Earlier this year I visited Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. Join me in reliving the trip, recapping the very best parts, and how I'd do things differently if I ever visit again. 

This Barcelona {Overview} is the first in a series of three posts. Coming up next are Barcelona {The Sights} and Barcelona {The Food}.

I hope these posts will serve as a mini getaway for you and a useful guide if you'll soon be visiting Barcelona.

Barcelona is a huge city in Spain and a very popular tourist destination. While technically located in Spain, Barcelona is loyal to Catalonia. Catalonia was once separate from Spain and Barcelona was its capitol and largest city. While Catalonia and Barcelona are both folded into Spain now, you'll see signs of loyalty to Catalonia all over the city in the form of yellow ribbons. There are separate flags for Catalonia and Spain which often fly next to one another. I'm reminded most of Sicily where residents don't focus on being part of the larger Italian community.

That all being said, I was warned that Catalan is the primary language and that folks in Barcelona prefer to speak it over Spanish. Since I don't speak either, I was relieved that nearly everyone we encountered in Barcelona spoke or understood English to some extent. 

Barcelona is located on the water and has all of the charm of an old European city. It underwent a major makeover in advance of the 1992 Olympics which were held there. We learned that the sand and palm trees at the Barceloneta beach were all brought in from Egypt and other various locations around the world!

I didn't know much about Barcelona before this trip except that it's got a famous and expensive cured ham called jamon iberico and that the masterpiece of the city is "the church of our generation" called Sagrada Familia that's been under construction for decades and is still not finished! 

It was thrilling and satisfying to explore and get to know a place that was never before on my radar. Come along with me to Barcelona!

Figs and Flights’ second event, Irish Hospitality, was a blast! In short it was welcoming, relaxed, and fun.

Let's relive the night together.

The Packed Lunch Project is part of my daily at home life. It's my best habit for eating well, saving money, and preserving my sanity. I pack a lunch, take a photo, and post it on Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #packedlunchproject. 

When I don't pack a lunch I'll spend too much money on take out, Uber eats, or on a grocery store visit. Often times I'll get caught up in working and I won't think about what to get for lunch until it's 2:00 pm and I'm too hungry to decide on what to eat, paralyzed by too many choices, and I end up eating JUNK. This project helps me to stay motivated to keep packing and I hope it helps you to gather ideas and inspiration for delicious lunches, as well.  

No matter the reason why you want to pack your lunch more often, I invite you to join me. Last year I did a giveaway for The Packed Lunch Project and it's time to do it again!

​I've just returned from my 5th trip since the beginning of 2019 and I'm ready to get into a good routine of packing lunch every day for the summer spent in Seattle. Let's do this!

{Let's See Seattle} is a brand new series where I show you the best of, you guessed it, the city of Seattle. 

The focus here on Figs and Flights leans toward the destinations of my travels while the great eats, gorgeous spots, and weirdest attractions of Seattle aren't often mentioned. It's my goal to remedy that and show you Seattle, the surrounding area, and the Pacific Northwest area overall. 

I'm kicking off {Let's See Seattle} with the two biggest indicators of Springtime in Seattle - the Cherry Blossoms and Tulip Fields. 

It's been over five years since I moved to Seattle. After a year or two of living here the newness seemed to wear off. I'm always forcing myself to keep exploring and enjoying this city, even when I'm not entertaining out of town visitors.

That all being said, springtime is a wonderful time to be in Seattle. The rain stops, the days slowly get longer and fill with sunshine, and the residents crawl out from the shadows. We take advantage of rooftop decks and outdoor seating at our favorite watering holes and flock to Mother Nature's finest works. You'll find the quad on the campus of the University of Washington filled with pink and delicate Cherry Blossoms and acres and acres of colorful tulip fields in bloom about an hour outside of the city. 

Fav 5 Travel Guides are a short list of the best things I've found to do, see, eat, or drink in a particular location. This guide is for Dublin, the city in Ireland. 

Last week I did a Fav 5 {Travel Guide} for several other parts of Ireland which is useful if you're exploring around the island/country. 

Look no further for more on International Travel or Fav 5 Travel Guides within the US.

After spending several days road tripping around Ireland we returned the rental car (gladly, AMEN!) and settled into Dublin for the weekend.

Ireland's capitol is a wonderful place to visit. We were in town specifically for a Penn State football game so the city was overrun by Nittany Lions, our schools' mascot and my specific breed of human! While the bars were FILLED with Penn Staters we managed to get some proper Irish adventures in between the pep rally, American football game, and visits to the pubs amongst other alumni at Temple Bar. 

Ireland is the inspiration for the second Figs and Flights {event}. The celebration of Irish Hospitality will take place on Friday, May 17 at our favorite Irish pub in Seattle, Shawn O'Donnell's. ​