Amsterdam & Barcelona

For my last 2 weeks in Europe, I planned a couple quick trips so that I wasn't sitting in a Berlin apartment all week just eating yogurt (which there is nothing wrong with, as I fell in love with German yogurt).

Amsterdam was a spot that was 100% on my list, as it is the former home of my very dear friend Henri Hooft. Lucky for me, his daughter still lives there and she was my tour guide for the trip. A boat ride through the canals, a cup of the best ice cream I have ever had, and a delicious dinner t an amazing Chinese spot, all would not have been possible without her. I really dug the city. Cool shops, a busy downtown, and what seemed like a very open and diverse crowd. 

Amsterdam, Holland

I knew I wanted to go to Spain, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do Madrid or Barcelona. To be honest, it was just a coin flip. I speak bad Spanish, so I was excited to go somewhere where I could sort of communicate with the locals. In Berlin, my beyond awful German got me nowhere. Unfortunately, and to the shock of most, Barcelona didn't really do anything for me. Maybe I had been spoiled this whole trip with some amazing cities, so I was expecting too much. Either way, I'm glad I went, but I am a bit bummed that the city didn't really speak to me the way I had hoped. 

Barcelona, Spain

Bruges, Belgium

Bruges? Where is Bruges? I had never even heard of Bruges until James Law made me watch the film In Bruges. After seeing the movie, I searched and realized from photos that they weren't kidding. It's a Christmas card. When I got off the train I started walking down a street towards the main square and it was silent. There wasn't another person on the street. I felt like I was on a movie set. As I got to the square, I saw where all the people were hiding. Yet heading one street over, it was empty again. Absolute bliss. 

Senses Fail - Berlin

I saw that the band Senses Fail was coming to Berlin and it happened to line up with when I was here. I hit up the lead singer, Buddy, to see if I could swing by and shoot the show. I've "known" Buddy for many years now, but we've never met. And we still haven't. He was interested in doing something music and MMA related a long time ago. Then he gave me tickets to his San Diego show. Caught the show, never met up. Gave me tickets to his Berlin show. Caught the show, never met up. But it's ok. We have Instagram.

Capsize kicked the show off and they killed it. Then Buddy and Co. came on and did what they do best. Enjoy. 

CAPSIZE

SENSES FAIL

Rome, Italy

It was pretty amazing to walk down the street and just be engulfed in history. Amazing to look on one side of the road and see actual ruins, while on the other side, a team is digging up new artifacts. The Sistine Chapel was a bit of a let down for me, probably due to having an idea in my head as a small child of it being some monstrous room with a giant ceiling. However, the Basilica of St Peter did not disappoint. I was in complete awe the whole time I was inside. The highlight for me was the Colosseum. We took a night tour and were fortunate enough to be all alone inside for a good 20 minutes. Incredible to know all that had taken place right where we were standing.