Ryan left last night from Chicago and he’s headed to Barcelona, Spain for six days. The trip includes side trips to Montjuic which is a big hill next to Barcelona, host to the Barcelona Olympics of 1992 and a spectacular display of architecture from all around Spain. Then onto Tibidabo, an even bigger hill, this time with a popular amusement park. And lastly, Sitges the best beaches in the area, just a stone's throw from Barcelona.

I'm worried about him though. I've been hearing some sketchy things about the Barcelona crime rate and how it's not the safest place right now. He keeps reassuring me and says that all tourists have to be extra cautious in any foreign city or even big American cities. You just have to use common sense. I suppose he's right.

He’s spending his 20th birthday on Sunday there too. If it were me, I’d be bummed if I was in a foreign country and spending my birthday with only two people I knew (and work people, nonetheless), but he’s excited. He always see's the positive in everything...which I think is a pretty awesome quality to have.

Barcelona. I can’t even imagine. He promises to take a lot of pictures. I told him to have someone take pictures of him so I can upload them to my blog. He said he would. The one crappy photo I took of him in Ohio doesn't do him justice.