Malaga

So I just woke up on our third day in Malaga and it is absolutely beautiful here. It is very urban yet right on the beach and Alicia have got to experience both. Since we got into Malaga a day early we decided to try a different hostel and chose one closer to the city center. It was called Picassos corner and was located centrally to all of the major Picasso locations. Picasso was born in Malaga.

Our first day we checked it got cleaned up and then went to explore the city. We climbed the Alcazabra and explored Gibralfaro castle. It was an extremely long tiring walk uphill in midday so it was hot. We wondered why we had showered. After that we went to Picassos house and wandered around for a bit.

We went back to our hostel and read in the hammocks upstairs which was lovely. There we met Alina a girl from Ohio who was traveling alone and two girls from Germany. It was really cool to talk with them about cultural differences and what not. Then we went down stairs and had dinner at our hostel. The guy who cooks is from Brazil and the game instantly became a party the whole hostel was watching and we had a blast especially because we won. We met Ross and Staci a newlywed couple on get this... Their 10 month honeymoon. They are going everywhere and while they were a bit eccentric they were so nice. Alina didn't make it down for dinner so we went with her and an Australian named Crissy out for tapas.

The next day we were switching hostels to the one we originally booked which is closer to the beach. Alina was switching hostels and well. We went out shopping in the morning and there were so many cute things. I have my heart set on getting a spanish straw fedora they are adorable. But I resisted and am planning to do most of my shopping in morocco or after.

The three of us then bused it down to our hostels and made plans for Alena to meet us at ours. We got to our hostel and while our last place was mixed shared rooms it took a little getting used too. We met a guy named Luke from th UK and we unpacked our stuff and got our beach stuff together. Alina got there and Luke kind of invited himself with us to the beach since his friend was already there. So to get this straight these guys are super nice like over the top almost weird nice.

We went to the store before the beach to get fruit and Luke tried to pay for everything. I put my foot down about that. He kept telling us that his friend was like his twin so when we were looking for him on the beach we expected a shorter african guy. Instead we got a skinny tall speedo wearing Irishman. It was all too weird.

His name was mark and he turned out to have a lot better people skills than Luke. We sat on the beach for hours under these little umbrellas reading or swimming in the Mediterranean. Luke and Mark wanted to make us dinner but Alina Lish and I politely refused. Alina went back to her hostel and Alicia and I got ready. Luke cut us up some watermelon. Like I said too nice haha. Then we picked Alina up in our super sweet ride the public bus and went back into town and watched the game at a bar but only after Alinas hostel owner had marked us sufficiently with a Espana flag pen.

Alicia got two numbers from strange older men and Alina and I laughed at the situation and anjoyed our free beers from it. The game was amazing and an older gentleman sat with us. I got to really practice my spanish here and was very proud of myself. Except after the game an awkward lunch invitation ensued which I turned down obviously. The guy was 40.

The three of us went out to dinner and enjoyed watching the town go crazy. It was a smaller version of Vancouver post Olympics. After dinner and a few drinks we just came home around 12:30ish. We said goodbye to Alina and Alicia and I came back here. We had a new rommate his name is Serg and he is from the Ukraine we chatted for a bit and then fell asleep.

I woke up early again. I really need to stop doing that or actually take naps I was exhausted yesterday. The spanish have it figured out all the shops close from 2 to 5:30ish and the restaurants from 4 to 8ish all for nap time. Its amazing.

Today we are thinking about renting bikes and possibly meeting up with Alina again. Its nice to have some company.

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Stranded in Valencia... Not so bad

So our last night in Ibiza was spent watching the USA Ghana game with our little hostel family and then going out dancing for a bit. We didn't do any of the majors clubs just went to a bar and sat outside, people watched, and then danced when it got later. They played really good music and it was a lot of fun.

The street that we were on was crazy and there were tons of people partying in the street. We really missed our girls though. Ibiza would have been a blast with everyone. Still it was an experience for sure.

The hippy market was awesome and luckily we didn't bring a lot of cash. Both of us could have spent a fortune there. We wandered around San Eularia afterwards and it was beautiful. Tons of topless tanners though which took some getting used to. After that we went out. I should have put this first but can't figure out how to copy/paste on here haha.

The next morning we took a five hour ferry to Valencia and were planning on taking the train to Madrid then down to Malaga that night but when we finally got to the train station which was an adventure with the backpacks(kelt and kermit) all of the trains were full. So we sat down for some lunch and rethought our plan. I had my first paella and it was wonderful.

During our lunch we talked with a family next to us from Florida. They have a son our age studying over here and they were visiting him. They were very interesting to talk with. We decided to stay the night in valencia and booked new train tickets for 6:50 the next morning. We then went on the longest adventure to find the cheapest youth hostel close to the train station only to find out it was closed. This was super frustrating and with our packs we were exhausted so we caved in and got a hotel room close to the station and took a nap.

We woke up to a saxophone player playing outside our window. We got up, got ready, and went out for tapas. We had a pitcher of sangria this time red wine, these delicious little bread things, and suckling lamb. We decided after our long frustrating day we deserved a good dinner.

The bread was covered in a finely ground bruschetta mixture, manchego cheese, and caramelized onions. The lamb was done with yellow potatoes and rosemary. We sat outside and listened to more street performers, Alicia was given a heart balloon by a clown.

Valencia is a very beautiful and romantic city. So far between this and Ibiza I choose Valencia. My mom is going to love it here and we are coming back around the 17th of july for the time we actually had scheduled.

.My spanish is getting better and it is making me happy. Currently I am cruising across Spanish back country on a train to Madrid then heading down to Malaga. We are going to go to the picasso museum, sea kayak, and hangout at the beach over the next three days. Let's see what actually happens. Hope you are all doing well send me facebook messages or emails. This phone is amazing for communication and the GPS has saved us numerous times.

Hasta luego
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First Few Days in Ibiza

So we have officially decided Ibiza is a lot like cabo with more irish and british people, different food, and bigger clubs. Our first night here we were so exhausted/ jet lagged that we slept until 9ish and then walked around town at 11ish but were both in really odd moods and didn't really feel like going anywhere.

The next morning we woke up around 9ish and wandered around the main part of San Antonio. We are staying here not in main Ibiza town. Our hostel is lovely and it is run by a couple their names are Maria and Fernando. We came back to the hostel around mid afternoon and swam, read, and took naps. Since Ibiza is a lot like cabo that's really all there is too do well that and party.

We slept through meal times again so I was starving. We wandered down to a cafe watched the end of the Portugal and Brazil game but they weren't serving any food. So we went back and hung out at the hostel and started getting ready for the night.

After i did my makeup I went and watched Spain play. They love their soccer here and fernando had invited his friends over they were setting off fireworks after the goals and having a great time. I met a couple from Scotland, Bruce and Tracy and their daughter Hope. They are long time friend of Fernando and Maria. Bruce was wearing a kilt and a Spain jersey it was great. I had a glass of wine with them and talk with Fernando my spanish is improving and a little wine helped a lot.

By this time Alicia had finished doing her hair and was wondering where I was and wandered down as well. Tracy loved that we were twins I left to go get ready and then we said our goodbyes, drank a bit in our room, and started our night around 10:30.

We listened to a jazz performance that was in the park and grabbed a table for dinner. We hadn't eaten all day and our few drinks were hitting us so we got a pizza so unconventional I know but so necessary. Then we split a pitcher of cava sangria which was AMAZING. We went to the Ibiza rocks hotel for the wonderland pre party and then went to Eden around midnight.

We have decided Ibiza isn't our scene. The clubs are great but its all house music and with only two people crazy clubbing is a bit off. We needed to branch out and meet people but everyone was very in their own groups and we were to tipsy to mind. We will do better tonight. We left fairly early for Ibiza around 2ish and picked up some chips and an uncooked pizza which we planned on eating later. I made some friends and shared my chips. We made it back around 3:30 with an uncooked pizza which we gave to the guy at the front desk to put in the fridge.

Its about ten thirty now and we are on a bus to San Carlos to go to the hippy market. We left so quickly this morning that I forgot to grab more cash so let's see what I can get with 20 euro and my credit card.
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We're going to Ibiza

So here we sit in the madrid airport on our three hour lay over to get on your flight to Ibiza. Our flights over here went fairly smoothly expect no first class. Oh well we had tons of leg room and got here on time. I sat next a very nice gentleman who was meeting his family in Madrid for vacation. They used to live here so he had tons of great insight into what to do and see. I slept terribly and dropped my sleeping pill so I had nothing. I ended up laying on the tray and when I woke up my neck hurt so bad.

So far our experiences in the Madrid airport have proven that our spanish is terrible yet we are some what communicating. There are smoking zones in the airport and it is strange but I was warned about the smoking habits of the locals. We are on our way to Ibiza and so far for plans we have the wonderland opening party tomorrow and then are planning on renting bikes and going to the local hippy market.

Today is just going to be a beach and dinner day we are pretty tired from lack of sleep and carrying our packs around.


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Sitting waiting wishing

We are sitting here in the vancouver airport running off of thirty minutes of sleep, a bagel, and some fruit. Its almost 6 in the morning and so far so good. SO CRAZY! On our way. Hopefully we can sleep since we arrive in Madrid at 7:20 and fly straight to Ibiza we definitely need our rest. Our aunt pam got us tickets to the wonderland opening party at Eden on friday which is awesome of her and really nice that we have thursday to settle. Well here's to safe travels...
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20th birthday and getting ready to leave

Things have been pretty crazy for me lately. I am getting everything organized to leave and want to throw my new blackberry at a wall I am so frustrated with it. First I find out skype doesn't work internationally which was a let down because I thought it would. Now my browser wont let me select anything, I can get to a web page but can't click on any links. So frustrating. On a more positive note when I figure out my browser crap I think JJ found a program called nimbuzz that will make my skype calls via the internet which means I can use it outside of my network, which means I can use it internationally. We'll see if it works, fingers crossed.

Other than that I feel really ready to go. I am all packed and just need a few more things. Dad surprised us on our birthday with upgraded tickets, so we are flying first class which is AWESOME. I am so lucky. Last week I celebrated my birthday with Matt and my family which was really nice. Matt was too good to me and we had a lot of fun before I left. I am really going to miss him, this is one of those growing experiences though. I had my family birthday dinner on friday night and then finalized packing for Canada.

We had a BBQ up here in Canada with our extended family and it was really great. I hadn't seen some of my aunts and cousins in forever and just sitting with everyone made me realize how blessed I am to have such amazing family members on both sides.

All in all just spending the next few days getting everything together, fixing this stupid browser problem, and spending time with the fam. We leave in close to 2 days because our flight is at 6:30 in the morning on Wednesday and it doesn't even seem real.

Viva Espana

So in eight days Alicia and I finally start our Summer in Spain. It is crazy that it is actually happening and so soon! We are spending around seven weeks abroad, mostly in Spain, and dabbling a bit in Morocco. If you want to see where we are and what we are doing you can follow me on here. I will try and write at least twice every place. I am crazy excited for this and we are doing so many amazing things I can't wait.

Here is our itinerary

24-27-Ibiza

27^th-29^th Murcia

29-1-Malaga-take train to Algeciras-take ferry to Tangier on the 1st

1-7-Tangier-night train to Marakech arrive in Marrakech on morning of 3^rd

7-10-Pamplona-Running of the Bulls

10- day trip to Sans Sebastian

11-16-Barcelona

16-19-Valencia

19-22-Granada

22-25-Cadiz

25-27-Sevilla

27-3-Madrid

This is our adventure and we'd love to share it with you, stay tuned!