I was fortunate enough to be able to take a quick trip to LA last weekend. Sure my work trip got canceled but, that didn’t mean I shouldn’t go to LA, right? Premium Shih flew in from Boise and we got to hang in LA just like old times. In-N-Out, Father’s Office, Neptune’s Net, and Barney’s Beanery were just some of the fun places we got to visit.

I got my first Thai Massage. No, there was not a ‘Happy Ending’ but I did get to have a 100 pound Thai woman grind her feet into my back for roughly an hour. Surprisingly not bad.

We saw a biker gang take over the Pacific Coastal Highway in Malibu outside of Neptune’s Net. It was truly something to see nearly 100 Harley Davidson motorcycles, all driven by hardcore bikers, completely stop traffic on one of the most famous highways in the world.

We even got to see Vampire Weekend at the Hollywood Bowl which turned out to be quite an experience and not in a good way. Picture thousands of screaming teenage girls acting like they just saw The Beatles. Generally we see great shows here so we’ll let this one slide.

Los Angeles is one of those places that’s hard to like on the surface but, once you get to know it a little, it becomes just like an old friend. It always makes me happy to visit, even if it’s only for a few days.

Here They Are. Enjoy.

While I needed to do some more shopping it seems we are destined to spend our last day in Barcelona simply walking around and looking for open cafes. The good news is we have seen a lot of the city today and the proud residents of Catalonia.

More pictures are below. Once we get back, I’ll publish a Picasa link for all the photos.

Until then…

FYI. Sagrada Familia is impossible to photograph due to its scale.

I have a ton more photos but, here are a few cool things we saw today.

We are recharging in a bar near La Rambla before tying a good one on tonight.

I want to move here immediately.

Here are a few photos. We’ve only been here a few hours but it’s already my favorite city in Spain.

What to know about Ibiza:

There are lots of Germans in Ibiza.

German women do not appear to like wearing clothing.

The Super Clubs are exactly what you expect (pricey drinks and amazing DJs)

Swiss people are fun.

Photos below.

12:30PM

Nearing the end of my nutritious lunch, I began to eyeball my banana with a deliciously murderous intent. As I contemplated my plan of attack, Mr. Banana promptly pleaded for his life. He has a wife and baby son who live in my fridge and wants to see them grow up big and strong. Since I’m a reasonable fellow, and mostly full from the rest of my lunch, I decided to delay the decision on his fate until 2PM.

The Introduction of Mr. Banana

1:30PM

Now I’ve given Mr. Banana a solid hour to plead his case while I digest the rest of my lunch. He really doesn’t have anything more to add other than wanting to see his kid grow up and something about there will be consequences if he is killed. Just when I am about to provide him a stay on his execution guess who shows up? None other that Nutella. If you are not familiar, Nutella is a scrumptious badass. Basically he jumps on almost any food and makes it even better. He likes his job. He’s good at his job. When someone questions eating something he gets rather upset.

Well friends, Nutella pulls out a knife and puts it up to Mr. Banana’s throat and says: “If you don’t kill this banana, I will.” That sounded pretty serious and tasty to me.

Nutella rolls up onto the scene and threatens Mr. Banana

1:45PM

At this point, Mr. Banana had to know it was not going to end well. He had a terrible start to his day when he got into my lunch bag and then watched as I devoured a PB&J sandwich, 20 baby carrots, and some crackers. Nutella and I prepared his execution William Wallace-style. Blindfolded, Mr. Banana makes one last plea for his life:

Mr. Banana makes a William Wallace-style final plea

2:00PM

I’m not going to lie. He was delicious and full of potassium. Mr. Nutella added a little extra sweetness to the story as well. I am afraid however that there will be consequences to my actions. As he lay split open on my desk he let out his death rattle:

The bell tolls for thee, Mr. Banana.

I fear the worst that tomorrow I will encounter his kin looking to avenge his death. Will Nutella and I be up for the challenge? Stay tuned to find out!