Ibiza Perfect, Ibiza Pretty
My first trip out of the country was during Easter break to Spain. It was well needed after I studied so hard for the Art exam… It all started when Christine and I flew to Barcelona. We still think back to Barcelona and laugh, because we don’t believe that the whole trip was absolutely perfect and flawless- If you know me, then you know it is strange for my life to not have any minor (or major) hiccups.
When we touched down in Barcelona, the entire plane began to cheer and clap. It was hilarious- it seems like the Italians don’t travel on planes often, because apparently that happens on EVERY RyanAir landing. Anyways, we were immediately mesmerized by 1)the COLOR: people wearing color, walls being painted, and the sun illuminating the buildings (Italy is the opposite). 2) The palm trees, we weren’t ready to be immersed in the tropics so soon. 3) How easy the lifestyle is… almost too easy?… We grabbed our bags from luggage claim and continued to find the bus to take us to the center of Barcelona. About to board the bus, we really thought the day had been going way to perfect, we must’ve been forgetting something, right?! We stopped and looked at each other… CUSTOMS. We left the bus stop and went back into the airport, looking all over for customs, but it was back at our gate, and we couldn’t get back in the airport. We asked airport officials to help us (Catalan is very similar to Italian so we got by speaking Italian the whole trip)- and when 2 customs officers came to help us they just laughed at us… we don’t ever have to go through customs in the EU because we have living permit for Italy (so that is why I spent months waiting around Italy’s beurocracy system and I paid 250euro for a permesso di soggiorno). We laughed, and left the airport.
Barcelona was sunny and 75. We strolled through La Ramblas with our huge backpacks and stumbled upon our hostel, Sun and Moon. We spent the rest of the day exploring the Barri Gotic, looking the colorful jewelry that vendors were selling, and eating Spanish nachos at the famous outdoor food market. We stumbled toward a waterfront mall that we didn’t know existed and we later returned for Sangria with our friend Alex whose trip to Barcelona was overlapping ours. We returned to our hostel late at night to find that the other 4 bunks had become occupied by mystery people. It was my first time staying in a hostel, and we began to freak out. Who were these other people? Were they dudes? Was it worth it to live with randos for only 14 euros a night? They came in, and they were actually 4 friends traveling together from Spain. The second day was absolutely perfect. We got up early, ate our free breakfast, which consisted of a basket filled with 5 types of bread. We ate two of them and rationed the other slices for later in the day so we wouldn’t have to buy food. We began a “free” walking tour – our group was the guinea pigs for the new, 13 mile trek all over Barcelona to see all the architecture that Gaudi created in the city. It was stunning; the wavy, unique style of Gaudi is unparalleled. We ended the tour at the HUGE Sagrada Familia.
We were so tired after the Gaudi tour, but we kept going. We strolled through gardens, stopped at a store and found whole mangos for only 1 Euro (they are 5euros in Italy!). Without a fork and knife, we peeled the skin back with our teeth and ate our mangos right out of our hands as we strolled in the direction of the beach- it was so comical, and so tasty. Before finally arriving at the beach, Christine spotted a deal at a restaurant. It was such a gem- a local spot, with the best paella and pitcher of Sangria. At night we went to the Magic Fountain: this grand 3-part fountain that is at a top of the hill where you can see the entire skyline of Barcelona! It was strange, because the time listed were wrong, so about 1,000 people who were ready to watch the show at 7 turned grouchy after waiting an hour. We left our seats, but just to explore the sites around the huge fountain. About 8:15 the sun went down, and I saw the prettiest sunset, and I thought wow! God wanted me here early to see a show, but not the magic fountain, to see his show, the best one!. I also just love sunsets, so it was amazing. After climbing more stairs, our path crossed with Alex’s again, which is almost impossible because there were atleast 1,000 people there. Then, at 9, the water started rushing down from the top tier of the mountain, through the middle, and then began filling the Magic Fountain in color and all its glory. I left so overwhelmed in joy, and also extremely tired and crashed at the hostel, (I slept talked in Italian and the Spanish girls woke me up 3 times to stop hahaahah).
The third day we did some final exploring then went back to the food market for fresh, famous juice (I got raspberry-coconut… DELISH) and we split the Spanish nachos again. Then, we went to the airport for catching our plane for Ibiza. We arrived 2 hours early, leaving plenty of time. Somehow we were selected for a whisky tasting in the duty free store. After buying some Bacardi that was on sale (We had to- the Bacardi famiy was from Barcelona and commissioned some of the architecture we saw!), we meandered towards the gate. Yikes! Where was everyone? They made the announcement that the gate was closing, and we started to walk a little faster… we barely made it onto the plane, but because we were the last ones on the plane, they bumbed us up to the exit row. Thank you, RyanAir. We left, and found Gerard, our AirBnB host who I fell in love with, and he took us back to the apartment we would be staying at for 5 days in paradise.
Ibiza was beautiful with turquoise water, cliffs with a beach cove that view the rocky islands, and a piazza with surrounding bars and live music. We explored our first morning by taking an island run and finding the coolest public workout machines on one of the trails. During our trip we visited three different beaches- my favorite was the cliffs. At the cliffs, there were little nooks, and not-so-hidden spots for people to lay out… completely nude. It made the European topless beaches seem so normal. The last full day we had in Ibiza was my 21st birthday! It was the most unique day, and while I wish I was with my best friends and family from home, I made sure that throughout the day everyone would know it was my birthday (#delli #diva). I woke up, and immediately put on my flower crown- I never took it off. We went shopping, then went to Comidas San Juan… the best restaurant ever! Someone tipped us to go there, and to arrive promptly when it opened. Luckily we did because a line had started at the locked doors! Once it opened, they sat everyone, but sat two random women at our table for 6 with our group of 4. Excuse me, did they not know that is strange… or that it was my birthday and I wanted to be with my girlz? Anyways, it turned out to be a great thing- they were two sisters from Sicily. So, we talked with them in Italian the whole dinner! Two others from the table close to ours overheard our Italian and introduced themselves as brother and sisters Stefano and Silvia from Trieste. They squatted at our table for an hour after they finished their meal because they were forced to give up their chairs. They waited for our table to finish eating, and all 8 of us went out for drinks and shots in the piazza with music! It was so spontaneous, so unplanned, and I couldn’t believe that was my birthday in paradise!
On the morning of our flight I got up at 6:30 to go to the cliffs by myself and say goodbye to Ibiza while watching the sunrise. I spent an hour there, returned, and everyone packed, but we realized that we had so much delicious Spanish lemon-beer and terrible cheap wine leftover (I’m a wine snob now that I live in Italy). Before our 9am flight, Alena and I took care of it all. We got to the airport and Stefano and Silvia were actually on the same flight as us, so we got another 2 hours with them. The plane landed, and once again we clapped and cheered with the other Italians. It was a trip of a lifetime, thank you, Spain.
As always- it’s good to be back home in the Bo. I have to give a huge shoutout to my lovely mother who made me feel so loved when a package was waiting for me upon my arrival. Inside, there was a sweet card, Ziplock bags, cookies, and my favorite ranch that will last me the rest of my stay! It was the best gift and made me laugh so hard in the office.