Welcome back to my weekly update my loves! I hope you’re all enjoying my newly created Youtube channel with my travel vlogs, and if you haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, click this link. Don’t forget to subscribe when you get there, because I will be posting a new video in the next couple of days, and I want you all to be the first to know and see it! Thank you so much again for your support in all of my endeavors.
As you know from last week’s blog, I was in Barcelona and then Ibiza with my best friend almost since birth Maddie Pung. She came all the way from Florida where she is living to spend my spring break with me. Like I mentioned last week, every time Maddie is with me, I get a literal HEALTH CLEANSE and it is so invigorating. I always call weeks with her boot camp but I love her for it and she knows it. We are actually two very similar humans and we have always known that but more and more throughout the week that fact would be solidified.
The first few days, we walked around our cute little beach town of San Antonio in Ibiza and found the best restaurants to eat healthy at and our favorite was The Skinny Kitchen, which we went back to multiple times. One of the waitresses was from England and was living there for the summer and she became our friend and texted us many recommendations of places to go on the island! One afternoon, we walked to get gelato at the oldest shop in town and the adorable old lady who was the owner served us her homemade and delicious creation. They are all naturally flavored and in the mint chocolate chip you could literally see the tiny pieces of mint leaves that were used to flavor the gelato. It was probably the best I’ve ever had.
That night we went to dinner at K Vida, like I mentioned in last week’s post and I accidently ate the hottest pepper of my entire life. It was a Thai pepper... have any of you ever tried one? I would recommend against it; it immediately gave me the hiccups and I had a stomach ache the entire next day from it!
We woke up the next morning and went for another run, and decided to head to Ibiza the town for the day. We took the 45 minute drive on the city bus and arrived in Ibiza, did some shopping, and walked around the cute little town. In the center, there is a castle that is surrounded by giant fort walls. We walked to the top of the walls of the fortress and had an amazing view of the harbor. We shopped around and purchased necklaces together at a little jewelry store near the castle to remember the trip by. We decided to stay in Ibiza for dinner, after missing our bus back because we were having trouble getting money out of the ATM. We went to a really cute place inside the fort walls for a beautiful pasta dinner and just as we were about to leave, the table next to us invited us to join them. After a few minutes of talking, we discovered that one of the men used to be a manager for Queen the band while they were in Switzerland. He spent time with all of the members of the band, including Freddy Mercury, and if you know Maddie and I, you know that we thought that was the coolest thing ever. They were so kind, and shared their wine with us and ordered more pizza for the table before paying for our 30-euro taxi home because they didn’t want us to have to take the bus. The people you meet randomly can end up be the people you have the best time with and later turn into amazing connections! I truly do believe in having connections all around the world. I think in the long run, it will benefit both parties, and just makes you a better person with greater understanding of the world and it’s cultures.
The next day we headed back to Barcelona for the rest of the weekend. We arrived at our gorgeous Airbnb that had a beautiful view of a market across the street (stay tuned for my Barcelona YouTube video to see what I mean). We walked around the city a bit and found a cute bar to sit in while we made our dinner plans. The bartenders were incredibly friendly and gave us the best recommendations for traditional Spanish food places, because I wanted to show Maddie what I’ve really been eating the last few months. We went to the perfect place that happened to be just around the corner, and was complete with a piano player singing to us throughout the entire dinner of croquettas de jamon, tortilla, and patatas alioli. We went to bed that night still stuffed from dinner.
The next morning, we got up to eat some more and went to a beautiful breakfast place called Fig and Kale and I would HIGHLY recommend this if you ever go to Barcelona. We had an acai bowl and savory pancakes which tasted incredible. We then walked around the city and spent the night at a soccer bar to watch some Spanish fútbol, which was Maddie’s favorite. We again met some really fun people from Brazil and by the end of the night they were inviting us to come to their town so they could show us the beautiful coastal city that they are from.
The next day was Easter Sunday and we got up early to go to the Montserrat, the gorgeous monastery that is built on top of a mountain outside of Barcelona. We took the train there and did the two hour hike up the mountain to the mountain-top town. We had no idea what we were in for. The hike was actually very strenuous and felt a bit like rock-climbing at times. It was soooo fun and had the most incredible views. Maddie and I agreed it was a highlight of our trip. We reached the top of the mountain and just as we arrived, a mass was about to start. I got so emotional because I didn’t think that I would be able to attend Easter mass for the first time in my life and then I could, and then I got even more emotional because I wasn’t spending it with my family. I was so thankful that it worked out perfectly into our schedule for me to go and I felt so close to God being there on top of a mountain on Easter in His house. When I left mass, Maddie had bought a tiny
silver Virgin Mary ring for me so that I would never forget this day and this place and I was nearly brought to tears again for how wonderful of a best friend she truly is.
The rest of the day, we spent hiking to different viewpoints on the top of the mountain, and to a gorgeous cross that overlooks the valley below. We caught the cable car back down the mountain and the train back to the city. We stopped at my Airbnb and had to say goodbye before I headed off to the airport to go back to Sevilla.
We had an absolutely incredible trip together and I am so so blessed that Maddie was able to visit me. I am so thankful to have her in my life and making these memories together meant so much to me. I hope you all enjoyed this week’s Weekly Dose of Sunshine, and thank you so much for reading! Like I said before, stay tuned for the vlog I will be posting soon on the trip, and I subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive a notification when I post! Have a lovely rest of your week.
XOXO
AV
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"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
