To celebrate my 29th birthday this year, we took a weekend trip to Barcelona. It was a pretty spontaneous decision, booking the tickets only a few weeks out! But, we saw a good deal and it was a worthy occasion to knock a city off our travel bucket list... so, off we went! With only a few days set aside to explore one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world, we decided to stay within the gothic quarter, limiting our exploration to a smaller area than the full city.

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day; a warm breeze blew in through the balcony doors, which directly overlooked an open-air art market. It was the perfect start to my birthday! We set off for breakfast and coffee at a cosy cafe, Elsa y Fred. From there, we explored the Arc de Triumph and made our way down to the beach promenade. We were generous with our stops along the way too, visiting wine bars tucked away along the narrow cobbled paths. After enjoying the ocean views and sunshine, we spent the remainder of the afternoon sampling tapas and wine at several restaurants along the coast. It was difficult to choose our favorite plate, between the chorizo or padrón peppers! It's worth mentioning, it was at Restaurante Agua where we had the single most delicious strawberry piña colodas of our lifetimes. That drink alone will be worth a trip back!

As we explored more of the impressive architecture, we stumbled upon some Roman structures! This was promptly set aside as a priority to explore the next day.

Finally, it was time to refresh in our room (and take and impromptu - and rather tipsy - balcony photoshoot) to get ready for the big birthday night out. On the recommendation of our hotel manager, we started in the lively square of Plaça Reial, which was a beautiful courtyard of bars and restaurants encircling a grand fountain. ​​We found a table at Ocaña, where we were greeted with two extremely glamorous drag queens - a fantastic sign for a good night if there ever was one! We settled in with potato alioli, drinks and such engaging conversation that we didn't even notice the time flying by! Before we knew it, it was past 1am! Over the course of that evening, we had managed to go through 8 expresso martinis (4 EACH!!) and were pulsing with so much caffeine that we knew dancing was our only option. Fortunately, the bar also had a nightclub in the basement, so we made our way downstairs and danced off our energy - quite literally until they kicked us out!

Given the late night, we were actually a little surprised to not wake up feeling more fragile than we did! As our last day in Barcelona, we pulled ourselves together, and this time headed off to the very popular Milk cafe for breakfast. We stopped to see the Cathedral and more of the Roman ruins we'd glimpsed the day before - we even saw some original Roman columns leftover from the first century BC! 

We are so grateful that we were able to sneak this spontaneous trip in when we did, as only a few weeks later all travel screeched to a halt due to the global pandemic. We were so lucky to make these memories while we still could!

When we landed in St Louis, my parents picked us up from the airport and then dropped us off outside the house before opening the garage. Knowing that my sister (who thought they were out doing something else) would come to greet them in the kitchen, Ron and I snuck in the front door and popped around the corner to surprise her! But the surprise was far from over. The next morning, Ron's family came to St Louis to meet me for lunch, because as far as his mom knew I'd flown in alone for this trip. So as we sat at the table chatting, he snuck up and tapped her on the shoulder to catch her off guard! After the lunch, Ron went back to Columbia to spend as much time as possible with his family during our short visit, while I stayed in St Louis. He was so thrilled to celebrate Christmas with everyone, and to finally meet his new (and first!) nephew, Cooper. Based on these photos he sent me, it looked like they bonded famously!

A trip to St Louis would also be incomplete without a night of margaritas and Mexican food with Kristen! And then, once we had our fill (and finished disturbing the rest of the restaurant with our antics), we met up again in the morning to say goodbye over breakfast.

During my visit, we also decided to stop by the brand new St Louis aquarium, complete with World's Fair style rides and games, a mirror maze, and of course, the beautiful marine habitats to explore.

Finally, Ron came back to St Louis and together we wrapped up our trip with the traditional Jincks family New Year's Eve dinner at Kobe's Japanese Steakhouse. Afterward, we tried our luck at the Casino, ringing in the new decade to the sweet sound of $33 in winnings! Can't wait to see what 2020 has in store...

​Nearing the end of 2019, we realized that we had not used any of the year to explore Europe – the singular goal of having moved aboard! So, we decided to tick off a bucket list item and book a Christmas holiday to Copenhagen, just in time for the year end.
 
So, after we finished up the holiday celebrations for our respective work parties, we started our little festive getaway. Upon arrival, we dropped off our bags and immediately headed to the world-famous Christmas markets, affectionately known as julemarkeder. This was where we had our first experience of Danish Glogg, a mulled wine with soaked rasins and almonds,  and later we tried it with a shot of spiced rum as well. It was a perfect warm buzz to keep us feeling cozy in the cool winter air! We also sampled some of Denmark’s traditional bacon dishes (one of which was called “Burning Love,” served with potatoes and onion). 

This year, Ron's Aunt Shelly and Uncle Eric stopped by to visit us as a detour on their international anniversary trip. And on top of that, they were also celebrating Aunt Shelly's 50th birthday! So needless to say, we owed them a fantastic time in Newcastle. This, of course, would have been incomplete without some authentic British pub food and a tour of the Newcastle Castle. 

We also spent a day exploring the coast at Tynemouth, which included pub fish and chips and a tour of the Priory. On the way back, we stopped in for a classy afternoon tea at the beautiful Great British Cupcakery.

 And then, it was game day: Newcastle vs Man United. We started the day with Sunday Roast at the Town Wall (which was actually the first place that Ron and I had the traditional dish 3 years ago too). After some pre-game drinks at Rosie's pub, we headed to the match - the stadium is conveniently located right across the street from our new flat. And then, we were thrilled to watch Newcastle pulled off an unfavored victory! (Aunt Shelly, however, was most shocked by the language of some Geordie children sitting nearby.) After calming down from all our excitement, we finished off the night with Indian dinner and a birthday cake for Aunt Shelly.