC Fitness Class Review

A lean, mean boxing machine! That's what I am not...yet. 

But I have been trying to incorporate boxing into my weekly routine - it's cardio, strength, total-body, HIIT, and low impact on my legs. Did I mention it's FUN and the (good) classes tend to fly by? Half the time I'm concentrating so hard on what the punch sequence is that before I know it, class it over!

My mission to become the next Ali (who is his female counterpart?) has led me to NYSC, Tapout Fitness, Kickbox Haus, Rumble Boxing and Work Train Fight. The latest stop was Shadowbox in the Flatiron District. 

THE STUDIO 

The inside of Shadowbox is SO pretty. Which is a little disconcerting for a place where you're supposed to be learning about boxing - a sport with a not so dainty reputation. 

But now that boxing has become a trendy fitness fad, some of the studios are big, bright and downright beautiful spaces that attract Lulu-clad ladies. I'm sure the boxing purists out there have their issues with places like Rumble and Shadowbox, but at the end of the day, it's raising awareness about the sport and I think that's a good thing! 

A recent conversation centered around the most overall athletic athletes - and we landed on boxers. That never would have been my pick before boutique-boxing became a thing! 

I digress. 

Shadowbox is a gorgeous studio with a cafe in the lobby serving turmeric lattes and coffee with MCT oil. Trendy AF. 

There's an actual boxing ring where private sessions take place (why are boxing rings square?), both men's and women's locker rooms, and a black-lit, mirrored studio with 40 floor to ceiling punching bags ready for you to beat the crap out of. 

The studio itself feels slightly cramped when you walk in, but once the class was underway, it wasn't so bad. 

There's a pouch at the bottom of each bag with 1 pound weights - it's also where you should store your water bottle so it's not on the floor and in your way! (And pro-tip from the nowhere-near-a-pro...your gloves go up on the top of the bag for the first part of class!) 

THE CLASS 

WARM UP 

The warm-up included some simple body-weight/cardio exercises like jumping jacks, butt kicks and high knees. 

SHADOWBOX 

During this portion of the class, we boxed without gloves and without the bag - like we were boxing a shadow! Get it? There was also the option to use 1 pound hand weights for this part. 

We went through the different movements - jab, cross, hooks and uppercuts and did a few different combinations adding in some bobbing and weaving (defensive moves). 

I had sucked it up and bought myself wraps ($4) when I arrived, so I was feeling pretty legit and ready to get to business. 

BOXING - 7 ROUNDS 

The majority of the class was spent going through 7 different rounds of boxing with the heavy bag - gloves on.  

Each round is between 3-5 minutes followed by ACTIVE recovery. There isn't a minute of class that you're resting. If you aren't throwing punches, you're doing burpees, lunges, mountain climbers, or some other form of sweet sweet torture. The hardest active recovery that we did, in my opinion, were the MAYWEATHER SITUPS. Good God. You're supposed to go right from a sit up to a stand-up, and even as I clung to the bag to try to heave myself up, I struggled HARD. 

How the heck does he make this look easy?? It is not, I assure you. 

WHAT I LIKED:

+Non-stop! Between ab work, cardio drills and bag-work, you're constantly moving during a class at Shadowbox. It's a total body workout for sure. 

+Compared to Rumble, Shadowbox relies entirely on body weight exercises for the "strength" component of the class. While I really liked the fact that you used weights at Rumble and it felt like real strength training, the way that Shadowbox is set up makes the transition from strength to boxing a lot smoother and quicker which keeps you on your toes. 

+I did really miss the combinations being projected on the wall like they were during class at Rumble, but our instructor did a great job of reminding us during each round of what punches we were supposed to be throwin'.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

-The fact that the heavy-bags are floor to ceiling makes it very hard to see the instructor during class. I was constantly moving around to try to get a look at the moves she was demonstrating.  (When you sign up online, the website will show you which bags have better views and recommends them for beginners). 

-I didn't like that I'm dumb and kept one of my rings on and cut my hand open. 

THE RUNDOWN

THE STUDIO – 7

Another gorgeous studio - with lockers, locker rooms, convenient extras like hair-ties and nice products, and even a coffee shop with juices and other goodies. 

I was shocked at how few people stayed after class to shower. While the line wasn't long, the space itself was still pretty cramped as people tried to get changed and do their hair and makeup. 

CLASS SIZE - 7

The classes are pretty big - much like Rumble, if you're really looking to learn about boxing and get some one on one training, this probably isn't the best place to come (unless you're doing a one on one session in the ring!) There are 40 bags, and though it looks and feels a little cramped when you first walk in, you have plenty of room to do everything required of you in the class. 

SWEAT SCALE – 7

This class kicked my booty and I was definitely sore the next day! 

FUN FACTOR – 8

Dark room, great jams, releasing some pent up anxiety and stress by punching something. Definitely a good time!

AMENITIES – 8

There's really everything you could ask for in the locker room and studio - you can buy water bottles, wraps and rent gloves. 

COST - $$$

Standard for NYC, a class at Shadowbox costs $34 for a single class. Unfortunately, they don't have any deals for first time students. I attended for free in exchange for a review on my blog! 

BOTTOM LINE: 

My love of boxing classes continues. Shadowbox is definitely like Rumble in many ways, and doesn't provide any one on one time with the instructor. In fact, you can barely see the instructor during class. While it doesn't have some of the bells and whistles that Rumble has, I liked the fact that the second you finished on the bag, you went straight into another exercise. Despite not having weights for strength training, Shadowbox incorporates moves like lunges, push-ups and burpees that challenge you and keep your heart rate elevated the entire time. 

I also liked that Shadowbox threw in some defensive maneuvers as well. 

If you're looking for a group fitness boxing class as opposed to actual one on one boxing, I definitely recommend giving Shadowbox a try. It might now be as new and shiny as Rumble, but it's a great workout, a beautiful studio, and there's a shorter line for the shower after class ;) 

(And I've found that for one-on-one time with an instructor, regular old NYSC "Non-Contact Boxing" classes are great! WTF also included a LOT of time with the instructor!)

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Barcelona: Day Six

My last day in Barcelona I managed to again lace up my sneakers and head out the door for a run. I had high hopes of doing another deck of cards workout too– maybe some push-ups, burpees – an intense workout to close out the trip!

Buttttt instead I moseyed my way around the harbor and eventually found my way to Barceloneta Beach where I plopped myself down and looked out at the water.

That’s when the need for a day at the beach hit me. I texted Jon and Emily, “Hey guys – out on my run and it’s GORGEOUS out. We should go to La Boqueria and buy food then spend the day at the beach!”

Then I got up and made my way back towards the hostel, with a quick stop in a little dirt patch area for an easy deck of cards workouts – jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks, etc.

Once my endorphins got everyone moving, we headed to La Boqueria. Jon and Emily let me do my thing – following me as I loaded up on tons of stuff (I somehow managed to spend like $60!)

Here’s what I got:

Fresh Mango – They sell SO MUCH fresh fruit – precut and ready to eat with a little plastic fork. We also got a mixed fruit cup and Emily got papaya.

Vegetable Chips – OMG veggie chips. But not just any veggie chips. The most amazing veggie chips with carrots and sweet potato and taro and green beans – so crispy, so perfectly salty – so amazing. The last time I got a bag of these was from the market in Toronto and I really can’t be trusted – the entire bag was demolished by the end of the day.

Hummus – Because nothing goes better with veggie chips and baguette than hummus!

Dried Fruit Kabob – I remembered Brynn telling me that the dried fruit was delicious so I got a skewer with assorted dried fruits on it. The mango was my favorite!

Baguette – For only 1 euro, an entire fresh baked, still warm baguette can be yours at La Boqueria!

Cheese – MANCHEGO, to be exact. I have a newfound obsession with this cheese and it just so happens to be a Spanish cheese! (Made in La Mancha, to be precise).

Meat – We got a variety pack of sliced meats.

Barnacles – Yes, you read that correctly. During our tour before the cooking class, Angel had told us all about barnacles being a delicacy in Barcelona – they are only found in a few places around the world, and difficult to harvest. They’re called percebes (Goose barnacles) and are pretty expensive! When we were walking around La Boqueria, I came across a stand that was selling already steamed percebes for 5 euro and knew I had to try them!

When I finished taking a million years at the market putting together the perfect picnic, we wove our way through the streets of the Gothic Quarter and made our way to the beach. I feel like we were pretty distracted the entire way – stopping for sunglasses for Jon, into a souvenir store for me, another store to find a towel, a pharmacy for water bottles, and to haggle with a street vendor for tapestries (my round one is going to be great for picnic’s in Central Park). We finally made it to the beach and I had us plop down in the first patch of open sand that I saw.

Barceloneta is a very crowded, very touristy beach and we were pestered by vendors the entire time we were there. If you’re looking to soak up the sun while you’re in Barcelona, there are beautiful beaches a quick 30 minute train ride away – but we just wanted nearby and easy. That meant constantly hearing vendors hawking mojitos, massages, and even DONUTS up and down the beach.

A word of advice – don’t leave anything unattended on these beach! It WILL go walking.

A dug into my barnacles and eventually got the hang of eating them – it’s definitely not attractive and they definitely look a little phallic- I would not recommend barnacles as a first date meal. Every time I twisted them open, I got a nice face full of salt water. But they were surprisingly meaty and tasted great with a lemon spritz. Angel had described them as tasting like oysters with the consistency of crab meat – and I’d say that was pretty accurate!

Jon went to play some beach volleyball while Emily and I snacked and eventually fell asleep in the sun. Is there any better feeling than dozing off in the sand? Nope. Pretty sure there’s not.

When we woke up and Jon got back, Emily and I went down by the water to feel how cold it was – it was pretty chilly, yet there were a few brave souls swimming around!

I instantly spotted some seaglass by the water’s edge and got really excited and nostalgic. When I was growing up, my dad and I would walk at my beach collecting seaglass – finding a blue piece was like hitting the jackpot! I associate the rocky North Shore beaches of Long Island with seaglass, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Barcelona’s beaches were very similar! I spend awhile sifting through the sand and even found some blue pieces which I hope my dad will make into jewelry for me.

Eventually, I roused everyone from their peaceful lounging because it was time to check two more things off my checklist.

The first thing being – EAT GELATO.

We walked along the main road by the beach scouting out gelato shops until we found one we agreed look legit. How does a gelato place look legit? Not sure, but this one did. We ended up stopping at Dino Gelato Italiano and within a minute of us getting in line…about 20 other people queued up behind us. Such trendsetters.

I got a small with Catalan Cream and a flavor with peanut butter in the description – the first time I had seen mention of my favorite food in all of Barcelona!

We sat on a bench and enjoyed our gelato despite the busy street and cars zooming past. While Jon said, “This is going to take me forever to eat,” I looked down at my empty cup and said, “This was the tiniest thing of ice cream I’ve ever eaten. It was like 2 spoonfuls.” Story of my life!

The last place I was dragging everyone was a bar that my friend Kaitlin, who studied abroad in Barcelona in college, said we needed to check out. After reading the reviews online – I knew she was right. Everything I read about La_Xampanyeria made it seem like it was more than just a bar - it was an experience. And the way people talked about everyone making friends and no one being sad made me think of the Boardy Barn (the happiest place on earth).

La Xampanyeria was founded in 1969 (the real name is Can Paixano but everyone calls it La Xampanyeria – The Champaneria)– so it’s got history! When you walk in you’ll notice that there are no tables or chairs. You find a spot and you stand – which means mingling and bumping into people and, hopefully, making friends!

We managed to snag a spot right up at the bar and tried to figure out, “What next?” Luckily, I had read up on how things worked at La Xampanyeria so I wasn’t completely thrown off by the fact that almost everything was written in Catalan only.

You can buy either glasses of champagne or, until 5 pm, entire bottles (for like 6 euro!) If you buy an entire bottle, you’re required to buy two tapas – this is how they prevent people from getting hammered (I mean, people still get hammered!)

We got a bottle + MORE cheese and ham – cause we hadn’t eaten enough of that on the beach earlier…

The bartender seemed so over everyone at the bar – yet in a way that we thought was entertaining, not obnoxious.  He looked SO irritated at a customer who kept waving his hand I his face to get his attention.

Before we knew it we had finished our bottle and were feeling nice and giggly. It was like Emily at the cooking class all over again! La Xampanyeria is CASH ONLY so we literally scrounged in our bags and wallets enough money for another bottle and two more tapas and were so excited that we had enough!

This time around we got the same bottle but croquettes (still not sure what was in them) and the most delicious chorizo because that’s what the bartender recommended. 

Somehow, the woman standing behind us caught sight of Emily and I using the dog filter on Snapchat and LOST HER SHIT. She was HOWLING with laughter – and before I knew it the cava + the atmosphere + the mission of making a friend at La Xampanyeria had me swiping through all of the Snapchat filters with this woman who spoke not a word of English and was absolutely hammered. It was one of those times that you laugh so hard your stomach hurts and you feel like you just did 1000 crunches.

It was the hardest I had laughed in AWHILE (probably since seeing this video). 

When we finished our second bottle we sadly departed because we were out of cash entirely. (Our new friend tried buying us more, but she was having some issues communicating with the bartender so we said thank you and left!)

We left this place in the best mood – as evidenced by these pictures of Emily and I. I highly recommend a stop to La Xampanyeria if you’re in Barcelona!

We started heading back to the hostel but didn’t quite want to stop drinking…so we hopped into Abirra Dero where we had a good conversation with the bartender about craft beers in Barcelona. They had a ton of different beers to choose from, and while I didn’t end up loving my IPA, it was a cool spot for beer lovers (I meant to buy a glass but forgot on my way out!)

Finally, we went back to the hostel and got finished packing before getting dressed and ready to go out for the night. We had been warned that Monday nights were a little crazy – we were headed back to City Hall where the Hostel One group got a free hour of beer and later, time in a VIP area with free bottles of champagne.

When we first got into City Hall, I saw posters for a beer pong tournament and low-key freaked out. Or, not so low-key freaked out. I HAD to enter. Emily was with me – this absolutely had to happen. No questions asked.

The guys running the tournament for City Hall were slightly creepy (very, creepy) but we managed to figure out that we needed to pay in cash in order to enter (though they seemed to be demanding kisses as well). We headed back upstairs to find out where we could find an ATM – the one next door wasn’t working so we walked across the street and I paid $30 to take out 20 more euros that I definitely wasn’t going to end up using. Whatever. If it cost me $30 to play beer pong at a club in Barcelona on my last night, so be it.

Back in City Hall we signed up and had a #14 sticker put on our shirts. We left the beer pong area to dance for a little while – the music started off as Latin and I pretended I could move my hips like Shakira while dancing to Gasolina, belted some Enrique and FREAKED out when a random song I had put on my Barcelona playlist came on – Picky by Joey Montana – go listen, it’s great.

Eventually we noticed people playing beer pong and wandered over to figure out how we would know when it was our turn. It was confusing and frustrating and not very well organized at all – I mean, it was in the middle of a night club with the event, “FUCKING MONDAY” going on. So…we decided to take a tequila shot. That made the waiting more bearable. I was just about ready to concede that I had wasted my money and beer pong wasn’t going to happen when WE WERE UP.

And turns out, we were really filling the cups with beer. Gross, beer. Estrella. Beer pong beer through and through. Not particularly cold beer either.

But it was happening! We were two American girls playing beer pong in a Barcelona night club and we were gunna SHOW THEM WHO WAS BOSS. Plus, the music had switched over from Latin to American 90’s and early 2000’s hits. If I was ever in my element, it was now.

First game – solid. Emily got the last cup, and we both played pretty well!

Second game – another win. Emily got the last cup again and we started feeling in the zone. The music was killing it, and a crowd was starting to gather around the remaining games.

Third game – Semi Finals. The pressure was ON. I thrive on beer pong pressure. We won AGAIN. Emily made the last cup, again. My shero.

Fourth game – FINALS. There was no chance we were losing. Absolutely not. ‘Merica. There was a whole big misunderstanding when I tried explaining that I was heating up – but once we got past that, WE WON. I sunk the last cup and Emily screamed really loud and picked me up and it was perfection.

They introduced us to the manager who asked what shot we wanted to do and then we took a Patron shot with the him. We eventually found out that we had won a booze cruise on April 22 but when we said we were leaving the next morning (in like, 4 hours at that point…) they asked what they could get us from the bar. We got a bottle of champagne and danced a little bit more before handing off the bottle to the team we had played in the finals and heading back to the hostel.

Once at the hostel, we sat in the lobby/kitchen and had a heart to heart. I think we didn’t want to go to bed because then our trip would officially be over. So we ate more bread, meat and cheese and talked until it was 5:30 a.m…we had agreed to leave at 7 a.m. and my alarm was set for 6:30 a.m.

I fell asleep for an hour nap and woke up to Jon yelling, “GUYS! TIME TO GO IT’S 8!”

UHM, what?!

I flew out of bed. Jumped down. Zipped my suitcase, prayed everything was in it, ran to the guy at the front desk and tried to convey the urgency of “OVERSLEPT, Need to pay NOW, late for flight!” While simultaneously trying to book a taxi with the MyTaxi app.

The typical European laid-back demeanor meant my sense of urgency was not exactly met – but soon enough we were stepping into the street and into a waiting taxi – thank God for technology.

When we got to the check-in counter they let Jon and I go ahead – along with another woman who was running behind schedule for the flight to NYC.

In reality, we made it through security and to our gate in plenty of time – we even got water bottles, chocolate milk (CACAOLAT ❤), and some souvenirs from the Duty Free shop.

Despite being so so exhausted, I didn’t sleep a ton on the flight – I did watch Moana though (loved it) and another movie that I can’t remember now.

When we landed, Jon and I split an Uber back to the Upper East Side and I somehow managed to do laundry and completely unpack that night before collapsing into bed at a ridiculously early hour. To think that I had at one point contemplated going straight to the office after landing…

Honestly, this trip was 100% more amazing than I could have ever imaged it would be.

Emily is the best travel buddy and potentially the only human on this planet who can keep up with and accept my obsessive itineraries – while still managing to push ME to party harder and stay up later.

Throughout the trip we kept turning to each other and saying, “We’re in SPAIN!” I am absolutely determined to take a trip outside of the country every spring from here on out. There is so much to see and experience!

The language barrier and cultural differences of being in another country helped me relinquish some of the control I usually insist on having – I often couldn’t communicate exactly what I wanted at a restaurant, I drank my coffee with cream instead of almond or skim milk, the culture didn’t include boutique fitness studios on every corner so I went a week without working out – and now that I’m back, some of these things have stuck. I’ve spent about $100 on cappuccinos in the past two weeks – and I haven’t been nearly as motivated for kick ass workouts. Instead, I’ve been walking to and from work as much as I can (3 miles) and that’s feeling great.

I haven’t stopped following travel blogs and accounts on Instagram – I’m throwing around ideas like Munich, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgium, Amsterdam – so if you have any suggestions for a 7 day trip in Europe for April(ish), LET ME KNOW PLEASE!

Thanks for reading these ridiculously long daily recaps – there will be a short(er) and sweet travel guide to Barcelona coming one of these days!

READ ABOUT MY OTHER DAYS IN BARCELONA:

Barcelona: Day Five

Emily and I woke up on Sunday morning and headed to a cute café for breakfast. It was called Café Cometa and had a definite NYC vibe with its succulents on every table and cute interior. The menu featured everything I love in a brunch spot – avocado toast, yogurt, smoked salmon – all the essentials. We also appreciated the English version of the menu – though I’m sure this wasn’t our most authentic Spanish meal of the trip. 

We grabbed a seat outside, because who doesn’t love al fresco dining? – and I ordered yogurt with granola and a slice of avocado and tomato toast. PLUS a mocha latte which was definitely unnecessary but, delicious nonetheless.

We tried to watch a Youtube video to figure out the proper way Emily was supposed to eat her egg – but we definitely did not succeed.

After our meal we walked around the corner for my donut stop of the trip – La Donuteria! I’ve been following them on Instagram since I booked my flight to Barcelona and I love that they’re constantly changing their flavor offerings. It was very quiet when we arrived, and I conducted a full-on photo shoot with Emily, the soon-to-be-full-time-artistic director of Peanut Butter Is My Boyfriend.

I got a chocolate apricot donut and a Crème de chocolate con leche con praline – they were pretty pricey, and though beautiful, definitely didn’t compare to other doughnuts I’ve had!

Next we hopped in a taxi and made our way to the Gothic Quarter for two stores that we wanted to get souvenirs from – the FCB Barcelona Team Store and Toni Pons.

I had read that Barcelona, and particularly Toni Pons, were the spot to buy espadrilles – a type of shoe that was first created in the Pyrenees region of Catalonia. I love espadrilles – they’re always super comfortable for the summer with the perfect laid back but classy look.

Apparently, the name for espadrilles comes from the Catalan word for espardenya – the bottoms of the shoes are made of espart which is a tough grass that’s also used to make rope.

I was amazed at how many different styles the Toni Pons store had. And since I’m horrible with decisions, I was also overwhelmed. I tried on about 5 different pairs (after one of the men working there helped me figure out what European size I was!) and then I was stumped between two pairs. One a more traditional canvas espadrille in tan/beige and the other an espadrille with a navy blue leather upper. I was so stumped, that the man helping me and the cashier made a bet about which I would buy! They both told me to go with the traditional canvas ones, but I ended up going with the leather because I thought they were more unique!

They are SO comfortable and now I wish I had bought about 5 more pairs while I was there! They’re available online, but I don’t really feel like paying the hefty international shipping fees.

We ambled our way back to the hostel and even found ourselves in the middle of a Palm Sunday procession. With more foresight, I would have been really cool to go to mass in one of the beautiful and historic churches, but we enjoyed the nuns singing in the streets. It felt a little weird that so many tourists were just stopping and taking pictures. I put my phone away and tried to be respectful (after snapping one picture for the memory…)

When we got back we took a very necessary hour + nap and then it was time to wake up and get ready to explore Montjuic, a massive hill overlooking the water that was basically in the backyard of our hostel.

There’s a castle at the top of Montjuic and it is also the location of many Olympic sites – the Olympic Ring, Olympic Stadium, Olympic swimming facility, and the stadium where we would be seeing Ed Sheeran in concert later that night! (Palau Sant Jordi).

We started by walking up, and up and up and taking in the views of the city. We spotted a lot of smoke on the horizon, and while my mind immediately went to a terror attack, Google let us know that it was a yacht that had been burning for hours!

We wound our way up towards the Hotel Miramar, a gorgeous hotel on Montjuic. We walked around a bit before realized we were off-course for our destination – Montjuic Castle.

Backtracking, we realized we had much more to climb – so up we went. It was no joke – I was dripping in sweat, Emily’s Achilles was killing her, yet the gondola to the top was way over-priced for the distance it would have carried us.

We powered through and eventually made it to the castle – which was free on Sunday’s after 3 pm (it’s like I planned that or something…oh right, I did!)

I attempted to read along with the brochure and learn something, but it was kind of dry material. Instead, we entered the center of the castle and found tons of the wooden games I had seen at the Farmer’s Market! They were probably meant for kids, but Emily quickly came up with a rough translation of the instructions and we started trying to balance weird wooden pieces on top of each other.

Who knows if we were playing right – but it was a ton of fun! I would love to make some of these games for my backyard. (With the tools and handy skills that I don’t have, for the backyard that I don’t have…)

After we got bored of the games, we sat down on a bench and reevaluated our plan – it was a long time until the concert, and there aren’t really any bars or restaurants on top of Montjuic where we could spend our time pregaming. So we headed back down on foot and walked to El Sortidor – the restaurant that both our cab driver and cooking instructor had recommended to us.

It was bizarre – the hostess told us they weren’t seating people – even though there were tons of people at the tables outside and even someone inside the restaurant eating…

I was bummed, but we headed to Carrer Blai, a street right near our hostel that is filled with tapas and pinchos restaurants. It seems that every restaurant on the block is named “Blai 9” or “Blai 11.” There’s no cars down the street – just restaurants and tables.

So let’s take a quick pause to talk about pinchos (or pinxtos). I didn’t really know what they were before I arrived – but essentially they’re little bite-sized bar snacks, almost like tapas, but with wooden skewers through them. They line the bars, and when you’re done at the bar, they charge you based on how many skewers you have on your plate! Different skewers may cost slightly different amounts, but for the most part, pinchos on Carrer Blai cost just 1 euro each! Other parts of the city they’ll cost between 2 and 2.50 euro.

We had our first true pinchos experience before the Ed Sheeran concert on Carrer Blai and to be honest, I barely know what I ate. I wasn’t blown away by any of it -  I mean, it sits out on the bar all day – but some of the bites were tasty and I wasn’t really the biggest critic once I started sipping Cava. There were cod fritters and some cheese and stuff piled on a mini pancake – if anything, they made for pretty pictures!

After eating and drinking our fair share (and having our first chocolate filled CHURROS of the trip) we scurried back up the street to our hostel for a quick phone charge and champagne chug. What I didn’t finish of the bottle, I poured into one of Jon’s empty beer cans – ROADIE!

Soon we were in a taxi (they don’t have Uber in Barcelona, but they do have MyTaxi which is essentially the same thing) and on our way to Palau Sant Jordi.

When we got out of the cab, the light of the setting sun combined with the sight of the Olympic ring – plus the anticipation of seeing Ed Sheeran and the copious amounts of cava – had me smiling from ear to ear. We sat in the grass and finished our drinks while I serenaded Jon and Emily with Ed Sheeran songs.

For some reason I pictured the venue being outside, but we soon discovered that Palau Sant Jordi was an indoor arena (that holds 18,000) that was created as part of the Olympic complex. Jon and Emily stood in line for beers while I rushed to my seat – scared that I was going to miss even a second of Ed singing.

I shouldn’t have worried – because there were two openers. One of which was Anne-Marie who sings Alarm – I got reallll into it.

When Ed Sheeran started, I was in my own world. I am 99% sure I was the only person in our entire section that stood up the entire show and sang along to every word. Jon and Emily were good sports, only knowing a handful of songs.

ED SHEERAN’S CONCERTS ARE MAGIC. I said it about 2348932 times over the course of the trip, and Emily and Jon kept making fun of me, but I’ll say it again anyway: It’s nuts that it’s JUST HIM up on the stage with his guitar and loop pedal. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL MUSIC. I died. And I decided that no matter the cost, I simply need to see him again when he’s at Barclay’s in the fall.

Ugh. I still can’t get over how perfect it was – hearing him perform Barcelona IN BARCELONA.

After the concert, we walked alllll the way back because – why not? Also, because we couldn’t get a taxi.

When we arrived back in our hostel’s neighborhood, we all agreed it was a good night to take off from clubbing – so we set out in search of some good drunk food.

Jon wandered into various establishments asking, “Hamburguesa con queso?” But we kept striking out. For a city that stays up drinking all night – there are very few dining establishments whose kitchens stay open. There were plenty of pinchos available – but we were looking for something a little more, well, American. We ended up in a halal restaurant, feasting on naan and dosa and curry. It was almost like we were in New York shoving our faces with lamb over rice.

The man working at Tabaq late on a Sunday night was like our knight in shining armor. He was so nice too – we couldn’t have been happier. Also, it turns out that the folks on TripAdvisor think Tabaq is the best Pakistani/Indian food in Barcelona! SCORE. 

After that, we crawled contentedly into our beds. (Not sure how I haven’t yet mentioned that I was on the top bunk and every time I climbed up, I had visions of the handrail coming out of the wall and me plummeting to my death).

Hard to believe we had only one day left in Barcelona, but it wouldn’t disappoint!

READ ABOUT MY OTHER DAYS IN BARCELONA:

Barcelona: Day Four

Before leaving for the club on Friday night, I had set out my running clothes to provide a small glimmer of hope that I might actually achieve more physical exertion than simply walking at least once during the trip. It wasn’t because I felt guilty about not working out, or about eating and drinking non-stop- which was surprising to me. The motivation was purely the fact that I knew even an easy 3 mile run along the water could potentially be one of the best parts of my trip – that’s how happy running makes me. And if I could do it relatively pain free, I’d be even happier the rest of the day.

Since we had actually left at a “normal” hour Friday night (Saturday morning…) I shocked myself by waking up, throwing on my sneakers, and heading outside for a run.

Our location was really convenient for a run down to the beach and along the water and as I went I passed a few fellow runners and a farmers market – I instantly felt wonderful. My legs were a little achy from all the walking we were doing every day, but at that same time, they felt refreshed because I hadn’t done any strength training or real cardio all week.

I ran along the water and it was pretty, but I was on the Port Vell side so it’s mainly just a lot of boats. When I started, it was still not very crowded out but by the end of my run the streets and waterfront were starting to fill up.

I stopped at a park with benches and used my phone to do a deck of cards workout with squats, dips, sit ups, etc. I got a few weird looks but it was a very quiet area so I didn’t feel too weird.

On my run back to the hostel, I had to stop at the farmer’s market! There were a handful of booths with cheese, vegetables, jams, chocolate, and bread. There were also a ton of games set up – they were made out of wood and kind of reminded me of Nok-Hockey, but I didn’t recognize any of them. Later in the week, I’d find them at Montjuic Castle and Emily’s Spanish would help us play a few of them!

When I got back to the hostel (after running back and forth on our street a few times to end at an even number on my Garmin - #RunnerProblems) I turned on the lights, opened the window and said “GOOD MORNING, RISE AND SHINE.” Much to the chagrin of Emily and Jon, I was ridin’ high on endorphins and ready to get the day going.

Brunch & Cake

Eventually, I got everyone up and motivated – we showered and got ready for our planned brunch at Brunch and Cake – a restaurant that my friend Brynn had told me to follow on Instagram FOREVER ago. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing Instagram accounts in the world – the food is so damn colorful, plated beautifully, and HEALTHY!

I got a café con leche for the walk to Brunch and Cake as I tried to mentally prepare Emily and Jon for the wait that we were sure to encounter when we arrived. Brunch and Cake is located near the college, and you can tell you were in the college neighborhood – the places just seemed hipper. Sure enough, Brunch and Cake was packed and we were told there would be an hour and ten minute wait.

Jon stood on the sidewalk to people watch while Emily and I walked down the block and found a cute café where I got a green juice. The inside of Cosmo was SO so cute and I felt like I was in Brooklyn.

Jon texted in seemingly no time that we were up next – it ended up not even taking an hour until we were seated and handed menus (in English!) at Brunch and Cake.

As usual, Emily and I decided on two things that we wanted to split. The first was a salad that had sweet potatoes, arugula, guacamole, salsa, and a vegetarian taco “meat” that was absolutely ridiculous in a good way. We also split a banana/oat pancake that was legitimately the size of the entire dish, with the banana layered underneath and covered in granola, seeds, nuts and fruit. Plus, all of the syrup that was poured on top.

The pancake was a little dry, but that salad was phenomenal!

Parc de la Ciutadella

After brunch we took our time wandering over to the Parc de la Ciutadella, where we passed the Arc de Triomf. As we passed under the arc I naturally compared the park to Washington Square Park.

There’s a pedestrian street that leads from the Arc de Triomf to Parc de la Ciutadella and we took our time taking in the band that was playing, the people selling massive balloons, blowing bubbles and sat on a bench to watch insanely talented kids perform soccer tricks. Eventually we continued into the park and I was instantly in love. It was Central Park-esque in the sense that people were lounging out on the various lawns with full on picnics and towels set up – you could tell they planned on spending many hours there.

Everyone you looked there were different performances going on and we sat down to watch a group of hippies slacklining. I so wish I had gotten up the nerve to ask them to try it, but the Riekorderling Raspberry cider I was drinking, while delicious, wasn’t quite strong enough to give me that extra push ;)

There were however small children whose parents were nowhere to be found that were giving tight-rope walking their best attempt, with the help of the random men who lifted them up. Europeans man – so much more laid back!

I even saw people with these awesome blow up bean bag type things and now I definitely need to get one for days and nights in Central Park.

We all could have spent much more time exploring this park – there’s even a zoo inside – but sadly we had to be on our way to walk over to our cooking class!

Weaving in and out of the maze-like streets of the Gothic Quarter, I was happy I had decided to pay the $10 a day to use my phone data. There were a few days when I didn’t turn it on, but for the most part we would probably have spent the entire week lost had we not been able to use Google maps. Yes, we had physical maps, but the streets are so winding and confusing that we didn’t stand a chance! It wasn’t until day 3 or 4 that we finally felt confident getting ourselves back to the hostel.

Foodie Experience Barcelona

We arrived at our cooking class and waited outside the door for a few minutes, making small talk with some of the other people who would be in our class (there were 11 of us total). When Angel opened the door and let us into the space, I knew it was going to be a good night. It was bright, spacious and absolutely spotless.

Angel went through the menu that we would be cooking that evening, and then led us outside for a tour of La Boqueria.

I hung on her every word as we wound our way through one of the oldest food markets in Europe – we stopped at a few different booths and learned about ham (jamon), seafood, saffron, paprika and more. I’ll be writing an entire post that goes into more detail on the Foodie Experience – because it was incredible and anyone going to Barcelona should absolutely do it!

I wrote notes on my phone the entire time and learned SO much about food that I had never known. The difference between Serrano and Iberico ham, the salt content in Atlantic seafood vs. Mediterranean seafood, the different between anchovies vs. boquerones, and the fact that in Barcelona, barnacles are considered a delicacy.

Angel explained that the front of the market tends to be really packed with tourists, but as you make your way further back its more local. She also mentioned that a lot people are starting to get upset that vendors are essentially selling out and selling smoothies and ice cream because that’s what the tourists are buying. 

After our tour of La Boqueria, we headed back to the kitchen and Angel went around the big island explaining what the different steps of the recipe would be. We each got assigned a task for the meal prep – I was on veggie chopping duties.

The knives were extremely sharp, and I had already managed to slice my finger with a bread knife cutting baguettes in bed at 5 a.m. during the trip – so I was a little wary. I managed to make it through the peppers, carrots and green beans without amputating a finger or hand.

We each raised a glass of sangria and said cheers the way the Catalonians do – Salud y Buena Vida!

The rest of the evening included lots of wine, lots of laughs from Emily who couldn’t keep it together for some reason, and lots of interesting information and stories from Angel as she used our prepared ingredients to make tortilla and paella.

The tomato bread, a very traditional Catalan dish, blew me away with its simplicity and flavor. Sourdough toast, three streaks of a garlic clove, and half of a tomato rubbed all over the bread. A hefty drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of sea salt and VOILA – one of the freshest appetizers ever! I’m so sad that the specific tomatoes they use in Barcelona can’t be bought in the US – but I’m going to have to give it a try anyway.

The tortilla is also very traditional – and it’s not a tortilla like you picture when you think of Mexican food. It’s actually more like a frittata and the only ingredients are eggs, potatoes, tomatoes and olive oil! I was fascinated by the fact that the onions and potatoes were cooked by boiling them in olive oil. The sound of it all sizzling away was music to my ears.

Angel also showed us a Youtube video of someone flipping the most massive tortilla – before showing us the easier way of doing it using a flat surface and a spatula. 

Watching Angel make the paella was like watching an artist – simply following a recipe would never yield the same results and what she made for us. Filled with vegetables, chicken thighs, sausage, mussels and prawns – it was incredible!

Another great moment during the class was waving across the roof to Angel’s 100+ year old neighbor – so adorable!

The last hands on portion of the class was getting to blow torch our own Catalan Cream for dessert – turning a layer of sugar into a crispy, crunchy, caramelized creation.

We all hung out around the table eating, drinking, talking, and enjoying the experience before saying thank you and goodnight to Angel. I also purchased some saffron (it’s very expensive, and I got a very small container of it) and smoky paprika for if I ever attempt to make my own paella!

We got back to the hostel and began to get ready for another night out on the town. When I heard that we would be going to a craft beer hall, I was PUMPED. Pumped enough to ignore the fact that the club we’d be going to was going to be techno music.

CocoVail was AWESOME and had so many beer options. There was live music when we arrived and we were given wristbands that meant every beer was $5! I had two IPAs (shocking, I know) and enjoyed the laid back, picnic table vibe of the beer hall. I also enjoyed a conversation about Sunday Funday on Rainey Street with an expat from Austin, Texas! 

Eventually it was time to head over to City Hall – a short walk away from CocoVail. This was the first club we went to that wasn’t on the beach – it was located in the middle of the city and used to be a theater in its heyday. Redesigned, it now features different types of DJs and themes every night of the week. We happened to be there for techno night – which is so not my scene. I lasted for one song in the basement because of Emily’s pleas to give it a chance – but I couldn’t hang with the ravers.

We ventured upstairs to the ground floor where there was a much smaller dance floor and DJ playing non-stop 90’s and 2000’s hits. I was in heaven. I mean, Miley Cyrus and Avril Lavigne? Jackpot.

I got a water bottle from the bar, which Jon proceeded to squeeze and spray all over my face. I was not a happy camper. As he recounted later, “Lauren didn’t talk to me for like 5 whole minutes – that’s a really long time for her to stay mad!” Accurate! But then I ordered a tequila and orange juice and my spirits improved. I love that a lot of times when you order a drink at a bar or club in Barcelona you get a cute little glass bottle with your mixer and pour it into your glass yourself.

We ended up being the last three people on the dance floor at City Hall as we requested that the DJ play Ke$ha. We took the subway home that night because the metro station was right outside of City Hall and our walk back we were hysterical about I don’t even know what. Ke$ha and raucous laughter in the streets - perfect way to end the night! (More baguette, meat and cheese too, of course!)

READ ABOUT MY OTHER DAYS IN SPAIN: 

Barcelona: Day Three

After our quick "nap," it was time to head out for our journey to Girona and Figueres – a 12 hour day of touring.

We decided to walk from our hostel to the tour office (we booked through Julia Travel) and along the way we stopped at a market for some apples and a café for café con leche, a sandwich and a chocolate croissant to split.

1)     The café con leche from Barcelona has ruined my life because it was SO PHENOMENAL and now I find myself paying $5 for cappuccinos and other delicious espresso drinks with frothy milk and cream. I can no longer bear the thought of sad drip coffee with skim milk and a Splenda.

2)     I swear that all ANYWAY eats in Barcelona are sandwiches of ham (jamon) and cheese on the most amazing baguettes (except they probably aren’t called baguettes there because that’s a French phrase). I believe they’re called bocadillos. Anyway, they’re so simple, but they really are delicious.

3)     The chocolate croissant blew my freaking mind. As usual, I served as the human garbage can throughout the trip – finishing anything that Emily and Jon were too full to eat. When Emily didn’t want any of this croissant, I gladly finished every crumb.

Walking Tour of Girona

After some trial and error we figured out where we needed to be for the bus tour and signed in. Eventually we were led outside to the buses which were very spacious (no bathrooms though – which always stresses me out!) Emily and I sat next to each other and for the beginning of the trip our tour guide talked a lot about what to expect out of the day. Everything throughout the day was repeated in English and Spanish which made things a little more time consuming.

The bus ride from Barcelona to Girona was about an hour, and despite the espresso, I fell asleep HARD after eating my sandwich.

When I woke up, we were approaching Girona, driving through beautiful green fields close to the border between Spain and France – with the Pyrenees in the background.

Everyone was given a little radio with headphones which would make it easier to hear the tour guide as we walked around the historic city of Girona.

We had a few minutes to grab a coffee or use the restroom before meeting up with our tour guide. She was extremely sweet – and it was so adorable hearing her English portion of the tour. It was totally understandable, but with little mishaps like “print foot” instead of footprint.

The city of Girona is sooo picturesque. You really feel like you’re stepping back into medieval time as you wander through the cobblestone streets and alleyways. The cypress trees look otherworldly set against the massive cathedral and stone walls that still surround the city.

There are 4 rivers in Girona, meaning you can amble along a river (the view from one reminded me of Mykonos) and I don’t know about you, but I’m always happiest when I’m near water.

We came to a statue and our tour guide explained to us that the tradition is to “Kiss the Lioness’ Bottom” if you wish to return to Girona. Emily and I had a good laugh taking Boomerangs of us “kissing the butt” a la Finding Nemo.

Another interesting fact our tour guide told us was the legend of St. Narcis’ foot print (“print foot”) – apparently there are tons of legends surrounding him. One says that an army was attacked Girona and St. Narcis ran out of the city walls in one direction, but his footprint pointed in the other – causing the attacking army to go the wrong direction. Or…something that like. There’s a statue, and touching the footprint is supposed to bring you good luck.

To be honest, the rest of the information I kind of half paid attention to – it wasn’t super interesting to me and the fact that half the time I was hearing Spanish made it hard to keep me listening. But for an hour I was content to take pictures and look around. Emily is a big Game of Thrones fan and apparently they’ve filmed multiple scenes in Girona, including one on the massive stairs of the Cathedral.

Towards the end of the tour we headed into the Jewish Quarters – where Girona’s Jewish population used to live. Apparently it’s one of the most well-preserved in the world – and it was really awesome to navigate through the narrow streets thinking about how much history you were surrounded by.

By the time we were standing outside of the Jewish Museum and our tour guide was rambling on and on about what we would see if we went into the museum – Emily and I had had enough – we knew which areas we wanted to go explore on our own, and as the clock ticked down we knew our free time was dwindling. We peeled off from the group and scurried down an alley way where I had seen the elusive garlic mincing dish I have been hunting for forever. I picked out a ceramic garlic grater in a pretty pattern and for 5 euro I had successfully found one of the souvenirs on my list.

We started to make our way up to the main city wall, which you can walk along, and I was in heaven. It was absolutely gorgeous – perfect weather, greenery everywhere, the smell of fresh flowers, views of the Pyrenees, and not crowded with tour groups like the streets had been.

We found a secluded area and had a full on photo shoot in the fields – how amazing is the portrait mode on the new iPhone? I spent the rest of the trip making Emily take glamour shots of me. Not vain at all.

I think we both could have stayed on top of that hill all day long, but we wanted to make sure we had time to eat something before we got back on the bus so we wound or way down and back into the streets and ended up eating at the most adorable café. Turns out that Federal Café is a chain of Australian Café’s with 6 locations in Spain (Girona, Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid).

Those Australians man. They sure do know how to do brekkie.

I felt like I was in Soho except surrounded by 100X more history and charm as I sipped my turmeric latte (!!) and ate my Greek yogurt with granola, composing the perfect Instagram shot of Emily’s avocado toast with MACADAMIA NUT DUST.

Even though it may not have been a traditional Spanish meal, it was one of our favorites of the trip. I think it was a combination of being exhausted and finally sitting down, the gorgeous setting, the fact that we were outside and the weather was beautiful, plus the food being so so aesthetically pleasing – not the mention the waiter was very easy on the eyes.

As we sat there, I realized there were SO MANY cyclists. With BEAUTIFUL, expensive bikes. They were no joke cyclists – and Girona is no joke hilly. I also saw tons of people running…maybe that’s why I felt so at ease and relaxed in Girona. I was amongst my people! I had found the bike riding, hill running, turmeric latte sipping Catalonians!

We wrapped up lunch with the perfect amount of time to go to the bathroom and re-board our tour bus. I was sad to leave Girona – it felt so homey and comfortable there – but I kissed the Lioness’ Bottom so that means I’ll be back one day, right?

Salvador Dali Theater & Museum

As soon as we were back on the bus, our other tour guide started talking again – and he was talking a lot. I just wanted to sleep. Eventually I tuned him out and dozed on and off for the hour and 45 minute drive to the Salvador Dali Museum.

At this point, I didn’t really feel like wandering a museum for the 5 hours we would be in Figueres. But as we stopped outside the museum and our tour guide started speaking – I was captivated. Not only by the interesting information, but by our tour guides passion for Dali and his work.

The outside of the Dali Museum looks very strange – but when we found out that all of the little yellow things stuck to the building are supposed to be BREAD – I was like, “Wow, even stranger than I thought.” Oprah might love bread, but I think Salvador Dali loved bread even more.

It’s not just any bread on the outside of the museum (which Dali fully designed himself) – it’s bread that was historically made for funerals, giving the museum a bit of an eerie feel. But the giant eggs on top (yes, eggs) are full and uncracked, representing life and ideas. Dali has a quote that I love – “Beauty should be edible, or not at all.”

It was really cool going to a museum of an artist that was a lot more contemporary than a lot of the artists you typically study – his references seemed a lot easier to grasp and understand, despite the fact that he was a surrealist and a lot of his work is very “out there.”

Our tour guide took us into the museum and you first come to a giant courtyard that has a LOT going on. He talked us through a lot of it, and I found myself hanging on his every word. I also had an epiphany that one of the tattoos on his arm was Dali’s famous mustache – which is when I realized this guy really knew his Dali.

Next we walked into the “theater” where there is a giant painting that will play tricks with your eyes – I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but it’s cool! Then, we were told that we were standing above Dali – and he was actually buried right below us!

Dali was such an interesting person and I can’t wait to get my hands on a book to learn more about him. He was apparently super narcissistic, but clearly a genius in many ways.

I was sad when our tour guide was done speaking and sent us off to explore the rest of the museum on our own – but we really did enjoy a lot of the different rooms even though I’m not a huge art person.

The tour also included entry into the jewel exhibit – and while some of them were cool to look at, at this point I was dragging a little bit and didn’t spend much time there. The best part was potentially when we walking through the revolving doors into a pitch black room to a massive security guard standing there that literally made us JUMP and shriek. It was terrifying yet hysterical.

We exited and then realized we probably should have found a bathroom while we were inside before our two hour journey back to Barcelona. The security guard let us back into the jewel exhibit but we could not find a bathroom for our lives so we talked our way back into the main museum.

Then we sat outside at our meeting place and waited for the bus.

On the ride back we had WiFi and chargers - #BLESSED! Emily and I fell asleep listening to Ed Sheeran and other random tunes and the nap time was CLUTCH.

We got dropped off in Barcelona and started walking our way back to the hostel – I had survived the entire tour on two hours of sleep + random bus naps throughout the day! This newfound ability to function on almost no sleep set my “NO SLEEP TILL TUESDAY” tone for the remainder of the week. Eek.

Night Out

When we got back to the hostel we quickly showered so we could make it downstairs for 8:30 group dinner. When we got down there, we were the only ones, since the group activity for the day had been watching the sunset from “Bunkers” which is up above Park Guell. We sat around for awhile, I journaled and an Englishman made me a cup of tea! I was getting reallllly hungry but we held out and waited for the group to return – including Jon. They had all been drinking wine for the past few hours, so the mood instantly livened up.

Dinner was lasagna made by Simone – a young girl from Italy with the most magnetic personality in the world. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever eaten, but it was free and fun to eat with the group – while drinking pitchers of sangria and getting ready for the night ahead.

I decided I couldn’t handle heels again, so I dressed down significantly for the second night. We got to the bar and everyone from the hostel was given a delicious shot (the sugary, mixed kind) and then we all went in on splitting liters of sangria that came out in little personal kegs with sparklers on top.

Around 1:30 we started the walk from the first bar to the club – a walk that I usually took to Instagram Live – WHY?! Someone needed to stop me. The club that night was Shoko, and like Opium the previous night it was down on Barceloneta Beach. You can leave the clubs and walk out onto the beach, which is pretty cool. We didn’t like Shoko as much as we liked Opium and we couldn’t exactly place what the reason was. I think this was the only night that we stuck to our 3:30 a.m. curfew because we weren’t having an absolute blast.

While waiting in the taxi line to go back to the hostel, men walk around selling bocaditos – so tempting, but Emily and I passed because we wanted to buy our own bread, meat and cheese to eat at the hostel.

Another day down, and we were starting to get into a groove!

READ ABOUT MY OTHER DAYS IN SPAIN:

Barcelona: Day Two

Day two was our big sightseeing day – I had scheduled and pre-booked a bunch of tickets to hit all of the big tourist attractions. By the end of the day, Emily and I both agreed that we liked doing all of these in one day because a lot of the time, the tourist attractions ended up being a little underwhelming, though we are glad we could say we saw all of these main sights.

La Sagrada Familia

We headed to the subway which was pretty easy to navigate as long as you knew which station you needed to get off at! Our hostel was verrrry close to one of the main subway lines and a bus stop too, which was really convenient throughout the week.

As soon as we got off the subway, there was the Sagrada Familia, looming over us in all of its incomplete glory. It was definitely a “WOW” moment, to just see it there in the middle of the city. I guess it’s how some people feel when they find themselves standing at the base of the Empire State Building for the first time.

I was absolutely starving, since we had never really eaten dinner the night before, and we stopped into a café down the block and sat down for a quick breakfast. I ordered a ham and cheese with a coffee. When my sandwich came out, I was instantly transported back to my childhood, eating a grilled cheese sandwich with ham on perfectly buttered and grilled toast. It wasn’t anything fancy – but it was perfect.

We were a few minutes behind schedule after paying, so we scurried over to the entrance of La Sagrada Familia, which we had pre-purchased tickets for. They sell tickets in time slots and I highlyyyy recommend booking in advance of your trip.

We were told we needed to enter on the other side of the church so we walked around, only to be told that I had printed my ticket confirmation, not the actual ticket, and we needed to go back to the other side to have my ticket printed. We did that, then went back to the other side and finally, entered the church.

The inside was impressive for sure – and because we were there at 9:00 a.m., it wasn’t yet completely packed with tourists. The sunlight was streaming through one particular stained glass window and was casting pretty lights and colors on some of the columns.

The concrete inside of the church looked so soft – almost like putty. When we touched them, we realized they were SO SMOOTH.

After looking around for a little while, we did the Nativity Tower tour– it’s an additional fee and you can choose to go up either the Nativity façade or the Passion façade. I had done some research, and settled on the Nativity façade because it offers better views and has less construction happening on it.

The views were nice, but not breathtaking. The most impressive part was the walk down the spiral staircase (you go up in an elevator) and looking all the way down down down. I think the reason we didn't love the view from the top is because La Sagrada Familia is the most iconic part of the Barcelona skyline, and it was missing since we were at the top of it!

Our general consensus was that the outside of the church was definitely the most impressive part – it’s so massive and so so detailed. It wasn’t until I was running around trying to find a bathroom that I realized there was an entire museum underneath – I wish I would have taken some time going through it and learning a bit more.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t say that the interior of Sagrada Familia is an absolute must-see if you aren’t really interested in churches – but absolutely go to marvel at the exterior. If you do pay to enter the church, I recommend going up one of the towers to make it more worthwhile.

Parc Guell - Monumental Zone

After Sagrada Familia, we took our time walking from the church to Parc Guell. We bought some of the classic giant water bottles I remember from my trip to Greece (1 Litre for $1) and stopped in some stores along the way. I found the CUTEST store that had all healthy foods, juices and KOMBUCHA. I wished I was hungry so that I could have eaten there! They also had veggie shaped pillows that I was really tempted to buy.

We had perfect weather the entire trip (minus the soccer game) – warm in the sun, cool in the shade.  But man was the walk to Parc Guell hilly! After getting a little lost, we eventually made it to the park, but the signage made it difficult to figure out where exactly we needed to go to get to the “Monumental Zone” that we had purchased tickets for. Eventually, after asking a few people, we found our way to the queue.

From the line, we could see the classic Parc Guell benches that everyone takes their pictures at (including the Cheetah Girls).  We were really underwhelmed at first because they were just in the middle of a big dirt patch. We thought that was all our ticket was going to get us – and we were pretty disappointed as we stood in line for 20 minutes waiting for our 12:30 entrance time. Eventually, we realized there was an entire area of the park we were going to get to walk around. PHEW.

We had our photo shoot on the benches and I must say, for such an iconic photo, the benches really aren’t the best part of the park by any means. Our favorite were the Monument Stairs, where we took tons of pictures and enjoyed looking at all of the beautiful tile work that the park is known for.

We stopped at the café inside the park and I had a delicious mango coconut juice.

We finished walking through the Monumental Zone and one of my favorite parts was how amazing the flowers smelled. We stopped on a bench to listen to some music and it was so beautiful.

Gaudi House Museum

Next stop was the Gaudi House Museum, which is located inside the park. It was the cheapest tour we did at just around $6 and while it wasn’t very visually impressive, I really liked reading and learning more about Gaudi since he is such a huge part of the history and culture of Barcelona. Did you know he was a vegetarian?!

After the museum, which didn’t take long to go through, we made our way down from Parc Guell to find the subway. We somehow managed to pass it and had to backtrack.

Casa Batllo

We got off at our stop which was right outside of Casa Batllo, our final tour of the day. We had some time to kill, so I wandered in and out of some stores, including the TIGER department store which I absolutely loved! It’s a chain throughout Europe that started in Copenhagen. http://www.apartime.com/barcelona-guide/shops-&-markets/tiger-store-in-barcelona

At 5:00 we started our Casa Batllo tour and it was hands down the coolest museum/tour I’ve ever been to. You are given a mini iPad and headset and using augmented reality, you walk through the house, garden and roof while hearing tons of interesting information. On the screen, you can see how the space used to look – as you turn in the room itself, the screen reacts and shows you the area that you’re looking at. Not sure if that made any sense – but take my word for it – it was very unique and very much worth it!

Jon met up with us when we were in the fourth room – his hangover from the night before finally cured. We took our time going through Casa Batllo and it was nice to take a last look at it from the street on our way out, once we had learned more about it.

Las Ramblas

Then, we started to make our way back, stopping in Zara before taking some pictures at Placa de Catlunya (I compared it to Columbus Circle). Then, we walked down the busy main street of Las Ramblas – essentially the Times Square (NYC) or 16th Street Mall (Denver) of Barcelona. Street vendors, chains, stores and tons and tons of tourists.  We definitely saw someone get pickpocketed as we made our way down Las Ramblas, and while I’m glad I got to see it, it definitely wasn’t my favorite place to be.

Arume Dinner

We got back to the hostel around 8:15 that night and had about an hour to shower and get ready for our dinner reservations. Callie had told me about a restaurant she loved so much she ate it twice during her trip to Barcelona last year, so I had booked us a table in advance.

We all decided to dress up since it was our one planned dinner out – and also Jon was excited to wear the dress pants he had bought at Zara.

Arume was a quick 15 minute walk from our hostel, which was good because I was wearing heels. Jon and Emily took beers for the road – which I’m still not sure is legal or illegal – but either way, everyone does it.

The restaurant was in the El Raval neighborhood, which I had read was a little seedy. Sure enough, it was the only time the three of us felt even remotely unsafe during the trip. And that’s dramatic – it just was clearly a little sketchier than most other areas.

When we got to the restaurant it was packed – and the spaces are just as small as many places in NYC. I told them I had made a reservation, but we still waited about 15 minutes to be shown to our table. The wait staff were extremely friendly and the restaurant was adorable.

We ordered drinks (Emily loved her Blackberry Mojito and I was in heaven with a Jalapeno Grapefruit Margarita) and were given a bread basket with olives and olive oil. I swear the olive oil is 100X better in Barcelona than it is here.

Our appetizers were the highlight of the meal:

“Uncle Walter’s Ceviche” with Almond Milk:

SO FRESH with little crispy corn cornels and watermelon – it was different, but so tasty, light and refreshing. Even Jon tried it and took seconds!

Spanish Betanzos Tortilla with Iberian Chorizo:

“Tortilla” in Barcelona is a very traditional dish – and it isn’t necessarily what you would expect. It’s potatoes, onions and eggs – almost like a frittata! The waitress explained that the traditional way of serving it is a little liquidy in the middle – and asked if we were ok with that. YES, traditional way please! Later in the week, our cooking class instructor also explained that a good tortilla should be moist in the middle.

The tortilla at Arume was cheesy and chorizo-y and very very good.

For our entrees, Emily and I decided to split two different dishes, while I convinced Jon that he should get the pork cheeks!

Monk Fish:
Wok Cooked Udon Noodles in Red Curry and Langoustine Bisque

The monkfish itself was delicious, but even to me, the langoustines were super fishy. The udon noodles were very short, not typical udon noodles, and I didn’t get much of a red curry flavor. I didn’t love this dish.

Milk lamb “Raval Style:”
Sweet potato, cumin yogurt and Arabian Salad

I personally loved this – the lamb wasn’t the most tender I’ve ever had but I devoured the sweet potato puree and love cumin. It’s not for everyone though, and Emily thought that the dish was over-seasoned.

Iberian Pork Cheeks:
Iberian pork with orange, aniseed chestnut puree and apples.

Ever since trying my coworkers beef cheeks in St. Louis, I swore I would always order cheeks whenever they were on the menu. Instead, I convince Jon to order them. I tried a bite, and the meat was just as tender as I remembered. The chestnut puree was very interesting!

Opium Night Club

By the time we finished dinner it was pretty late, and we figured we had missed the group leaving for the bar. So Jon and Emily bought beers at the market next door and I bought myself a cheap bottle of Cava and we set out for the hostel.

When we approached the bus stop at the end of our street, we saw the entire group from Hostel One standing and waiting and decided, OK, guess we’re going out! I popped the bottle of champagne and passed it around before hiding it in my jacket and getting on the bus.

We walked a ways to the bar, I ditched the bottle of cava, and we entered the super packed space. Emily and I got margaritas which ended up being straight tequila. By the time I finished mine and Emily’s, the original plan was “just going to the bar, not the club” was out the window. I chugged a water bottle and said I would go to the club.

The group was going to Opium, a club that everyone had suggested. “We’ll just go to see it and then head home,” Emily and I said…….

Let’s just say, Opium was too amazing to leave at a normal hour. Instead, we stayed until about 4 a.m. and by the time we got a taxi and crawled into bed at the hostel, we had only 2 hours to sleep before our bus tour to Girona and Figueres.  

I had spent the entire night telling Emily, “you don’t want to see me on 5 hours of sleep,” “you don’t want to see me on 4 hours of sleep…” etc. but we were having such a blast! Opium was great – it was on the water, it wasn’t overly packed, we got a drink fairly quickly, and the music was PERFECT. I was a little overwhelmed by all the strobe lights, but once I embraced them, I was in heaven.

Moral of the story? The following day, Emily got to see me on 2 hours of sleep.

READ ABOUT MY OTHER DAYS IN SPAIN:

Barcelona: Day One

I started my trip to Barcelona with the intention of journaling every day. That plan lasted until I got to the hostel – I have extremely detailed notes about my journey from NYC to Barcelona, but beyond that, I’m recapping each day based on memories, a few scribbled notes, my original itinerary and pictures in my phone.

Day One: Travel + Barcelona Football Match

I left my apartment on Tuesday at 2 p.m. after half a day at the office. As I got on the subway, I picked up a key that a woman dropped on the platform and returned it to her – praying that it was good karma that would protect me from Barcelona’s notoriously talented pick-pocketers (spoiler alert: all three of us made it through our trip without being pick-pocketed!)  

As I transferred from the 6 train to the E train, a nice man helped me down the 534543 stairs with my 44 lb. bag. It was a small miracle that my bag weighed in at under 50 pounds. Of course, I had spent the morning at the gym doing arm exercises and even the 44 pounds was a struggle for the hour and a half journey.

At one point, the train got stuck underground for a good 5 minutes and I did a very good job of not jumping to conclusions and panicking that we were stuck forever and I was going to miss my flight. Must be all that yoga keeping me zen...

When I made it to the Airtrain terminal I felt like such a tourist – the ticket machine was not my friend that day.

I made it to Terminal 8 of JFK by 3:23 and while American Airlines check-in and baggage drop process seems a lot less efficient than Delta’s, I was through security by 3:49 and meeting Jon at our gate!

At the gate, Jon finally decided to try to book all of the tours I had sent him weeks ago and while some were already sold out for the times Emily and I were going (Sagrada Familia and Park Guell), he got into a few.

My butt was in my seat at 5:07 and I was, as usual, in awe at these giant planes. First class has legit BEDS! I’m so used to flying domestically in tiny planes. Is it weird that I’m so much more freaked out by huge planes than little ones? They have no business flying through the air!

Dinner was some cheese and crackers and chicken with rice and some creamy sauce. The side salad was so pathetically sad, but overall I’ve come to expect worse from airplane food so I was pleasantly surprised.

American doesn’t serve Fresca, my go-to in-flight beverage, but on International flights beer and wine are free and they have DIET DR. PEPPER. That’s what I went with.

I slept from about 6-6:30, woke up briefly, and then fell asleep for another 30 minutes or so.

I started watching Passengers as I ate at around 7. By 8:15 I popped a melatonin and slept until 11:45 which is a solid chunk of time on a flight! When I woke up I finished watching Passengers and jotted down two quotes from it that I really liked:

You can’t get so hung up on where you’d rather be that you forget to make the most of where you are.”

“If you live an ordinary life you’ll have ordinary stories. You need to live a life of adventure.”

They seemed fitting for the start of my trip!

As we started coming in for our landing in Barcelona, I blasted Ed Sheeran’s Barcelona followed by George Ezra’s Barcelona – followed by Duele El Corazon.

We went through customs (Jon almost knocked over a temporary wall) and hung out for 2 hours or so while we waited for Emily to land. Jon got two pinchos at a restaurant – more on pinchos later – but we really had no idea what he was eating.

We scoured the place for outlets to charge our phones but had no luck.

When Emily arrived we made our way to the Aerobus, which we had pre-purchased tickets for. We had no trouble finding it. We stowed our luggage and connected to the free WiFi. It was a quick trip and while we originally planned on going from Placa Espanya to the metro, we chickened out and decided to hail a cab to our hostel and to figure out the metro when we didn’t have massive suitcases. (Ok, Emily and I had massive suitcases, Jon not so much).

We easily walked over to a cab and our driver was so nice! He knew we were American and put on an Eric Clapton CD and as we got closer to our hostel, he explained we would be staying in a neighborhood called El Poble-sec. Airbnb’s neighborhood guide (a feature that I love), describes El Poble-sec as:

“Tucked away in the shadow of Montjuïc, Barcelona’s “dry village” actually boasts the city’s cheapest bars. Transcending its previous reputation as a semi-seedy watering hole, Poble-sec is now renowned as one of Barcelona's favorite destinations for fashionable nights out. Many of Barcelona's best restaurants, tapas bars, and arts institutions make their mark in Poble-sec while its playful nature keeps it feeling down-to-earth despite its proximity to the heart of city.”

Our taxi driver also told us a good place to go for lunch in the area – his suggestion was in Placa del Sortidor (Sortidor Square) and was called El Sortidor. Our cooking class instructor ended up giving us the same recommendation later in the week. Unfortunately, when we went to eat there, the waitress either didn’t understand us or didn’t want to seat us because she said they were closed even though they clearly weren’t!

Anyway, our cab driver also told us that the main street we were living off of, El Paral-lel, gets its name because it runs parallel to the equator. Similarly, Avinguda Meridiana runs along the Prime Meridian.

He took a wrong turn as he talked to us and stopped the meter early – after having been warned so many times about sneaky cab drivers who take advantage of tourists, we had such a great first experience and were soon walking into Hostel One to check-in!

An impressively dread-locked Frenchman greeted us and helped us with our bags. We walked into the lobby/kitchen/common area and were offered breakfast (available every morning for 2.50 euro) but we passed. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we sat and got the whole spiel from Kim, another young person from France.

This was my first experience staying in a hostel, and I had originally gone back and forth between a hostel vs. an Airbnb. There are obviously pros and cons to both, but Hostel One really ended up exceeding my expectations.

We were given the door code (AMAZING not having to worry about keys!), the WiFi password, and told the rules about writing your name on anything you wanted to keep in the fridge.

Every day Hostel One hosted an outing to a touristy attraction – Parc Guell, Montjuic, etc. Then, each night at 8:30 pm, people staying in the hostel (or either of the other 2 Hostel One locations in Barcelona) were invited to enjoy a free dinner downstairs. The people who work for Hostel One are from all over the world, so one night you could be eating lasagna cooked by an Italian and the next, Quiche Lorraine cooked by someone from France! (Those were the two group dinners we joined in for). Dinners are donation based and the money from the previous nights dinner buys the ingredients for the next day's meal.

During the dinner, the staff would explain the plan for the evening – each night the group journeyed together to a bar at 11:30 PM, followed by a club around 1:30 AM. I knew before the trip that the hours in Spain were going to be a change, but actually hearing them say we weren’t leaving for the bar until 11:30 PM was crazy.

We locked up our things with the hostel and set out for Quimet & Quimet – a restaurant that Anthony Bourdain featured on his popular Travel Channel show “No Reservations.” It was super close to our hostel and we arrived about 20 minutes before it opened, and wandered around a little while to kill time. I found an amazing vegetable shirt in a thrift store and tried asking if I could try it on off of the mannequin but the language barrier meant no vegetable shirt for Lauren! SO SAD.

We were the first three people to enter Quimet y Quimet, which is an extremely popular and typically packed restaurant! We ordered our first glasses of sangria of the trip and while Jon was less than thrilled with the almost entirely seafood-centric menu, I was in heaven!

Quimet y Quimet’s famous for their montaditos – small, bite sized sandwiches. I ordered their most popular one – salmon, yoghurt and truffled honey. It was so so delicious. The bread was so crispy, light and airy, the salmon so fresh and the yoghurt so creamy. I could have eaten about ten of these.

I also ordered an order of the stuffed baby squid and the baby broad beans with codfish – both were incredible!

All that seafood cost me under $20 and was an amazing first meal in Barcelona!

After Quimet y Quimet, we made our way to another restaurant so Jon could get some meat – a cheeseburger to be exact. He considered it to be Spanish because the cheese was Manchego (MY FAVORITE).

Then, it was time to go back to the hostel and hope that our room was ready. We chilled in the lobby for about a half hour chatting with people as they came and went and (wrongly) assumed that they knew we were waiting to be shown our room. Finally, we were like, “uhmmm excuse me is our room ready yet?” And the guy was like, “Oh you’re ready to see your room? Yes!” OY. Just goes to show how much more laid back people are in the rest of the world.

When we got to our room, I was shocked at how big the lockers were. My entire large suitcase + carry on backpack fit in it no problem.

We realized none of us had the right converters/chargers for our phones and headed out on a mission to find the right converters – for just 5 euro we were in business. We took an hour nap before showering – I forgot how small European showers are. 

We stopped downstairs and headed to the subway with someone else from our hostel who was going to the Barcelona football game that night – he led us to the subway and when we got off, we followed the crowd towards Camp Nou, where FCB plays their games. We stopped at a bar along the way and after much struggle, I managed to order a “vino blanco” while Emily and Jon got huge beers in plastic cups that we drank in the street. We sat down at a table with two guys from Michigan and Boston who happened to be college hockey players. Seriously, cannot escape hockey. We got a little closer to the arena before stopping at bar #2.

We ducked into a souvenir shop before entering Camp Nou. Did you know they only serve non-alcoholic beer there? Fact.

Camp Nou is absolutely massive – the capacity is 99.354. Though I’ve been to the Big House, the size of Camp Nou was still impressive!

Honestly, I thought the atmosphere was going to be a little crazier than it was – but it was still a really awesome experience, especially because Barcelona won 3-0 and Messi scored two goals!

Another fun fact – at Camp Nou, the toilet paper is outside the stalls. So remember to take some before you go into a stall…

It rained on and off throughout the game and luckily I had a rain coat but it was still very wet and pretty cold so we were a little cranky when we got out and realized it was going to be quite a struggle to make our way back to the hostel.

The line to even get INTO the subway station was absolute madness so we decided to start walking back towards the hostel (over 3 miles away) while trying to hail a cab. We walked for a LONG time before we were able to hail one, but eventually, we did.

Jon and Emily were champs and went down to join the hostel pre-game but I was absolutely exhausted and had no interest in being social. I went to bed and woke up to Emily returning at 4:30 AM and Jon coming back around 6 AM. Not only had they gone down to the pre-game, but they ended up “going to the bar with everyone for one drink.” Which turned into, “Going to the club just to see it…” This would continue to happen to us the rest of the week...

I had slight FOMO, but I also knew that the following day was jam-packed with tours and walking and I didn’t want to make Emily deal with a hungover, complaining Lauren all day.

READ ABOUT MY OTHER DAYS IN SPAIN:

Am I Starting To Like Yoga?!

I'm not denying that yoga has endless health benefits - that it's good for your body and good for your mind. 

I'm not denying that yoga can lead to increased strength and flexibility and decreased aches and pains. 

I'm not denying that it can connect you to your breath and your thoughts and teach you how to be in the moment - to embrace discomfort and to breathe through the most uncomfortable parts of your practice. 

But despite all of this, I still have never found myself super pumped about yoga. Instead, I've viewed it as a necessary piece of marathon training, or something I "should" do. To me, yoga has always essentially been glorified stretching. I hated the meditative aspects of it, couldn't sit still during shavasana, and got frustrated by my severe inflexibility. Hot yoga made me feel like I couldn't breathe, but during regular yoga I didn't work up a sweat and felt like I'd wasted an hour of my life. 

But in the last few weeks, a fitness funk and a running rut had me willing to give yoga another shot. An acceptance that I can't go 100 mph all day, every day, gave me a new appreciation for "easier" workout days. A need to get out of my own head and to breathe deeply had me smiling and nodding along to mantras like, "the pose begins when you want to get out of it." 

Basically, the stars aligned and the universe spoke to me and suddenly, yoga just made sense! Okay, that isn't even close to what happened. 

URBAN ELEMENTS

What really happened, was my friend Sabrina forced me into going with her to a hot yoga class when we were in Pittsburgh for work. We found a studio (Urban Elements!) that had both hot yoga and spin classes and bought a $20 pass for 10 days of unlimited classes. In order to get the most bang for our buck, I reluctantly agreed to an evening yoga class one night when we got out of work on the earlier side.  

Sabrina's exclamations of "I'm so excited" were met by my eye rolls, sighs, and "Kill me's." To say I was dreading 75 minutes of yoga was an understatement. 

But then something weird happened - I kind of enjoyed it. It was a hot vinyasa power yoga class - but not so hot that I was only focused on the beads of sweat rolling down my arms. 

The studio had The Twelve Laws of Transformation written on a chalkboard and I read through them before the start of class:

• 1.  Seek the Truth
• 2.  Be Willing to Come Apart
• 3.  Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
• 4.  Commit to Growth
• 5.  Shift Your Vision
• 6.  Drop What You Know
• 7.  Relax with What Is
• 8.  Remove the Rocks
• 9.  Don’t Rush the Process
• 10. Be True to Yourself
• 11.  Be Still and Know
• 12.  Understand that the Whole is the Goal

I realized that the quote, and the style of yoga practiced at Urban Elements, came from Baron Baptiste. Many people, including Ali, have insisted that I would like studios like Lyons Den who practice the Baptiste methodology.  Turns out, those people knew what they were talking about! 

I liked that instead of feeling like I was stretching during this class, I felt powerful in each of the poses. The heat really did loosen me up and I was able to get much deeper into the poses than I ever had before. 

By the end of class, yes, I was wondering "How much longer?" but it went by much quicker than usual and before I knew it I was in shavasana (I still fidget incessantly) and the instructor was placing a cool, lavender compress over my eyes. It was heavenly - and I actually felt myself relax into the restful moment. 

Urban Elements Power Yoga and Indoor Cycling - you the real MVP! It was after this class that I first had a "WOW I liked that" moment following a yoga class. 

(Urban Elements' classes also use Ryder bikes, which rock from side to side like a real bike! It was challenging and awkward getting used to it - and I couldn't really stand and ride fast on them, but it's awesome technology that I think should be in more studios. It's an added core challenge and just all around closer to actually cycling outdoors).

YOGA TO THE PEOPLE

A few weeks later I found myself thinking, "I want to go to a yoga class after work."  

The second the thought entered my brain and I acknowledged it, I was baffled. 

I hate evening workouts. 

I don't like yoga. 

I had already worked out that morning. 

What was going on? 

I didn't really know what was happening, but I Googled the Yoga to the People schedule and made my way to the 5:30 p.m.  hot yoga class. 

It was much hotter than Urban Elements, and half the time I was trying not to gag as my own sweat rolled into my mouth in downward dog. But the flow was powerful and quick (I can be a real baby about holding poses for any significant length of time) and we did some of my favorite hip opening stretches - pigeon and lizard. The music was good, the instructor gave great cues and again I was scratching my head as I left thinking, "I'm really glad I randomly did that!" 

(I was also really glad that Yoga to the People offers $7 classes!)  

NEW YORK YOGA

And THEN I finally went to a hot yoga class at New York Yoga with my friend Kayla. I am not exaggerating when I say that Kayla has been trying to get me to a class with her for over 2 years. 

I had 730+excuses not to go - but I finally ran out last Sunday and agreed that I would go with her to a 75 minute class (thankfully, I wasn't hungover or I would have 100% died). 

Kayla has been a big reason I believed in the benefits of yoga for runners and athletes even if I personally wasn't a fan. For almost 2 years she struggled with IT Band Syndrome and was unable to run - a huge adjustment for someone who was used to training for and running marathons. I watched as she went from a super sad and stressed sidelined runner to a super strong and happy yogi. Yes, she always missed running - but yoga kept her active and strong and sane. 

I don't know why I resisted for so long, when I saw the effect it had on Kayla right in front of my own eyes - but then I realized, "Wait a minute - I'm a super sad and stressed sidelined runner - maybe I should give this a try!" I finally paid the steep $30 for a class. 

I was really nervous. What if I hated it and was trapped for 75 minutes and then had to tell one of my best friends that I thought she was nuts for loving this place? What if I needed to leave because I was going to pass out? What if they used terminology I had never heard before? I'm more of a "triangle pose" girl than a "Trikonasana" girl.

The studio was HOT. There were people who literally looked like they had been in a swimming pool at the end of class. I had 3 towels and they were all completely drenched by the end of 75 minutes. 

But maybe even more than Urban Elements and Yoga to the People - this class challenged me and left me feeling really glad that I had gone. 

It was a perfect mix of fast flow and deep poses. The fast flow got my heart rate up and had me breathing like I had just run 6 miles. The constant chaturanga had my arms burning in the best way. The times when we could go through a flow at our own pace helped me really focus on connecting breath and movement which is usually something I roll my eyes at during a yoga class. 

And then there were the parts that I hate, but know are important - the poses that you have to hold for 10 breaths as your legs shake and everything screams "OMG STOP PLZ." For me, this is usually Utkatasana (chair pose). But more than the physical act of holding a pose that's difficult is the mental challenge of talking yourself through it and refusing to let yourself quit. It's also crazy that "breathing into" the areas that are the most painful actually helps! 

A shower never felt as good as the one after my class at New York Yoga.  

So, I think it's finally happened - I've started to find enjoyment in yoga. Here's what I've realized are the keys to a good yoga class (for me! Yoga preferences, apparently, are super personal and you might have to experiment for 2+ years to figure out what you like...) 

• An instructor that gives helpful queues about body alignment, breath, and how each pose should feel.
• I like hot yoga, because it loosens me up and makes me (slightly) more flexible - and I don't like going to a yoga class and feeling like I can't do anything! 
• I like a lot of ~flow~. What worked really well for me at New York Yoga was learning a sequence slowly, staying in each pose for a few breaths, and then being told "Now do that 5 times fast." This got my heart rate up (It was over 100 degrees!) and going at my own speed let me connect my breath and movements. 
• Instructors that give different options are great - but I need them to actually TEACH the other options. Telling me, "feel free to go into _____ if it's in your practice" isn't helpful if I don't know how to even attempt the more advanced pose. 
• I don't like chant-y music. An acoustic Spotify playlist with some Lumineers or Bon Iver, please! 
• I really like a quote at the beginning or end of class! 
• If every yoga class could have pigeon pose, that would be great. THANKS!

Does anyone have any other suggestions of yoga studios they think I would like? I know Core Power Yoga is coming to NYC and Lyon's Den, Y7 and Modo Yoga are on my "To Try" list - but any other recommendations are appreciated! 

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

There's something about boxing classes that make you feel like a total badass. 

Each time I go, I'm reminded just how much of a total body workout punching a bag really is. It looks deceptively simple - but I've never once left a boxing class thinking, "That was easy." I'm always shocked at how good of a cardio workout it is, and my arms and back are totally trashed the following day. 

In the past, I've taken classes at Work Train Fight (review here), New York Sports Club, and most recently a 30 minute class at Tapout Fitness. I've enjoyed them all, but was really looking forward to trying out Rumble Boxing - which has been absolutely all over my Instagram feed since it opened. 

What makes Rumble Boxing unique is that it's a HUGE studio made just for boxing - there are individual water-filled boxing bags for 30 people and floor stations for another 30 - meaning that 60 people can take the class and will have equipment the entire time. It's like a spin studio for boxing! You even reserve your station online before showing up for class. 

THE STUDIO 

Located on 23rd Street - Rumble Boxing joins an already boutique-fitness heavy block of Manhattan. Rumble's neighbors include Peloton, Uplift and OrangeTheory! 

The studio is absolutely gorgeous, with awesome artwork throughout! When you check-in, you'll have the option or purchasing wraps ($6) and renting gloves ($3). I passed on the wraps and just rented gloves, which worked fine for me - though they highly suggest using wraps to protect your hands and wrists. Oops. 

There are lockers and restrooms upstairs if you're already dressed for class - or you can make your way downstairs where you'll find the men's and women's locker rooms along with the studio itself. Everything is extremely clean, and you'll be able to grab a towel on your way into the studio. 

The studio is massive - like I said, it holds 60 people per class. And I was shocked that many classes I looked at online were completely filled up! 

Each "Floor Station" has a step and 4 sets of dumbbells in various weights - there's heavier dumbbells in the back of the room as well. 

THE CLASS

The class is split into 10, 3 minute rounds of work - but what I liked was that even during the "breaks" you were encouraged to move around and jog in place. When you were on the bag, you were supposed to use the rest for active recovery - doing sit-ups and punching the bag twice at the top of each sit-up. 

Starting on the floor, I did 3 rounds of floor-work, 3 rounds on the bag, 2 rounds on the floor, 2 rounds on the bag. 

Round 1 - Floor 

8x Right Hangs (These were a cross between a pull and a clean - you squated down and then pulled the dumbbell up to just below shoulder height, leading with your elbow). 

8x Left Hangs

10x Squat and Press 

There were weights ranging from 5 lbs to 15 lbs already at each station, with the option to grab heavier from the back of the room. I stuck with what we were given ;) 

These rounds were performed as an AMRAP - completing each set of exercises as many rounds as possible over the course of three minutes. 

ROUND 2 - Floor 

8x Right Leg Romanian Deadlift 

8x Left Leg Romanian Deadlift 

10x Push-Ups 

I am so dreadfull at single-leg deadlifts. Every time I do them I'm reminded of my weak hips and the fact that I seriously need to work on my balance. 

ROUND 3 - FLOOR 

10x Seated Bicep Curls 

10x Chest Press 

20x Russian Twist 

For this circuit, we used the step that was at our station. 

Round 4 - bag

The bags used at Rumble aren't like  your typical punching bag. They're "aqua training bags" - they're filled with water and kind of reminded me of the giant buoys we used to tie our boat up to! 

What I loved about Rumble was the easy way that the punches were numbered:
1- Jab
2 - Cross
3 - Front Hook
4 - Back Hook
5 - Front Uppercut
6 - Back Uppercut

I know numbering the punches in a boxing class isn't a revolutionary concept, but this was the first time that it really clicked for me. 1, 3 and 5 are you weaker side and 2, 4 and 6 are you strong, power punches. 

For the 3 minutes on the bag, we switched between a few different combinations which were conveniently projected onto the walls! 

ROUND 5 - Bag 

This round, we learned a 3 punch combination, followed by a 4 punch combination, before combining them all together for a 7-punch combination. 

At first I thought, "there's no way I'm going to keep a 7 punch combination straight." 

But then - I did! And it felt awesome. 

ROUND 6 - BAG

Similar to round 5, but with different combinations! 

Round 7 - Floor 

This was the core portion of the class, and we used the "brass knuckle" weights that were inside of our steps. 

10x Boxer Sit-Ups with 1-2 (two punches)

10x Sit-Up with Twist 

10x Plank to Pike 

Round 8 - Floor

This final floor round was tabata-style in the sense that we did each exercise for :20 second at maximum effort.  

:20 seconds each of- 

Speed 1,2's (cross, jab)

Mountain Climbers 

Speed 5, 6's (upper cuts)

Fast Feet 

Speed 1, 2's

High Knees

Speed Jacks with weights 

ROUND 9 - BAG 

This was the "rumble round" - we did 20, 30, 40 and 50 cross/jabs as quickly as we could. It was intense! 

Round 10 - bag 

Similar to the final floor round, we complete the last round on the bag with :20 seconds maximum effort. 

Speed 1,2's (cross, jab)

Squat Hold

Speed 3, 4's (hooks)

Fast Feet 

Speed 5, 6's (uppercuts) 

High Knees

Combination 

THE INSTRUCTOR

Our instructor for the 7 AM class was Danielle, and she was great. It's a lot to explain to 60 people of varying levels and she did a great job of moving the class along. The music was solid and she was super motivational for an early morning class. I don't feel like Rumble really allows for an intimate connection with the instructors, though I'm sure people have their preferences. 

WHAT I LIKED:

+In a lot of boxing classes I've experienced, there is either a fair amount of down time, or a lot of time that's not spent actually boxing - either with a bag or with an instructor. At Rumble, you are working the entire time and you have a solid 50% of the time with your own bag. 

+This is truly a total body workout between the cardio, boxing, strength, weights, core, tabata, etc. 

+I liked that you switched between floor and bag twice - I think I would have gotten bored if I had to complete all 5 floor rounds before switching to the bag. 

+The fact that the floor workouts and punching combination were projected at the front of the room was SO helpful - and also looked awesome. Without being able to reference the combinations, I definitely wouldn't have been able to remember a 7-punch combination. But having it right there in front of me made a huge difference. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

-In Rumble, there's no one-on-one boxing with an instructor. You get lots of time on the bag, which is great, but the instructor is trying to coach 60 people at once - so your chances of receiving individual feedback are very unlikely. 

-The advertising for Rumble is EVERYWHERE on my social media, and I think it's reliance on models and stick thin girls and jacked men is obnoxious, send the wrong message, and makes them seem pretentious. That's not the vibe I got once I was at the studio AT ALL - but their advertising bothers me.  

-Our instructor was running a little bit behind schedule as therefore there was absolutely NO cool-down, which is no bueno! 

THE RUNDOWN

THE STUDIO – 7

It's a near perfect studio - it's beautiful, well decorated, themed, clean and HUGE. That being said, when a class holds 60 people, you probably need more than 4 showers. Entering the locker room after class was like Boxing Round II. There was a huge line to shower after class and even 30 minutes post class it was impossible to get a spot at the mirror to do hair and make-up. 

The only other thing lacking that would bring it to the next level would be a smoothie bar a la Swerve  or coffee/snack bar like Peloton next door.  Not really necessary by any means - but always a nice touch! 

CLASS SIZE - 7

The classes are huge. If you're really looking to learn about boxing and get some one on one training, I wouldn't recommend Rumble. That being said - there is ample space and it never feels crowded! (Until you get to the locker room after class). 

SWEAT SCALE – 7

A shower was 100% necessary after this class! Like I said, I'm always surprise at just how exhausting boxing is! 

FUN FACTOR – 8

Black lights, blaring music, and punching the shit out of bag. Yep, I'd file that under, "things that are fun." 

AMENITIES – 8

So many fancy products to use in the locker room! 

COST - $$$

Standard for NYC, a class at Rumble costs $34 for a single class. But if you're a first timer, you can buy your first two classes for the price of one! 

BOTTOM LINE: 

Rumble is a great cardio AND strength workout that gives you a ton of time actually boxing. You'll be punching a bag for 50% of the class, which is more than can be said for the other boxing classes I've taken.

The way the punches are numbered, taught at the beginning of class, and projected on the wall during class make learning to box simple and stress-free.

That being said, you won't get one on one time with an instructor or any individual attention and training. It's like if you really want to learn to paint, you probably shouldn't just go to a Paint Nite at a bar. Sure you'll leave with something on a canvas and hopefully a nice little buzz, but you won't really be a painter.

I will definitely be back for a fun, sweaty class at Rumble again next week! (And not just because I have another class credit!) 

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A Week $pent in NYC

I got the idea for “A Week Spent” post from my friend Kaitlin right around the time that Earnest shared their 2017 Money Saving Challenge with me.

It got me thinking about my finances, spending, and ways that I can be better about saving money. And it was pretty eye-opening to track what I spent over the course of a week.

Monday

Gym: I did a fun workout with my friends at the gym I pay a monthly membership for. We rotated through 10 rounds – 1 person held a plank variation and the other rowed while the third person worked through a kettlebell exercise and cardio exercise. Then we rotated!

Breakfast: My morning coffee and banana from Starbucks costs me $3.67. The banana goes in my yogurt – which is breakfast every day.

Lunch: I bring lunch every day. This week was a salad with tuna, avocado, cucumbers and sunflower seeds with some balsamic vinegar for dressing.

After Work: I headed to New Jersey for the night, which was a $32.50 round trip ticket. When I was at Penn Station, I bought myself two magazines from $12.98. Who knew magazines were so expensive? I got The Atlantic and Runner’s World and it made the two hour train ride go by much faster, so I guess it was worth it.

Monday Total: $49.15

Tuesday

After I got home from New Jersey, I spent the day hibernating in my apartment and spent no money for the day - thanks blizzard!

Tuesday Total: $0

Wednesday

Breakfast: Another Starbucks coffee and banana for $3.67.

Amazon Order: I finally ordered a bike rack along with my next book for book club. And a new set of towels for when I start having Airbnb guests in my room! All of this came to $93.37.  

Swerve Speaker Series: Wednesday night, Erin and I went to one of my favorite things – the Swerve Speaker Series! (Read about the first one I attended here). For $43 you get a spin class, Q&A with a special guest and a smoothie which doubled as Part 1 of my dinner. The speaker this time around was the Knicks’ head of player development. Intellectually stimulating conversation + sweating + smoothie = money well spent in my opinion! Also, Erin killed her first Swerve class!

Wednesday Total: $140.04

Thursday

Breakfast: More Starbucks and banana, still $3.67.

Snacks from GNC: I can’t be trusted walking into GNC! I went with my coworker who needed to pick something up and I left having spent $5.78 on two bags of Enlightened broad beans – one bag of cinnamon and one of garlic & onion. They’re the best.

Thank You: I had to send a thank you card to someone – stamp + Starbucks Gift card = $15.50

Hardware Store: On my lunch break I went to the Hardware store to make a copy of my keys and to buy some supplies for making my new picture frame! Total came to $11.42.

Tapout Fitness Class: Free pass!

Snack: .75 Apple

Thursday Total: $37.12

Friday

Run: 6 Mile Run to work – free!

Breakfast: I ran out of yogurt and needed to buy one at Starbucks when I got my morning coffee. A Siggi’s Yogurt + Raspberry Chia Bites + my coffee came to $7.29.

Paper Source Cards: I cannot be trusted in this store! Walked in for a card, walked out with a card and a pair of mini finger puppet hands. $9.63

Dinner: I picked up the new Barbacoa Market Plate from Just Salad for $10.88 so I didn’t have to cook before going out for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s SO GOOD I’ve had it two weeks in a row.

St. Patty’s Beverages: I went out with friends that I hadn’t seen in forever which was so nice! Spent $24.04 on cocktails at my favorite bar! (You can read my full review of La Pulperia here).

Friday Total: $51.84

Saturday:

Gym: Worked out at my gym!

Grocery Shopping Part 1: I spent $44.63 on ingredients for Thai Chicken Meatballs, Sweet Potato Banana Bites, and an egg white frittata for the weeks meal prep.

Clothing Donating: I had about 100 lbs of clothes and shoes I wanted to donate to Goodwill but there was no way I could have carried it all. I took an Uber to do my good deed ($9.24) and then of course ended up spending money while I was there ($10.87).

Day Drinks with Friends: $25 and priceless time with some of my favorite people!

Beauty and the Beast Tickets: We went to see Beauty and Beast and I loved every second of it! Best $11 I’ve spent in a while.

Saturday Total: $100.74

Sunday

New York Hot Yoga Class: Kayla has been asking me to go to her hot yoga studio for approximately 2 years now. And Sunday morning, I finally went! 75 minutes in 105 degrees was HARD but I DID enjoy it, even though it cost me $31!

Brunch: After yoga, Kayla and I got things to make brunch before hanging out and watching McFarland USA. It was a really cute movie! And really delicious breakfast ($20).

Grocery Shopping Part 2: I somehow ended up at Whole Foods with Kayla buying $26.67 worth of things I didn’t need like Jolly Llama Pops, more Enlightened Beans, and frozen veggies.  

Massage Scheduled for Monday: I’ve had an AWFUL knot in my back for a month now. It started while I was away in Pittsburgh and was so bad that I couldn’t move my neck in certain positions. It’s never fully gone away, and it’s been causing a lot of discomfort when I work out. Not to mention I can feel it every time I breathe in deeply.  I had a gift certificate for $64 to a spa, so I sucked it up and booked myself a $155 deep tissues sports massage for Monday night after work. With the gift card, it will end up costing me about $100.

Rumble Fitness Class for Tuesday: Sunday evening I also bought myself the intro package to Rumble boxing- $35.53 for my first two classes. I’ve been so excited to try this place out- its group fitness boxing. Instead of a boxing class where you are only able to be on the bag for a portion of the time, Rumble is like a spin studio - everyone’s got a bag or a floor station of their own.  

Sunday Total: $213.20

Weekly Total: $592.09

Just a note about transportation – I typically pay for weekly ($31) or monthly ($116.50) unlimited MetroCards depending on my work travel schedule.

Overall, this was a great lesson in stepping back and assessing where my money is actually going. When speaking with the representative at Earnest about the 2017 Money Saving Challenge, she asked me to describe some of my financial goals for the year.  (For those of you that don't know (I didn't before this post!) Earnest is an resource for people interested in getting a personal loan or refinancing their student loans). 

While I didn’t have anything specific, I did realize that I needed a better understanding of my current financial situation to make goal setting possible. My 5 year plan is to figure out where I want to be permanently and to own my own home – so saving however I can is definitely important!

I don’t have a budget written out, but I loved that Earnest’s 2017 Money Saving Challenge Graphic laid out monthly tasks that help you get a better handle on your finances – along with little 30 day challenges to save some extra money.

After tracking my spending for a week, it shocked me how everything adds up! I spent way more than I expected I would. Granted, this was the first full week I was home in over 3 months, but I definitely can’t spend that much on a regular basis.

Knowledge is power – and now that I know how much I spent in an average week, I can make steps to save and be smarter with my finances. Here's the personalized graphic Earnest provided me with - full of little things that can make a big difference. 

*Earnest provided me with this Money Saving Challenge graphic in exchange for a post on Peanut Butter Is My Boyfriend. 

Eating My Way Through The City of Bridges: 8 Pittsburgh Restaurants

Who knew that Pittsburgh had so many phenomenal restaurants? On a recent trip, I discovered some of what the 'burgh has to offer. 

What that really amounted to was experiencing what the Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group has to offer - seeing as I ate at 3 out of 4 of their restaurants during my stay, with a few other spots along the way. 

Shall we? 

Habitat

Habitat was where we managed to get a reservation for Valentine's Day Dinner - a motley crew of 5 co-workers dining at this restaurant located in the Fairmont Pittsburgh. It was upscale, featuring local ingredients with dishes inspired by flavors from around the globe. 

Fresh Tandoor Baked Naan 

This flavorful naan came served with spreads including the best hummus I have ever had in my entire life. I still stand by that statement - it tasted like straight-up chickpea euphoria. 

Roasted Organic Beet 

Served with goat cheese, wild flower honey and berries - this was a beautifully plated dish. I loved that the beets tasted so earthy and natural.

Carrot Ginger Soup 

This was phenomenally fresh and simple - it truly just tasted like carrots and ginger. I couldn't eat a ton of it, but it was delicious is small doses. 

Striped Bass

For my entree I went with the striped bass after much back and forth, based mainly on each dishes accouterments. The striped bass came with a a chickpea panisse that was disappointingly dry, Castelvaetrano olives, tomato marmalade and chive cream that was crazy good. 

The striped bass was very well cooked and overall, I enjoyed the dish though I wasn't blown away. My favorite part of the meal remained the hummus! 

Some of the other entrees that intrigued me were the Black Cod with mushrooms and turnips and the lamb rack because I <3 Lamb. 

I also loved that the menu had an extensive vegetarian portion - with 4 entree options including Chickpea Ragout and smoked heirloom carrots that tempted me to go veggie for the night. 

Dessert

We also had two amazing desserts - one with macadamia nuts, bananas, and other deliciousness and one that was a classic brownie sundae with lots and lots of chocolate. Both were addictive. 

Bakersfield ~ Tacos. Tequila. Whisky. 

This spot was right around the corner from our hotel and was a standard tacos, margaritas and guac spot. The one thing that stood out was the fact that their Premium Margarita featured Grand Marnier - the secret ingredient to a killer marg. 

Tako

The margarita menu is extensive and each carefully cracked concoction sounds better than the next. Pineapple Jalapeno? Grapefruit & Sage? Spicy Cucumber? How's a girl to choose? All that I sampled were A+, though I will admit the Grapefruit & Sage was lacking any real grapefruit flavor. 

Guacamole 

I love the DIY guacamole menu - pick your base and load up on add ons that range from more traditional (corn, mango, green onion) to out-there (tuna belly, shishito, sesame seeds). Each item comes at an additional cost, but building my own guacamole was one of my favorite parts of the meal! I highly recommend mango or pineapple for a sweet touch, pepitas for a bit of a crunch and queso fresco because...cheese. 

Tacos 

Get them all. Seriously. You can't go wrong. My absolute favorite was the Baja taco - in fact, it was probably my favorite fish taco, or taco in general, ever. The description is simple enough - tempura white fish, jalapeno lime aioli, white cabbage slaw and cilantro. I'm not sure what made it so amazing - but it was life-changing. 

Also incredible was their namesake "Tako" taco - grilled octopus, harissa aioli, preserved lemons, mizuna greens & herbs and pickled red onion. This was the most smoky, charred tasting thing I have ever eaten - with the hint of lemon, it was killer. Not to mention it was perfectly tender - not chewy like octopus can sometimes be. Who knew that an octopus tentacle nestled in a corn tortilla could be so good? 

The second time I went to Tako, we ordered the TACO BIG BOARD. 

It's big. 12 tacos. 4 girls. We made a dent, but didn't come close to finishing it. Each taco is more than generously sized - we sampled a good variety including the Tako and Baja again because I insisted, along with the Chorizo (carmelized onions, roasted poblano, romesco, fried egg, queso fresco, arbol hot sauce, cilantro), Mushroom (roasted maitake, garlic aioli, truffle huitlacoche salsa, brussel sprout salad) and more. 

I definitely need to go back to try the Duck Confit and Korean tacos. 

Poke

Some of the best I've had - so fresh, and the "whipped lime" was so creative and different. Big eye tuna, seaweed, spicy soy dressing, whipped lime and rice crackers. Phenom. 

Meat & Potatoes

On my last night, I dined at this Pittsburgh staple, also by Richard DeShantz. Another gorgeous space, I wasn't sure I would love this spot since I wouldn't consider myself a meat and potatoes kind of girl. I'm definitely more of a "vegetables & fish for the most part" girl. 

That being said, I spotted pot roast on the menu, and that is a huge comfort food for me. A very random dish that brings me back to my childhood and eating it with red cabbage. 

So many people recommended it that I decided it was worth a shot - plus, it was named one of Food & Wine's Best Gastropubs in the U.S. in 2014. 

Cocktails 

These cocktails were STRONG. I had two during my meal - both tequila based, obviously. The first was a special - basically a mezcal mule. It was strong and smoky and I could only drink it in small sips. The second was a lot sweeter and smoother - The Mexican Honeybee - Espolon tequila, lemon, smoked local honey, orange bitters and a mezcal rinse. Let's pretend I know what a mezcal rinse is, shall we? 

*Okay, I Googled it, and I'm pretty sure it just means they literally rinse the inside of the glass with mezcal before pouring in the cocktail. 

Fried Brussels 

Is it dinner if you don't get unhealthy Brussels Sprouts? Not really. 

These were fairly simple - Parmesan and lemon aioli - but tasted great. 

Lamb Ribs 

These were a special the night that we went to Meat & Potatoes - lamb ribs served with crunchy chickpeas ensure that I would be ordering it. The flavor was GREAT, but the meat wasn't as tender as I would have expected from a place that prides itself on it's meat! 

Mushroom Ragu Side 

HOLY GARLIC. You really couldn't even tell that these were mushrooms they were so over-seasoned with garlic. 

Pot Roast

Braised chuck roast, baby carrots, turnips, cipollini onions, parsnips, mashed potatoes and horseradish gremolata. 

WOW was this tender and just as comfort-food-y as I had hoped. I didn't even miss the red cabbage because of the combination of gravy + onions, parsnips, turnips and baby carrots. WOOT FOR ROOT veggies. 

The mashed potatoes weren't out of this world, but I've never really met a potato that I didn't like. 

This really hit the spot, as Pot Roast always seems to do when it's well done. 

Social House Seven 

This group outing results in ordering a TON of food - I was put in charge of ordering appetizers for the table - a roll I relish. I also love relish on my hot dog rolls. 

Anyway. Social House Seven is like the Pittsburgh version of Tao. Large, fancy inside with a huge Asian-fusion menu and koi fish swimming until a clear glass panel when you walk in the door. 

Among the items that we sampled: 

CHEE CHEE FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
 

CRISPY ROCK SHRIMP
 

KI KING BROCCOLI
 

STEAMED PORK DUMPLING
 

GRILLED SHISHITO PEPPERS
 

WHOLE ROMANESCI

Grilled over a robata grill and served with whipped feta, these were very unique and very delicious. The texture made it impossible to think you were eating cauliflower. Though my coworkers didn't seem too thrilled, I thought they were great!

Sea Bass Pumpkin Noodle

This entree was SO good. I seriously loved it and was surprised at how much I enjoyed the whole meal in general. Squash ribbons and snow peas slathered in a red curry broth with red curried coconut with a big hunk of sea bass on top. While the fish was a little dry, the squash noodles and curry sauce made up for it. 

Peace Love & Little Donuts

Wouldn't be a trip without a donut spot! 

Pittsburgh's most well-known doughnut shop seemed to be Peace, Love & Little Donuts so we had a dozen delivered to the office on Valentine's Day (DUH!) 

While these doughnuts didn't make the top 5 list, they were delicious, as all doughnuts are in their own special way ;) 

I liked the fact that these were little - though it didn't stop me from eating them throughout the day. If anything, it made it easier to "just try one more...." 

I was shocked to find that my favorite flavor was the one coated in mini M&Ms! Never would have guessed that. 

Peace, Love & Little Donuts has "Groovy" donuts (the simple ones, like cinnamon and glazed), "Far Out" donuts (frosted donuts with flavors like strawberry, mocha, and chocolate), and the donuts that are more my speed - "Funkadelic" (frosting + crazy toppings). 

Overall, I was impressed with the food scene in Pittsburgh. There were tons of other places I wanted to try, and I never got my Pittsburgh Pierogies, but I left with a new favorite taco! 

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Stressed Out Runner Venting Session

I've never had trouble sleeping, I've never been physically affected by stress, and I've never experienced much anxiety. 

Those three facts are pretty shocking considering the fact that I'm a Type-A perfectionist who doesn't know how to sit still and relax for any real length of time. 

Unfortunately, it seems that my "GO GO GO" attitude towards life is finally starting to catch up to me. Stress, anxiety and trouble sleeping have all reared their ugly heads in the past month or so and I'm not going to sugarcoat it - I'm struggling over here. 

My instinct is to ignore it, keep loading my calendar with activities, and not sit still long enough to deal with what's really bothering me (because I'm sure there's something!) But I know that I can't keep doing that and expect things to improve. 

I've purchased a big bottle of melatonin and it's helped me fall asleep at night, but I'm still waking up frequently throughout the night. I got a massage last week for all of the muscle aches and pains and giant knots in my back and shoulders - but I still feel an annoying pain in my back every time I breathe in. I'm trying to remind myself to breathe deeply throughout the day - but still find myself either not breathing or not breathing fully. Sound crazy right? Forgetting to breathe?  

I've been going NON STOP since December - traveling for work 52 days in just over 3 months. 13 flights. 13!!

I spent all that time SO looking forward to being back in the city with my friends, in my own apartment, with my bike and my kitchen and my routine. 

But then I got home (for a whopping 16 days in a row) and was suddenly reminded that "real life" isn't a cake walk either. Commuting on the subway, millions of options of what workouts I want to do instead of "Hotel Gym" on repeat, laundry, food shopping, cooking, chores, errands, jury duty, and trying to make the time to see all the people I've missed for the past 3 months. Suddenly I was feeling overwhelmed by the very thing I had been looking forward to - being home and surrounded by plans and things I wanted to do. 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who is in a constant battle between wanting to do all the things, and wanting to not do a damn thing?? 

In a previous post, I touched on the fact that I haven't been running much. Tuesday night I went out for a run which was, quite frankly, the worst run I can EVER remember. Ever.

My shins were the tightest and most painful that they've ever been. I finished the run and immediately broke down. 

There comes a point in your life when ugly-crying on the sidewalk of a New York City street doesn't make you feel self-conscious at all. And apparently, I've reached that point. 

I was crying because, "IT'S NOT FAIR. I JUST WANT TO RUN." It sounds so childish and ridiculous and DUMB but it has been over a year since I was running 30+ miles a week and training for a marathon and I miss it more and more every day. 

For the past year I've taken it easy on the running, tried to focus on other types of fitness, tried to gain leg and core strength, and told myself that the New York City Marathon in 2018 was all I wanted to do. I didn't need a calendar jam-packed with races and half marathons - as long as I could train for and cross one more marathon finish line I would be happy. 

But yesterday's run was a painful - literally - reminder that my body is so far away from being able to train for a marathon. 

That got me thinking - what is it that I miss so much about running?

It's not that I don't like the spin classes, the weight training, the boxing classes, etc. that I have been filling my schedule with. Because they're fun and I enjoy them! But there's just something about running that I can't put my finger on that is straight up therapy for me. Nothing else I've found clears my head the way a good run can. 

For me, nothing beats long conversations with running friends. For me, nothing beats lacing up on a Saturday morning and enjoying an hour in Central Park before the rest of the world wakes up. For me, nothing beats the moment when everything clicks and you feel like you're flying. For me, nothing beats the tired, but strong feeling in your legs when you reach the top of a hill. For me, nothing beats crossing a finish line after months of training and comittment. 

Everyone loves to talk about how bad running is for your body, but those people don't understand how incredible the sport and the community is for a runner's mind and soul. 

I have no doubt that my stress and anxiety are closely linked to my inability to run as much as I'd like to. 

I'm frustrated with doctors who prescribe me physical therapy instead of trying to figure out what's wrong and I'm frustrated with physical therapists who give me exercises that I do on my own at the gym already. 

I'm frustrated with "Have you tried new sneakers?" "Have you tried foam rolling?" "Have you tried a massage?" "Have you tried yoga?" "Have you tried compression?" Yes, yes yes and yes. 

The one thing that keeps getting mentioned that I haven't yet tried is acupuncture, and although I'm 100% terrified of needles and pass out every year when I get my flu shot, I think I'm at the point where it might be worth a shot. 

In the meantime, I've been going to yoga more frequently, and I've been pleasantly surprised to find myself really enjoying some of the studios I've tried. Look for a post on that coming soon - because I'm the anti-yogi and on a random Monday night recently I found myself thinking, "I need some hot yoga." What? 

I guess this post really didn't go anywhere, but writing always helps me process my thoughts so thanks for reading along on my little self-therapy session. I like to think I'm not the only sidelined, stressed-out runner who might need a bit of a pity party. 

If anyone has any advice, thoughts, ideas, I'm all ears. 

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The Perfect LA to San Diego Road Trip Itinerary

Everyone dreams of cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway (put your top down, crawl into the backseat) - and while it's something I'd certainly like to do one day, time didn't permit it during my last west-coast visit. 

Instead, I settled for cruising from LA to Irvine to San Diego, for a quick 48 hour trip jam-packed with exciting things, thanks to an itinerary crafted by moi and executed by my amazing friend and tour guide Emily. 

Here's how it went down: 

1. Workout in LA 

LAX --> 613 N. La Cienega Blvd. (30 Minutes)

Land at LAX, drive to workout class. If you're anything like me, that doesn't sound nuts - it sounds perfect! 

I went for a killer class at Rise Nation - which you can read about here. 

2. Healthy Meal at Cafe Gratitude 

Rise Nation --> 639North Larchmont Boulevard (15 Minutes)

I've been dreaming of eating here for AWHILE since my Instagram feed is always full of drool-worthy pictures of their veggie-centric, organic dishes. It certainly did not disappoint. 

You can read all about what we ate here. 

3. Sing 'Beverly Hills' While Driving Through Beverly Hills 

Thanks, Weezer! 

4. Brews at Ballast Point Brewery

Cafe Gratitude --> 110 N Marina Dr. Long Beach (45 Minutes)

I am a big fan of Ballast Points Grapefruit Sculpin IPA and have tried a bunch of their more creative flavors - like the Habanero Sculpin. Though not all of their beers are my favorite, I appreciate their eclectic choices and was excited to check out their brewery.

The place was right on the water and though we just missed the sunset, it was gorgeous to look out at the water while we enjoyed our flights!

5.  Sleep

6. "Breakfast" at Sidecar Doughnuts 

270 E 17th St #18 

My friend once cried while eating a doughnut from Sidecar, and I came pretty damn close after trying their Huckleberry doughnut. They import them overnight from Oregon! While the other doughnuts didn't thrill me, it was worth the trip for that Huckleberry heaven. 

You can read my full review here. 

7. Drive to Torrey Pines 

Sidecar Doughnuts --> Torrey Pines (1 Hour, 15 Minutes)

Ideally, we would have gone for a hike here, but the trails were closed because of the heavy rains that had turned everything to mud. It was still a very pretty drive and I'm glad we made the stop! 

8. Fall In Love With La Jolla Cove 

Torrey Pines --> La Jolla Cove (15 Minutes)

Wow. Wowowowowowwwww. I could have stayed here FOREVER. It was one of the prettiest, most relaxing afternoons of my life. I mean, a freaking RAINBOW appeared. Come on, now. 

See the Sea Lions 

Seeing these little guys sunning on the sandy shores was such an unexpected surprise. I am pretty certain that I straight up squealed. SO cute. 

Workin' On My Fitness 

Why not get in a little exercise while you walk around? I came up with a bunch of different exercises you could do at La Jolla Cove - you can check it out here. 

Check Out the Sea Cave

Emily and I kind of stumbled into this - it's $5 to walk down (and eventually, UP) a shit tone of stairs - with this as the view! 

Walk Around the Shops In Town 

So many cute stores - v. dangerous for your wallet if you're anything like me. I made a few purchases that were unnecessary but, OH WELL. 

Eat at George's at the Cove

Though the meal wasn't super amazing wonderful by any means - the view made up for it! 

You can read my full review here. 

9. Watch the Sunset at Sunset Cliffs 

La Jolla Cove --> Sunset Cliffs (30 Minutes)

There is nothing I love more than a beautiful sunset. I get emotional about sunsets. I would be embarrassed, except I'm not - because what is better than quietly sitting by the water and enjoying the beauty of nature? (While taking a million pictures to Instagram...oops). 

Emily and I drove here and pulled over on the side of the road while we waited for the sunset. There were tons of people out and about watching it with us. It was a gorgeous sunset, but I still have yet to see one that beats my hometown beach's sunsets!

10. Night Out in San Diego's Gaslamp District

Sunset Cliffs --> Downtown San Diego (20 Minutes)

After struggling for a good long while to find parking - we took a quick nap before heading out for dinner, drinks and dancing. 

The Neighborhood (777 G Street) 

Great beer, great cauliflower. 

Henry's Pub  (618 Fifth Ave) 

Interesting crowd, but great DJ. 

The Tipsy Crow (770 Fifth Ave)

Loved this spot! Multiple floors, giant connect four. Highly recommend if you're looking to go out in the Gaslamp District. 

11. Sleep

I also highly recommend NOT getting locked out of your Airbnb and spending the night in the apartment building's hallway. But that's a story for another day. 

12. "Breakfast" at the Donut Bar

While I didn't love these donuts, the shop was super cute and serves both donuts and craft beer. I like it, I like it. And I also got to eat a donut that had an entire pop-tart stuffed inside of it. No biggie.

You can read my full review here. 

13. Desert Garden in Balboa Park 

Rumor has it that the landscaping in this section of Balboa Park is what inspired the illustrations in Dr. Seuss' work! Though it was raining when we made it there, the plants and cactus were still awesome to take some pictures of! 

14. Drive Back to LA

So there you have it! 14 steps for an LA --> SD Road Trip. 

Here are a few other things that I didn't quite fit in but I will definitely get to when I visit ERIN AND CAM in San Diego after their cross-country move! 

7 Bridges Run

The fact that we were locked out of our Airbnb until 6 a.m. meant that I wasn't about to attempt a run bright and early. But when I'm back, I would love to do this route that brings you over 7 different bridges around San Diego.

Giant Dipper at Belmont Park

Cabrillo National Monument

Liberty Public Market

I had my eye on the Yam Bam! from Fully Loaded Juice - a drink made with almond milk, beets, yams, carrots, honey and dates with cardamom and cinnamon! Thrillist has an entire article dedicated to Liberty Public Market. 

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens 

Barrel Republic

This place seems AWESOME! Self-serve taps that track how much you've had with a bracelet that dictates how much you pay when you're done. High-tech beer tasting. 

Leave your LA --> SD recommendations in the comments!

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4 Cheap DTLA Fitness Classes For First Timers

I hopped of a plane at LAX and...headed straight to a workout class. 

True story. Not only was I excited for some acai and poke bowls during my recent trip to LA, but I was excited for some new fitness classes on the West Coast! 

I was lucky enough to check out 4 different studios during the 12 days I was in town and have to agree with my friend Rebecca on which was the best - but keep reading to find out which it was! 

Rise Nation

The class that I attended straight off of my flight was Rise Nation, a crazy-hard cardio class that left me absolutely DEAD. 

Rise Nation might only be a 30 minute class, but using "The Climber" delivers total-body toning. 

I was nervous after Rebecca told me that this was the roughest 30 minutes of her life - and arrived with some time to spare for the instructor to give me a quick run through on how to use the vertical climbing machine. 

It wasn't as much like climbing a ladder as I thought - it was a much smoother movement that required core strength, length strength and arm strength. It was much like spinning because it helped if you found the rhythm of the music and there were also intervals where you had to speed up your movements for a certain amount of time. 

The machine tracks the distance between your steps - so when the music is faster, you work on quick, short steps. At other points, you focus on longer climbing motions - which really work your arms and core as you stretch your body further. 

Your whole body is involved, and it takes a lot of effort to keep up with the pace of the class - especially if you're new! I found my hands cramping and my forearms burning as I struggled to hold on to the handles. I was absolutely sucking wind and it was definitely the longest 30 minutes of my life. 

Luckily, there were moments where I was able to get into the beat of the song and zone out for a few minutes at a time - usually this happened when the step distances were varied - for instance, short short long, short short long. 

It's a very hard class to try to explain, so I apologize if this makes absolutely no sense. 

At the end of the class, I was dripping in sweat and my chest was BURNING like I had just sprinted a mile. Sometimes after a really intense workout, my mouth tastes like blood. Whenever I say this, people look at me funny so I finally decided to Google it: 

Some studies also show that intense exercise can increase pressure on the lungs, which allows red blood cells to leak into air sacs, possibly causing that metallic taste.

Class at Rise Nation gave me that metallic taste and left me feeling weak and shaky. I asked the instructor what a typical distance climber was for a beginner, and I am happy to report that I crushed that number ;) 

The studio was nice and clean, the instructor was upbeat and helpful, and the only thing I found a little annoying was the lack of a shower considering how gross I was by the end of 30 minutes. I was beyond ready to eat all the things at Cafe Gratitude!

The best part? Your first class at Rise Nation is FREE. 

Speedplay

The second class came highly recommended by my friend Rebecca, who has tried quite a few LA classes. 

It was another small, shower-less studio but it was a great cardio and strength HIIT class with an instructor that I really liked. 

I took Speedplay 60, described on their website as "a perfect balance of running , rowing and floor. The class was broken down into 4 main sections which we all rotated through as a group. It was a very small class of about 6-8 people which was great. 

We started on the rowing machine, which I hadn't used in a good long while. It was rough getting the hang of it again, and I felt like I was going in slow motion through the ladder: 

Station One

500 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
400 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
300 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
200 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
100 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press 

Station Two 

Station two was a strength based circuit using a barbell. We rotated through a set number of repetitions of the following exercises:

• Straight Overhead Barbell Press 
• Lunge 
• Deadlift
• Row 

Station Three 

For this station we went to the treadmill - they have the Curve, self-powered treadmills that can tell how quickly you're going and adjust the speed accordingly. They always take me some getting used to, but it's really awesome technology and supposedly has a lot of benefits (encouraging better form, mainly). 

Here, we did short intervals: 
.1 Run
.05 Walk
.05 Spring

After each sprint we used the resistance bands that were wrapped around our treadmills to do 10 rows. I loved the fact that each station incorporated strength moves along with the cardio. 

Station Four

Back to the floor to finish up with strength and core with this circuit using a plate: 

• Jump Lunges 
• Front Plate Raise 
• Glute Bridge with Overhead Oblique Pull 
• Sit Up (holding plate overhead)  

This class was by far my favorite - and one I would take over and over again if I lived in LA. It was a great mix of cardio, strength and core and it absolutely FLEW by. The class was small, the instructor was great, and you got to use a ton of different equipment throughout the class. 

Your first class is only $15, a steal! 

Club Pilates DTLA

I was looking for a low impact class one morning and since I can be stubborn about taking yoga classes, I figured I would give pilates a shot. The last real pilates reformer class I took was at SLT and it absolutely KICKED MY ASS so I wasn't expecting an easy class, per se, but knew I wouldn't be jumping around and irritating my shins. 

Stephanie (who made it announcement during class that she was now the OWNER, congrats!) was absolutely AMAZING at giving me help along the way. It was super obvious that I was not well-versed in pilates and had no idea what I was doing when it came to using the reformer. 

I bought my pair of grippy socks (required for the class) but a pilates-pro they did not make me. 

Some of the moves I really felt working - like the section where we did obliques! It always amazes me how many different things you can do with the reformer, and even though I felt like a fish out of water, I certainly felt the burn. 

Pilates definitely isn't my favorite type of class - but it's a challenge, it's low impact, and it works a ton of small muscles that I normally don't pay attention to. I probably won't become a regular at pilates classes, just like you won't catch me frequenting barre classes, but I understand why some people are so in love with them and certainly think those folks should check out Club Pilates! 

Worth noting that at this point, I accepted shower in fitness studios in LA should not be expected! 

YAS Spin Class 

No joke, there is a fitness center chain in LA called YAS Fitness. 

You can imagine how many times I screamed, "YAAAAAASSSSSS" during my trip to this spin class. 

This was the only studio I went to that had a locker room and showers, which was much appreciated for a girl who showers at the gym and fitness studios more often than her own apartment. 

Also appreciated was the fact that the class was a straight-up OG spin class. No weighted songs, no crunches, no push-ups on the handlebars - just spinning. 

We got clip in shoes for $2 and a free water bottle for checking-in on Facebook. The instructor, Mike, was extremely friendly and upbeat, the playlist was passable, and while I missed the metrics of a class like Flywheel or SWERVE, I felt like I got in a solid spin workout at the end of 40 minutes. 

While I was at YAS, I ran into someone I used to run with at JackRabbit in NYC back in 2012/2013 when I FIRST started running. It was so crazy!

Anyway,YAS also offers yoga classes and weighted yoga classes, and your first class is just $13! 

DIY Workout 

The last great workout of my trip to LA was the most scenic DIY everrrrrr as I walked around La Jolla Cove. Check it out here! 

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San Diego With a Side of Doughnuts

My trip to Los Angeles and San Diego obviously included two stops to epic doughnut detours. 

Sidecar Doughnuts

Legend has it that my friend Rebecca cried when eating a chocolate doughnut from Sidecar Doughnuts. 

Needless to say, I was excited for my trip here in January. 

It was our first stop on our journey from Irvine to San Diego and by the time we arrived there was already a line and the sweet smell of sugar wafting out of the storefront. 

Sidecar was beautiful inside, with a small amount of seating and additional tables and chairs out on the sidewalk. 

I wasn't sure where to start with my order, so I just started pointing when I stepped up to the counter - making my way down the line until I was satisfied with 4 doughnuts and a doughnut hole. 2 Girls, 4.5 Doughnuts - sounds about right. 

Butter + Salt 

To be honest, this doughnut was a little too much for me. So, so rich that I could only stomach a bite of it. 

Rosemary and Honey 

This glaze was very good and full of rosemary and honey flavor, but it was atop a yeast doughnut, which is not usually my favorite. 

Chocolate Budino 

This monstrosity was A chocolate doughnut with a chocolate budino filling, whipped creme fraiche, house made caramel, chocolate sable crumbs and jacobsen sea salt. 

We didn't love this - it was a little bland, and again, a little "much." 

Glazed Doughnut Hole 

Very, very good. The outside was crispy and the inside was moist. The best. 

Huckleberry 

This doughnut single-handedly put Sidecar Donuts back on my good side. And this doughnut landed itself a spot on my top 5 doughnuts EVER (joined by the Tres Leches from Doughnut Plant, London Fog from Glory Hole Doughnuts, Gooey Butter Cake Doughnut from Strange Doughnuts, and the Everything Doughnut from The Doughnut Project).

This was definitely on the FRIED side - which is what gave it it's crispy exterior and deliciously rich, moist-yet-cakey inside. It was like a gloriously warm blueberry muffin encapsulated in sugary muffin-top textured glaze. 

I couldn't stop saying "OMG" as I ate it. 

Sidecar's huckleberries are foraged in Oregon and express shipped to the bakery overnight. I'm not sure if that's what gave this doughnut it's extra special amazingness - but it was absolutely incredible. 

Donut Bar

A place that serves donuts and craft beer? Yeah, I feel you San Diego. 

The doughnuts at this spot are over the top for sure. For one, they're GIANT. Certifiably MASSIVE. Elephantiasis-level doughnuts. and Emily and I chose perhaps the two craziest on the menu. 

Homer's Donut 

An XL pink glazed beauty with sprinkles. The most perfectly-picture ready doughnut you'll ever find. A though simple, it was pretty damn tasty! 

Big Poppa-Tart Donut 

Alright, get ready to judge the HELL out of me - but yes, I did order this donut that is STUFFED with a FULL-SIZED POPTART. A S'more pop-tar to be precise. 

It was worth it for the chance to say I tried it - but honestly, it was underwhelming. The best part of a pop-tart is when the edges are crispy-burnt and the filling is melty and warm. The pop-tart being inside a doughnut meant that it was mostly soggy and sad. 

Blueberry with Myer Lemon 

After our experience with the Huckleberry doughnut at Sidecar, I couldn't pass up a chance to try another berry-based baked good! Plus, this was one of the only cake doughnuts that Donut Bar offered. It was good, but forgettable - nowhere near the doughnut perfection achieved by Sidecar. 

THIS IS THE BIG POPPA TART DONUT CUT IN HALF!!!!

Overall, Donut Bar disappointed. But it had a lot of fun doughnut-decor and was a cool spot to check out! 

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DIY Peanut Butter Potluck: 7 Sweet & Savory Peanut Butter Recipes

And now, for a completely on-brand post: Peanut Butter Potluck Recipes. 

I love hosting themed potlucks with my friends - we've had dip night, oatmeal night, fall foods, a Christmas potluck, and my latest idea was a purely peanut butter based potluck. 

My friends have since admitted that at first, they weren't impressed with the idea. Everyone was expecting that there would be a lot of the same dishes. But we were surprised to find that we had a great mix of appetizers, entrees and desserts using PB as a main ingredient. 

Here are 7 delicious recipes for your very own Peanut Butter Potluck! 

Appetizer 

Peanut Butter Hummus from Nigella

Photo By Lis Parsons

Normally, the key ingredient in hummus is tahini - a paste made out of sesame seeds. But I used this recipe and a few others for inspiration in creating a peanut butter based hummus! For mine, I tossed in some chipotle peppers for that extra little somethin' somethin' and I think it was KEY. 

Entrees

Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce by Food Network Magazine

Melissa made this spaghetti squash dish that had tons of flavor! Melissa altered the recipe and used about 3/4 of a squash while tripling the sauce recipe. Hers was baked in the oven instead of microwaved and she threw in some shredded carrots and cabbage. 

What is your spaghetti policy? Anyone get the reference? 

Pressure Cooker Thai Chicken Thighs by Pressure Cooking Today

Recipes using pressure cookers or "instant pots" seem to be everywhere! Erin hasn't had gas for MONTHS in her apartment, so she's become quite the professional. This chicken was DELISH - so tender, so flavorful. We wrapped it up in lettuce to make little wraps! 

Sticky Peanut Cauliflower Wings by One Green Planet

While we wouldn't necessarily categorize these as wings, it was a WONDERFUL cauliflower dish made by Abby.

She followed the recipe but added the step to gently warm all the non-cauliflower ingredients in a saucepan before pouring it over the florets and mixing - cause she's fancy like that! 

Desserts

Peanut Butter Cookie Gooey Bars by Crazy for Crust

Kaitlin hit it out of the park when she found this recipe from Crazy for Crust. These were certainly ooey and gooey and also had a crispy, crunchy outer layer. 

It was a problem that she left the leftovers behind - trust me, they didn't last long in my apartment. 

Caramel Apple Peanut Butter Bars by Sally's Baking Addiction

Callie made these, which are a wonderful alternative to trying to eat a caramel apple - which is just not a pleasant experience if you ask me. 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites by Get Creative Juice

These were PHENOMENAL - my new roommate, Jackie, came in CLUTCH with this contribution. She altered the recipe a little bit  by using a pre-made granola that contained oats, coconut, vanilla and chia seeds in place of those ingredients in the recipe and it worked like magic, I tell ya. 

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The Fitness Update & 12 Favorite Moments

Perhaps you've noticed that I haven't been writing about running a whole lot. Or, at all, lately. 

That's because I haven't been doing a whole lot of running. When I do run, this is usually the conversation in my head: 

"You shouldn't run, your shins hurt." 
"You can you run, you don't have any injury at the moment." 
"You shouldn't run, don't push it, you want to run another marathon in the fall." 
"You need to go for a run for the sake of your mental sanity." 

At which point, I go for a run. 

Running for me isn't all about the physical act of running - it's a mental happy place and a huge aspect of my social life. Sure I can always wake up and go to the gym on Saturday morning - but I miss nothing more than consistent Saturday morning long runs with friends around the park followed by brunch.  

At the moment, I'm not training for anything - it seems that I'm on a constant loop of "terrible run," "painful run," "slow AF run," "randomly amazing run" with no insight about how to make the amazing runs more common. 

I'm currently registered to run the NYC Marathon in November, but recent work developments make it likely that I'll need to defer. I'm toying with the idea of a Hartford or Suffolk County Marathon earlier in the fall, but not making any decisions for now. 

All I've got on my race calendar is the Ragnar Relay this May - which I'm pumped about! I'm also pretty nervous, because I feel like I'm severely underestimating how difficult it's going to be. I need to really start upping my mileage if I want to run 22 miles over the course of 48 hours on little to no sleep. (We are looking for more people to join our team - please comment below if you're interested!) 

I'm also considering whether or not I want to attempt an Olympic tri this summer - of course, I'm petrified about the prospect of swimming a mile in open water. I've been going to the pool every once in awhile and I swear I somehow manage to get slower every time! 

I've been in a bit of an exercise funk - with no goals to motivate me. I'm on the lookout for my next big challenge, but it just hasn't presented itself yet. 

Since this update thus far has sounded very down in the dumps, here are some of my favorite fitness moments over this winter season that I never shared on the blog. 

1. Turkey Trot 

In 2015 I ran a turkey trot on Long Island all by my lonesome. I hated every second of it, and swore I would return for revenge. 

Considering I was certainly not in any racing shape, I gave up my plans for revenge and instead, finally convinced family members to join in the fun! Running a race with my little cousins, with turkey hats, was amazing! It wasn't fast, it didn't feel great, but I spent Thanksgiving morning doing one of my favorite things with some of my favorite people and for that I was #Thankful. 

2. Deck A Day Challenge 

This is the third year that I've done the Deck a Day Challenge - completing a Deck of Cards workout every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. I look forward to it every year, and though this year I had quite a butt-kicking at the start, by the end I felt strong and in much better shape. The best was doing some of these with Abby at NYSC! (Along with our personal spin class featuring Aida and Hamilton). 

3. Run & Swim & Brunch 

One morning, Abby and I went for a run followed by a mile swim. I never would have done both of these things back to back without her, but we managed to make it fun - and followed it up with a delicious meal at the new Upper East Side Dig Inn featuring an ALMOND CLOUD. 

4. The Run Where I Cried 

I've only had one of these in recent memory, and it was a December morning where I reached the top of Harlem Hill and felt like I had reached the top of Mount Everest. My legs felt strong and I had zero pain other than fatigue. I thought this was a turning point, and though it didn't end up to be the start of a wonderful running streak, it did leave my happy all weekend. It was a 9 mile run at an 8:25 pace but I felt like I had just run a Boston Qualifying marathon. 

It was during the Ted Corbitt 15K which my friend Erin was running. I joined her for awhile, ran with my friend Kayla for awhile, and waved to many friends out in the park. It's my favorite way to spend a morning.

5. Bluepoint Brewery 10 Miler 

This is always one of my most favorite days of the year - and this time, we made a weekend out of it! 6 of us rented an Airbnb for the weekend and after a broken train, made it to Patchogue where we had dinner at That Meetball Place and woke up for the best race of the year. 

Abby and I stuck together step for step throughout the race, and everyone stayed step for step with me on the dance floor afterwards. Many beers later, and a visit from MY SISTER, we made it back to the Airbnb and woke up in the morning for a quick run and bagel breakfast before heading back to the city. 

I hope this tradition continues because its the best. I ended up running around an 8:30 pace. 

6. Busch Stadium Workout 

While I was away for work in St. Louis, I had the chance to workout in one of the clubhouse gyms at Busch Stadium. I cranked up the tunes and enjoyed myself wayyy too much. Does everyone else get excited by an empty gym? 

7. Abby's First Bike Ride! 

Callie and I got to join Abby for her first bike ride on her new road bike and it was wonderful. I took my first clipped-in ride by myself and fell right into a puddle of mud while people in the park looked at me with confusion. I am happy to report that Abby did much, much better than me! 

8. Batting Practice at Dodger Stadium 

This isn't just a favorite fitness moment, this was one of the cooler things I've EVER done. My coworkers and I had the chance to play ball at Dodger Stadium on a gorgeous January evening in LA and it's something that I will never forget. And yes, I hit the ball!

9. More CP Loops 

If you haven't realized, it doesn't take much to make me happy - another Saturday morning spent in Central Park with friends - chatting, running, sun shining - longer than I had run in a long time (10 miles)! 

10. Partner Workouts

Having someone to workout with while I'm on the road is HUGE in keeping me motivated to get to the gym. In Pittsburgh, my friend Sabrina and I made a bunch of kick ass workouts to do together in the gym - she even got me to go to a hot yoga class that I ended up loving and I got her to for a run with me! The workout we created using the rower was KILLER but pretty awesome if I do say so myself. 

11. BRICK 

I landed in NY after a loooong time away for work and after a 2 hour nap ($2 tequila shots are dangerous), made my way to my happy place - Central Park. It was a ridiculously warm day for February and I did 3 loops on my bike...we had been separated for so long! I got home from my bike ride and wished I was still outside, so I decided to go for a 3 mile run too. Why not? 

My best friends Abby and Callie are amazing and training for a Half Ironman, and their Strava feeds inspired me to go big or go home. I loooved it. 

12. NP_NYC 3 Year Anniversary 

In March, November Project turned 3 years old and the amazing co-leaders, John and Paul, handed over the reins. I was really glad that I got myself up for the 5:30 a.m. workout and got to see the changing of the guard. November Project has made NYC feel like home to me - it's the reason I can walk around the Upper East Side and run into people I know, it's the reason I've seen so many beautiful sunsets over the East River. It's the reason running marathons and ultramarathons and IRONMANs doesn't seem impossible. It's the reason I have so many amazing best friends (and the reason I keep finding roommates for my apartment!)