An American in Leeds

Sorry for disappearing there for, oh what, a whole month. July brought me to Madison, WI, for the Int'l DNA Tumor Virus conference. I gave a talk, so most of my month was eaten up with preparing that. The talk went really well, though, so it was worth the effort. Anywhoodle, Barcelona! Second stop on my Big Fat European Vacation. La Sagrada Familia: A picture of La Sagrada Familia was on the cover of my 9th grade Spanish book. I remember thinking "Why does that building look like it's melting?" Well, now I know that it's supposed to look like that- Gaudí designed it to be very organic, like a living creature. The mindboggling part- La Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882, and won't be finished until 2026 (estimated). Scenes from around town: I also took a day trip up Montjuïc as well, to see the castle: The rest of my Barcelona photos can be found here . I'm thinking of going back and editing my Toulouse blog entry, because I think it...

For my 31st birthday, I went to Toulouse, Barcelona, and Rome with a couple friends. It was my first trip to the continent, and my first adventure into places where English wasn't the primary language spoken. Since I'm terribly lazy, English is the only language I speak with any proficiency. Toulouse was our first official stop. Home of the Basilica of Saint Sernin: And the Church of the Jacobins: As well as cassoulet. I do not have a picture of the cassoulet, but I am attempting to make my own this weekend. We also ventured out to some of the Bastide towns in the neighboring area on my birthday. We ended up visiting 8 of them. This towns are characterized by a central market hall, and a church slightly out of the center of town: Cologne market hall and church. Birthday rosé. Loads more pictures here. I'll do separate posts for Barcelona and Rome.