NYC Weekend in Photos

Up until this past weekend, I'd never been to New York City before. I feel so backwoods admitting that! I live so close now that it borders silly/ridiculous that I've never visited.

Yeah, so I dragged my backwoods butt but onto a bus on Friday and headed to NYC for one of my best friend's bachelorette party. Though she isn't tying the not until late October, our schedules are all going to be so crazy come fall that it made sense to party it up now.

The weekend did not disappoint. The bride-to-be is a *tad* obsessed with the 80's, so Friday night we dressed up and went out to rock out to some 80's tunes. God love New York. No matter how dumb or questionable your choice in clothing, there is always going to be someone in the city who will outdo you. We definitely stood out, but people seemed receptive and were very kind to the bride-to-be.

Your Type, no? (Picked that shirt up for $11 out of some trashy side street shop after getting off the bus)

The BTB looks like she stepped off of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" video

The couple's toast

Pretty woman walking down the street...

Lookin' all sorts of classy (or all sorts of something).

The next night was dress like a normal person and go out night. I didn't get an outfit photo, but I wanted to show the sparkly top I wore. Unfortunately, it's a photo with me holding a beer (which I swear I never ever drink)...

With the lovely lady of the evening...

Last but not least, I leave you with a creeper. Every bar/club has them, but this guy makes some of the shady folk I've encountered seem like the boy next door. He literally just stood in front of the stage where girls were dancing and snapped pictures of them on his phone. No shame whatsoever. I don't even want to know what he does with them. Ick. I caught him in the act.

Good times all around. Now I'm looking forward to the wedding :)

Barcelona Part 3: What I Wore

I'm actually going to cut Part 4 and just place the last couple of scenic shots in the bottom of this post. The trip was great and all, but I'm tired of talking about it and you're probably tired of hearing about it!

Whenever I travel I keep it simple and pack things that can be worn more than once (i.e. a simple cardigan worn at dinner will be worn while sight-seeing the next day, etc). I prefer to take a carry-on size suitcase if at all possible. Obviously, this is easier to do when traveling in the summer than in the colder months. Boots and sweaters take up a lot of space.

But enough chatter. Here's what I wore.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm no fashion plait. I do know what works for my body and lifestyle, though, and stick with dresses, cardigans and simple walkable flats (and the occasional sassy shoe) 90% of the time. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Outfit #1
Dress: Juicy Couture
Cardigan: BCBG (pretty sure I had a death wish wearing a cardigan given the temperature)
Sandals: DV by DolceVita
Hat: Madewell

Outfit #2
Dress: Banana Republic (bought it from a blog sale!)
Sandals: DV by Dolce Vita
Hat: Madewell

Outfit #3
Dress: Va Va by Joy Han
Cardigan: Splendid
Shoes: Christian Louboutin

Outfit #4
Dress: Target (yeah, so I wore it last week. I'm a real people)
Shoes: DV by Dolce Vita
Cardigan: Splendid
Bag: Longchamp


And for grins and giggles, here are a few more scenic shots that I have not yet shared:

Okay, so not scenic, but the delicious calamari ravioli I had on my last night (nom nom x 10):

So who wants to start planning a blogger meet up in Barcelona? :)

Barcelona Part 2: Sightseeing

Once I actually found the will to drag myself away from the fabulous hotel, it was off to see the city. I'm learning that there are both drawbacks and advantages when it comes to traveling for business. In the case of sightseeing, we had a personal tour guide and van to take us around. Not too shabby. Speaking to that note (and to my previous post about the fabulous hotel), let me just say how incredibly fortunate and grateful I am to even have had this opportunity to travel and to have stayed in such amazing accommodations. If there's one thing I know about life, it's that everything can be pulled out from under you at any instant, and I'm well aware of how lucky I am to have been afforded this visit (business or not!)

But you probably want to see pictures.

La Sagrada Familia was absolutely amazing.

As was Park Guell...

The views from Montjuic were spectacular.

 

My co-worker and I spent our last morning in town checking out La Rambla in all its craziness. I particularly liked the live statues (wish the lighting wasn't so bad in my pictures).

Wouldn't see a shop like this all open and welcoming in the prudish USA :)

The St. Josef Market was fun to mill around. So many bright colors and items/foods to see. I can't imagine what it smelled like later in the day, though, as the temperatures rose and more people crowded in. The back of the market smelled REALLY fishy with all of the seafood stands at 11am.

Fun shaped bottles of sangria inside the St. Josef Market:

Some of the freshest fruit I've ever seen:

SUGAR!

Best sign ever.

We strolled around some more to take in the general architecture and vibe of the city. I was amazed by how many motorcyclists and moped riders there were.

And then, of course, there was the beach. I only made it down to the water on my very last evening in Barcelona (I opted to work out instead of spend time at the beach during my one afternoon off...don't know if I should congratulate or punish myself for that!) The beach by our hotel was partially a nude beach and, as my boss put it, there was a lot of bad naked going on out there.

As we walked to dinner one evening, we noticed a group of 30-something guys rinsing off in the public shower/rinse area. They were all laughing hysterically at the one in the group who had his swim trunks around his ankles as he shook his junk in the shower water, laughing along with them. Good times. Hope he enjoyed himself and managed to get all of the sand out. And then there was the woman wearing nothing else but a G-string (which was mostly hidden by her protruding stomach) who I managed to frame out of this picture I took of myself as proof that I did indeed set foot next to the Mediterranean Sea.

(G-string lady was literally just off to the right of this photo)

If I haven't lost you in this uber-long post, I'm surprised :)

Up next is Part 3: What I Wore

Barcelona Part 1: The W Hotel

If I could have it my way, I'd jump in a cab to Boston Logan and hop back on a plane to Barcelona. My trip this week was short for sure, but we packed a lot of punch into those few days.

Honestly, there's too much to cover in one post, so I'm breaking it up into four: Hotel Overview, Sightseeing Overview, What I Wore and Scenic Overview.

So about this hotel...

Photo I took of the hotel on my last night in Barcelona

We were put up in the W Barcelona. Freaking fabulous is the best phrase I could use to describe it. I've stayed in a handful of fancy people hotels now via work, but this was my favorite so far. I'll allow the photos to speak for themselves.

My suite (they upgraded me!!)

 

The view of the Mediterranean Sea from my window. I mean, really?!?

 

Cocktail, anybody?

Kick ass shower

The room itself was amazing, but the service was what really had me. Since our company will be doing business with the hotel in the future, they sent up some room gifts several times during my stay:

Wine + chocolates the first day (how cool are the hotel-shaped chocolates?) and a "jet lag" kit the second day (tea and red bull with a cute note)

But there was life outside of my awesome room and luxurious bed (I wanted to take it home with me). The hotel was hopping--probably the largest number of gorgeous and trendy people I've seen congregated in one place at any given time. Makes sense when you consider the ambiance of the hotel:

Indoor restaurant/lounge

 

Hotel Lobby

We hung out in the pool side lounge area several evenings. I swear I could have stayed there all night had I not had work obligations during the day. Chic for sure, but also very relaxed. Nothing like sipping a little champagne next to the pool :)

Pool bar

 

View of the hotel at night from our lounge area

The area we stayed in reminded me a lot of South Beach in Miami, but without all of the pretense. Lots of beautiful wealthy people hanging out, but displaying said characteristics didn't seem to be the name of the game. It seemed like most people were just out to relax and have a good time, not to see and be seen.

Next up is Part Two: Sightseeing Overview.

Barcelona Countdown: One Week

One week from today I’ll be leaving for a short visit to Barcelona, Spain. The trip is for work, but they always give us a little bit of free time to explore and enjoy ourselves. I can’t complain.

I’m especially looking forward to the hotel, as it looks like a miniature version of the Jumeirah in Dubai and is right on the beach. I’ll take plenty of pictures.

 

 Photos via http://www.w-barcelona.com/

I’m keeping my list of things to do short since I’ll only be there for a few days (and since work is priority, obviously). Here are my “musts”:

Go to the Beach

That's pretty obvious. I’ll be happy if I even have an hour to splash around in the Mediterranean.

Image via arizonafoothillsmag.com

See La Sagrada Familia Basillica

Another obvious one. No shame in being a little tourist-y.

Photo via Perfecttravelblog.com

Enjoy plenty of paella and sangria

My favorite part of traveling is the dining aspect. Can’t wait to sample the local fare. I love paella, so I imagine I’ll be eating my fair share. Sitting and people watching over a good plate of food is always a delight.

Photo via alamodeus.net 

 

I told you it was a short list. If you’ve been to Barcelona and have any suggestions, I’m all ears!