To round out our 2016 trip to Europe, we just had to Stop in the United Kingdom to visit one of my best friends, Kirsty, and her family.  We spent three nights at a hotel called Thistle which was right by Trafalgar Square in the heart of London (Thistle Trafalgar Hotel).  It was modern, clean and incredibly centrally located.

I had been to London, Oxford, and Brackley back in 2011 when I was studying abroad in Greece so I had five specific things I wanted Scott to experience:

1. Indian Food
2. London Theatre
3. A Sunday Roast
4. Afternoon Tea
5. A Bus Tour

The first thing had to be the incredible Indian food that is ALL over the United Kingdom.  Indian food in the UK is like Mexican food in The States, and it’s amazing!  Rather than going to a curry house of which there were many, we went to a more gourmet Indian experience and chose a restaurant close to our hotel called Lotus (http://www.lotus.london).  Unfortunately, Lotus is now closed, but we had a great time there sampling some dishes we’d never seen at Indian restaurants before.

Scott and I spent a very short time taking in the sights before we had to take the Underground (London’s version of the subway) to a train station and get ourselves out to the countryside to see Kirsty.  As incredible as London is, there is something about the English countryside that really called to us.  It is vibrantly lush and green and the people are kind.  We were exhausted and amazed so we completely forgot to take photos, but we adored our train rides out to Kirsty’s house.

Upon arriving in Brackley, we settled in to Kirsty’s guest room and prepared for dinner with her parents and brother.  We drove a short way out from Brackley (on the opposite side of the road which was trippy for Scott at first) to Aynho and came to a small farm-like restaurant nestled into the green hills of England called The Great Western Arms (https://www.great-westernarms.co.uk/index.html).  This was some of the best British food of our entire stay here in the UK and it was gorgeous!

The next day, we scooped up Kirsty and took her back to London with us where we all stayed at The Thistle and played tourists for a day.  There is SO much to see in London so we all bought a Red Bus hop-on-hop-off tour and spent the day driving around and staring in awe.  The coolest thing about London, to me, is the juxtaposition of new and old everywhere you look.  There is nothing like it in The States.  There are glass and steel skyscrapers in the background and ancient stone castles in the foreground.  Scott was shooting off of the open air bus for hours and I could post his photos for days.  Here is a sample of the sights:

That evening we went out to a casual restaurant that Kirsty had been dying to show Scott (because Scott’s favorite food is simply: chicken) called Nando’s (Nando’s Website).  This place is so popular in the UK that they even have a slang phrase “Cheeky Nando’s” for when someone is being feisty.  It definitely lived up to the hype.

After dinner, it was time to see a show.  Similar to New York, you have to see a show if you’re in London.  Every day they sell discount tickets, dinner-and-a-show packages, and other ways to have the experience at a discounted rate.  In 2011, Kirsty and I saw Chicago and it was my first live musical.  It was life-changing.  This time, we all decided to see Thriller, which was a montage of Micheal Jackson songs.  I’ve NEVER seen an audience get so involved in a show, the energy was so high and the performers looked like they were having the time of their lives.  We even got to meet some of the cast members after thoroughly enjoying a night of theatre.

We finished with a few drinks at a pub in London in a trendy area and met some true characters before crashing after a long, active day.

The next day Kirsty had to return home to Brackley and Scott and I had another day to explore the city.  At this point, we had been abroad for a couple of weeks and were starting to miss our bed, our dogs, and our friends, but we were determined to see what we could see.  So, we took the advice of some friendly strangers and went to check out some of London’s amazing shopping.

If you’re shopping in London, your first stop should definitely be Oxford street.  Here you can find everything from low budgets trends to high end fashion statements and I bought enough to fill a second suitcase (which I did not have, oops!).

One of the last items on our list was a famous British Sunday Roast.  Scott and I got reservations at a very fine London hotel and had the experience of a roast with all the fixens:  Yorkshire pudding, roasted carrots and potatoes, roasted turnips, au jus, etc.  You can literally find this at almost every pub, restaurant or hotel in England on any given Sunday.

Then we went to one of London’s incredible street markets: Camden Passage.  The street markets in London are like nothing I’ve ever seen before (they blow Seattle’s Pike Place Market out of the water).  These places are eclectic, hectic and exciting.  I believe that everyone who travels should collect something.  In every country I visit, I find a piece of street art so that I can be taken back to that place whenever I see that particular piece.  In the markets of London, we found some of the BEST and most affordable street art hidden in their crazy bazaars throughout the city.  We bought some for our home, our friends’ homes and still wanted more.  We also found jewelry, clothing, and food that we couldn’t resist.

After shopping and exploring until our feet were about to fall off, we visited a curry house near our hotel for the second or third time called Salt N’ Pepper (http://www.saltnpepperuk.com) and returned to our hotel room to drop off our loot.

For our final night in Europe, we were so tired we couldn’t imagine another dinner out or walk around the city, so we simply revisited the theatre district and discovered what it was like to go to the movies in London.  We saw The Secret Life of Pets and ended our night early to get ready for the long flight home.

The one thing on our list that we didn’t get to do this time was Afternoon Tea.  This was one of my favorite experiences from my first trip, I guess that means we will just have to plan a return visit to one of my favorite cities!!

-Lexi

During our time in Europe, we spent the majority of the trip in Spain with the intention of going to the UK to visit one of my best friends (and bridesmaids) on our way home.  However, we couldn’t resist the temptation to stop in Paris since neither of us had ever been there.  It’s one of the most famous cities in the world!  How could we not?!  We didn’t have a ton of extra time in our itinerary so we were only able to stay in Paris for about 48 hours, but we squeezed a lot out of that limited time.  As always, Scott took some incredible photos of this timeless city.

The first night, we arrived fairly late in the afternoon/early evening.  We took a LONG taxi ride through incredibly dense traffic to the heart of the city.  We noticed several things on this ride.  First, Parisian drivers are the most terrifying we’ve seen so far.  They didn’t seem to care for other vehicles, pedestrians, motor scooters or bicycles.  They would honk and yell out their windows at one another and I had never been so grateful to not have a rental car.  Second, we were reminded immediately that there were soccer finals going on and Parisian fans represented the teams they supported with a fury I hadn’t yet witnessed.  There were flags flying out of vehicle windows, people yelling off of balconies and out of their cars, it was madness.  Finally, Paris has ethnic districts unlike any I have seen.  When we entered the city, it was as if we were in India, then we transitioned into Africa, then China.  Every block seemed to have signs in a different language, clothing of a different style and people of a different color.  Once we arrived in the center of the city, however, it became extremely diverse.  You could hear different languages all around you and the city was full of life and color.

Our hotel was very urban and the entry way was hardly noticeable stuffed between different storefronts as it was.  We hurried up to our TINY hotel room (we didn’t even have a place to set our suitcases other than the bed) and quickly changed so that we could enjoy our first of only two nights in Paris.

Our hotel was just down the street from The Louvre which was on our agenda for the following day.  Not knowing the city at all, we went towards the only landmark we knew from our taxi ride, The Seine River, and started to explore.  Sun was setting over The Seine, we caught our first glimpse of the tip-top of The Eiffel Tower and could see the ferris wheel spinning amongst the fire-orange clouds.

We stood on the bridge for a while, taking it all in.  We watched river boats cruise up and down under the bridges, couples walked along the sidewalks that lined the canal-like river, lovers stopped for sunset photos, and locals marched home from work or out for a meal.

One of the things we were most excited to experience in Paris was THE FOOD, of course! We had dinner reservations for the following evening, but the first night we were flying by the seat of our pants.   We saw a restaurant a couple blocks away directly on the river and thought that it looked inviting and traditional so we walked over and hoped it wasn’t too fancy to allow a couple of tired looking walk-ins.

We were seated right away and we were NOT disappointed.  In fact, this impromptu, late dinner was our favorite of all the Parisian eating experiences we had during this short visit.  The restaurant was called La Frégate (http://alafregate.fr/en).  We started our meal with Foie Gras, which Scott had never had, and my first taste of French red wine.  I was totally in love with French wine after this night.  Growing up in Washington wine country, I’ve always loved wine and I’m turning Scott into quite the wine-o, as well.

We then ordered entrees that we thought would give us a true taste of French fine dining.  Scott got rack of lamb and I got duck with raspberry sauce.  We savored these meals because, though simple, they were EPIC.

After an delectable dinner, we strolled along the river under the street lights for a little longer before returning to our tiny room and passing out.  We had big plans for our one and only full day in Paris which was yet to come.

The next morning we had early passes to The Louvre.  We got up, showered in the teeny tiny bathroom, got a coffee and a croissant (something I had also REALLY been looking forward to), and walked the short walk to The Louvre.  We were immediately overwhelmed.  The outside of The Louvre is a work of art in itself and spans 652,000 square feet.  The courtyards are all immaculately landscaped and the entrance to The Louvre is a glass pyramid with escalators inside.  We knew we were only going to be able to see a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of pieces inside.

We chose to see Greek sculptures, Renaissance paintings, ancient Egyptian works, and historical Christian pieces.  Essentially we were following the yellow-brick road that would lead us to the Mona Lisa (which is what every other patron seemed to be doing, as well).  Although we have about 100 photos of the pieces, murals and rooms at The Louvre, I’ve chosen only a few to share here.

When we got to the Mona Lisa, we were shocked by how tiny the painting was.  She was contained behind a wall of glass and hundreds of  pushy tourists were snapping photos of her.  Surrounding her, were hundreds of incredible, large-scale, paintings from the same time period that were equally awe-inspiring, but were ignored due to the fame of this one portrait.  It was quite a scene to take in.

Eventually, our eyes and legs were exhausted from scouring the rooms and walls of this immense museum.  We had so much more to see and decided to return to our hotel room, change into some walking shoes, and hit the streets of Paris.  Of course, we had to stop first and get some lunch at a corner cafe and get some to-die-for fresh fruit juice.

One of the landmarks I most wanted to see was Notre-Dame de Paris.  I had grown up watching the Disney movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I wanted to see it with my own eyes.  I was amazed at the skills of the animators.  They were able to take an incredibly ornate, stone structure and turn it into a cartoon while preserving the character of such a place.  I felt like I actually recognized some of the gargoyles.  One of the things you don’t get to see in the cartoon, however, is the garden.  The courtyard at Notre-Dame is just as gorgeous as the bell towers that have become so well known.

After Notre-Dame (which was quite a trek from our hotel), we did some more walking along The Seine, explored the street markets for souvenirs, and returned to the hotel to get dressed up for our planned Parisian fine dining experience.

For dinner we had reservations at Le Violon d’Ingres (http://www.maisonconstant.com/violon-ingres/) which we found by searching “fine dining near The Eiffel Tower”.  Before hailing a taxi to take us towards the 7th arrondissement of Paris (the district in which The Eiffel Tower resides), we stopped in a small bar near our hotel and ordered a few glasses of wine.  The bar tender was friendly and informative and helped me pick out some new favorite varieties of French wine.

At Le Violon d’Ingres we ordered a bottle of wine and both decided to enjoy their tasting menu.  This was a six-course meal with two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts.  The unanimous favorite course was the first one: a truffle bisque with tiny bits of fried pork belly.  This course set the tone for a ridiculously rich meal (thankfully the courses were quite small) complete with pigeon, macaroons, and a salad with a soft-boiled egg on top.  We were so enraptured with the food that we completely forgot to take pictures of the stunning presentations.  After the third, surprise dessert course, I was stuffed and uncomfortable wearing a pretty tight, red dress but so satisfied.  We decided to walk off our feast by heading over to The Eiffel Tower.  As the evening sun went down, we watched the famous tower light up.

We had NO IDEA that the final soccer game was letting out at the same time and as we came upon The Eiffel Tower (which had a huge inflated soccer ball hanging from it) the streets became FLOODED with angry or ecstatic fans.  Feeling full from a rich meal, we were overwhelmed in such a huge, rowdy crowd.  We found some steps that led directly into The Seine and we wet our feet while the world calmed down around us.

This marked the end of our one day in Paris.  The next morning we would be getting up very early and flying to London where Scott and I would meet up with my dear friend, Kirsty, and visit with her and her family.  Someday we will return to Paris and enjoy the plethora of things we weren’t able to see during the hours we had in the summer of 2016.

After spending seven days on El Costa del Sol (the Southern coast of Spain) with Scott’s family, we set off on our own to spend four days on the Spanish island of Ibiza.  Of course, Ibiza has a reputation as the party mecca of Europe with it’s mega-clubs and easy access to substances of all kinds.  This reputation spiked even more in 2016 with Mike Posner’s hit song “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”.  We learned very quickly, however, that Ibiza has more to offer than a fantastic party scene and we had a blast exploring and learning about this amazing place.

The view upon flying into Ibiza was undeniably spectacular!  I had been to the Greek island Mykonos before in 2011, but we took a ferry.  This was my first time arriving on an island by plane and it was an incredible sight.  We could see entire bays filled with super-yachts and turquoise waters turning into a deep blue.  We weren’t able to get great photos from our airplane window, but we definitely tried:

Arriving in Ibiza felt similar to arriving in Las Vegas.  You cold feel the excited energy on the plane (especially as people hit the runway and rushed into the airport).  Everyone expected to have the time of their lives.

Our first order of business was to check into our hotel and get a refreshing beverage.  We stayed at a super modern hotel called “Midjorn” in close proximity to some of Ibiza’s largest clubs and most popular restaurants.  There was a pool in the center of our hotel that bumped dance music nearly 24/7.  We went to the bar nearest to pool for our first drink.  Scott was smart and ordered a delicious mojito.  I tried to be adventurous and order something new (but with coconut which is my favorite) so I decided to try something called cachaça.  It came in a bag and must be an acquired taste…

After a couple of cocktails, it was time to wander the beach and find a good place to score some grub.  We ended up just following the noise of music and raised voices to an open-air restaurant called Bora-Bora Ibiza which opened up onto the beach.  This was pretty much what most people expect from Ibiza…mass amounts of alcohol and people dancing on plastic table tops in the late afternoon.  Unfortunately, the food did not align with the crowds of patrons at this restaurant, but we were hungry and getting exhausted from our flight so we chowed down and went back to Midjorn to pass out for an early evening nap.

We didn’t sleep long because the pool was still blasting music outside our window and we were excited to check out this famous club scene!  The night scene in Ibiza doesn’t start until after midnight, but I threw on a sun dress and we hit the street.  Luckily, Midjorn was on the same street as one of the clubs we had heard the most about called Space.

We stopped at an open-air bar to get a couple of drinks before the club and wait for things to really pick up.  We watched as people in crazy clubbing outfits strutted past and drug dealers yelled at people blatantly on the street.  They would advertise marijuana, but we would hear people ask them point-blank about more risqué inventory.  Although this was some of the best people watching I had ever seen, it was eventually time to continue the walk to Space.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any photos of Space, but it was certainly a sight to be seen.   It had tons of different rooms on different levels and each room had different music and an entirely different scene.  One room was neon-tiedye-70’s themed and full of people reenacting the Summer of Love.  Another, was mostly red and patrons were smashing their glasses all over the floor (we didn’t stay here long).  Still another was a super-rave with a massive light show, DJ, and dance performers.  We spent most of the time on a jungle themed patio with throw-back hits playing to people who wanted a more chill dance party.  We arrived expecting to stay an hour or two, but ended up leaving at 5AM.  The party was still in full swing and did not look like many people had any intentions of heading home.  Space was purchased by a competitor and shut down within a month of our visit so I’m glad we saw this “super club” when we did.

The next day was all about exploring this stunning island.  We woke up at a decent hour, grabbed a quick breakfast at the restaurant in our hotel and took our beach towels down to the sand.  More so than the mainland, the women here had the tendency to sun bathe topless (including myself, when in Rome, right?) and club promoters would walk the beach interrupting conversations and trying to give special access to whichever attraction they were selling.  We ended up talking to some of these promoters for quite a while and buying discount tickets to see David Guetta the following night.

After we felt good and crispy, we needed to find a good spot for lunch.  We found another open-air restaurant with a much more grown-up vibe called Restaurante Moorea.  We ended up eating here every day while we were in Ibiza.  They had a huge variety of food, super friendly staff, and a good selection of wine.

After lunch, we took a taxi to the other side of the island.  We walked down the coast to the edge of a cliff side that came straight out of the sea.  We were able to see miles of coast line and some of the more popular places for Ibiza visitors to take their yachts.  I wanted to come this way because I heard you could see a filming location from one of my favorite shows, Game of Thrones.  The scenery did not dissapoint.

The ancient stone wall on the cliff you see in the photos led all the way up and around the hill side to a castle in the distance (you can see it in the last photo).  We decided we had to make this hike (even though I was in flip-flops) to explore this relic of medieval times.  This walk straight up hill took some time, but we saw amazing things along the way:  super yachts parked in the marina, alley ways with bright purple flowers hanging out of the windows, restaurants that set up their tables on the sidewalks where the locals would eat, monuments, a ridiculous amount of scooters and more breath-taking views.

Eventually we discovered a short cut through an ancient tunnel that had had electricity added in the relatively recent past.  It took us up the remaining height of the hill to a castle and a chapel.  The building was closed to tourists, but we were able to check out the outside and imagine what this place would have looked like in its glory days.

What goes up must come down: it was now time to make the hike back down the winding cobblestone roads.  We ended this adventure the way we do so many when we are on vacation: with a delicious glass of wine.  This one just happened to have a view of multimillion dollar yachts coming in and out of docks nearby, and locals walking their dogs on the boardwalk (I was more interested in the dogs than the yachts, of course).

We took a taxi back home and ended our second day on this island with a relaxed dinner and an early night.

The following day we had another long lounge on the beach and a refreshing lunch at Moorea.  We knew we had a big night ahead so we took our day slowly and made sure to nap.  Eventually, it was time for our only big show during our time in Ibiza: David Guetta at Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel.  Unlike our experience at Space with a room for every level of party animal, David Guetta was a true rave in the open courtyard of a massive hotel.  It was extremely crowded, but we found a spot against a fence at the far right of the stage.  The fence was directly under the balconies of hotel suites so we watched hotel guests experience the show from their room in style.  During the opening act, Afrojack, we took in the sights including large art installments throughout the courtyard.  One of them was a faucet in mid-air with running water cascading down to the ground.  It was hilarious watching people stare in awe not able to figure out how this was possible.

When the sun went down, David Guetta came on and the energy of the crowd changed completely.  People rushed to the stage, got out props, and began dancing as only ravers do.  I was overwhelmed so Scott took me to a bench to listen and watch the spectacle.  Guetta’s set was SO SO GOOD and we ended up being some of the last people to leave.  The show ended at 2AM which is extremely early for a night in Ibiza to end so we walked straight from the courtyard out onto the beach.  We laid in the sand, listened to music on our phone, stared at the city lights along the coast and talked about how our life together is changing.  After some comical encounters with other people ending their nights out (such as a girl who decided her friends weren’t as fun as we were and a man who had lost his phone AND his pants), we were pretty much alone on the beach in a pitch black night.  As ridiculous as it sounds, we decided to take our shoes off, put my phone in Scott’s pocket, and slow dance knee-deep in the waves to the soft music coming from my iPhone.  A night that began with a massive, overwhelming crowd full of loud and extreme music ended with just us, the city lights, a black ocean, and the quiet voices of Adele, Tom Petty and Bob Marley.

The next day was one of my favorite days of this entire trip!  We took a catamaran tour to a tiny crescent beach a little ways out from the main island.  Apparently, this beach continuously makes in onto the lists of most beautiful beaches in the world and I definitely see why.  In all honesty, the catamaran ride wasn’t my favorite activity.  We didn’t realize that this was marketed as a “family cruise” complete with face painting, pirate themed games, and a kid-friendly lunch.  I love kids, but I’m prone to seasickness and my stomach was uneasy from the night before, a quiet cruise would have been nice.  However, the less-than-ideal boat ride brought us to the place that I most want to revisit in the entire world (so far).  We had to unload from the catamaran straight into the ocean which was crystal clear and wade to shore through schools of fish.  Scott and I decided to trek far away from the catamaran (and the kids) to our own little slice of white sand and the hour we got to spend here was not nearly enough.

We spent one more (very exhausted) evening in Ibiza, went to bed early and boarded our flight for Paris the next day.  Ibiza may have a reputation as the greatest place to party and dance in the world (which it more than deserves), but it is so much more than that.  It’s an island filled with people from a plethora of different countries (I heard more languages here than anywhere else), history, architecture, food, and incredible beaches.  Scott and I loved our time here, and fully intend to return.

Next time, we head to Paris!  Although we only spent two nights here, we crammed in a multitude of new experiences and I will have plenty to write about.

-Lexi

I’m fortunate enough to have a grandmother who has been to Europe a few times.  When she heard I was going to Southern Spain she said, “If at all possible, take the drive to Cádiz.”  I could not be more glad that I heeded her advice and we took the 2.5 hour long drive along the coast to this incredible city.  Of the excursions we took whilst staying in Málaga, Cádiz was BY FAR my favorite place.

Luckily, it wasn’t hard to convince Scott’s family that this would be a road trip worth taking.  We loaded into our tiny, black, European car and started our journey West.  This was our first major excursion in which we were able to drive ourselves (and not get nauseous on an over-stuffed bus) and it was amazing to get to see the Spanish countryside in a more intimate manner.  We saw coastlines, mountains, tiny villages, acres of sunflower fields and  whitewashed towns nestled into hillsides.

When we arrived in Cádiz, we began wandering through quintessential, narrow, European alleys.  We were there fairly early in the day, but we were craving paella so we found a small restaurant that was cooking up their first batch of the day.  We agreed that it would be nice to simply sit, sip some drinks, watch the passerby and wait for the freshest paella we could possibly get.

During our time in Spain, we explored many grand and incredibly ornate cathedrals.  The most elegant and interesting of all of these places, was the Catedral de Cádiz.  The photos below outline our discovery of the detailed arches, expansive pews, and ancient crypt below.

After thoroughly trekking through the interior of the cathedral, we went back out into a beautiful and bustling square and saw that one of the bell towers was open for exploration.  It was a long, long climb through narrow passage ways to the top, but we couldn’t resist.  Scott’s grandma agreed to wait on the elegant stone steps of the cathedral while we made the climb to the top.  We could not have anticipated the views we would be rewarded with.  The bells of this cathedral spend their days peering out over 360 degree views of the entire city and two stunning coastlines.

After seeing the city in its entirety from an elevated view, we decided to see some of it up close and personal on foot.  We took the climb back down the tower and walked down the coast line.  We stopped several times to take in new views of the city and eventually came upon a castle.  The castle was only accessible by one pathway that cut through the turquoise waters.  We had a blast running down the bridge path and jumping off of it onto micro beaches and rocks with waves crashing against them.

Our one week in Málaga had many excursions to lovely places such as Gibraltar, Ronda, and Puerto Banús, but if I could revisit just one of these places it would most certainly be Cádiz.  The scenery, food, history, and culture were astounding and we were only there for a matter of hours!  Should we return to Southern Spain in our lifetime, Cádiz will definitely be our home base.

This is the final installment of our time on the Spanish mainland.  My next account will take us to the Spanish island of Ibiza were Scott and I spent four days alone dancing, exploring, eating, people watching, and getting much more sunshine.

-Lexi

Continuing through our week long stay in Málaga takes us on an excursion Westward to a city called Ronda.  Ronda is an ancient city filled with history.  You can truly feel the years that have passed as you take in the structures surrounding you (new, old and older).  Even more awe inspiring than the man made marvels of this city, are the geographical visions that contrast so dramatically with the beach town we were staying in nearby.  Ronda is settled into mountainous terrain with a massive canyon cutting clean through the center of it.  It’s surrounded by vineyards and farmland which can be seen for miles due to the peak vantage points of the city.

We woke up early on this day to catch a bus which took us on a long, winding (and pretty nauseating) bus ride up the mountains.  We then took a tour through the city from which we were able to see historical infrastructure, churches and buildings.

We were amazed by how much care goes into the parks of Spain in general, and Ronda was no exception.  The had immaculate parks like the one below where tourists and locals alike would gather and rest their tired feet.

One of the themes of our time in Spain seemed to be exploring old and incredibly ornate chapels, churches, and even crypts.  We saw our first of many incredible religious masterpieces during our trek through Ronda.

Much of the more recent history in Ronda is centered around bull fighting.  Though most tourists think of Barcelona or Madrid when they think of this famous tradition, Ronda is home to Pedro Romero.  Pedro Romero is one of the most famous and celebrated figures in the history of the sport in Spain.  He legacy is celebrated all throughout this town and we were lucky enough to walk in his footsteps at the bull ring.

At the end of the tour we were able to go into a wine cellar and sample several different varieties.  There were tapped barrels throughout the room from which you could fill your glass.  I won’t lie, there was not one sample that would have enticed me to buy a bottle.  Next time we are going straight to the real wineries rather than a tourist attraction.  Still, the experience was great and wine culture is evident in Ronda.  We had fun sampling and sitting around on wine barrels talking about the good wine we would be having for lunch with one of our many rounds of paella (a famous Spanish rice dish that I ate as often as possible)!

When the tour came to and end, we had the time to wander the city, shop, eat paella and take in the sights.  This is when we truly got to appreciate the canyon.  It was startlingly deep, with cliff sides, waterfalls, and plants growing in seemingly impossible places.  Most impressively, it was spanned by a monstrous stone bridge made by ancient Spaniards.  This was my favorite part of this historical and gorgeous place.

Next time, I get to write about our final excursion during our time in Málaga and my FAVORITE Spanish city, Cádiz.  Scott’s photos of both Ronda and Cádiz are mind blowing and I can’t wait to share them with you all!

-Lexi

Towards the end of June 2016, Scott and I took our first transatlantic flight as a couple and traveled to the Southern coast of Spain.  We met his mother, grandmother and little sister there for a week of exploring El Costa del Sol before continuing on to Ibiza, Paris and London just the two of us.  While in Southern Spain we visited several cities including Málaga, Gibraltar, Ronda, and Cádiz.  Since Málaga was our home base during this portion of the trip, it seemed only fitting to start the “Spain Series” here.

After a full day of travel, Scott and I were the first to arrive in Málaga.  We disembarked from our plane, painstakingly collected our rental car without assistance, and drove straight to the beach in our travel clothes.  We parked on the side of a crowded city street that bordered the Mediterranean ocean, changed into swimsuits in the back seat of our tiny, black Euro-car, and walked barefoot straight into the ocean.  We were exhausted but couldn’t wait another minute to feel the Spanish sun and the spray of the ocean.

During the short time we had to ourselves before our family arrived, Scott managed to burn himself to an extent that I hadn’t yet seen.  The picture below hardly does it justice, I guess his Pacific Northwest skin wasn’t prepared for the intensity of the Mediterranean.

After I realized how red he was getting, we decided to cover up and hit a beach cafe.  Right next to where we had left our rental car was a cafe with crepes and gofres (Spanish for waffles).  We sipped on cafe con leche and fresh orange juice while I attempted to order from the waitress in Spanish.  I quickly realized how much work my conversation skills were going to need if I was going to continue to order things at small, authentic establishments such as this one.  Something that was most surprising to me, was how much your foreign language skills will improve in just a week.

Finally, the rest of our group arrived and we could see the resort which would become our home for the week to follow.  Scott’s grandma had a timeshare with two bedrooms, a kitchen and a TV that played nothing but international news.  We were forced to follow the events of Brexit more closely than we wanted to.  There was a lovely courtyard and a refreshing swimming pool which would become our favorite place to end a day of touring.

On this first day of exploring our home-for-the-week, we walked to a near by beach called Calahonda.  Raynie (Scott’s little sister) and I, were dazzled by bright red flowers that lined the streets leading to the ocean.

We found a rocky beach hidden down a gravel path where locals brought their small children to play.

Twice during our time in Málaga, we drove the short distance to the neighboring town of Marbella to visit the luxurious Puerto Banús.  This marina/shopping area was described by our concierge as “a place for the rich and famous”.  Sure enough, there were more designer clothing and jewelry stores than I could count and six figure European sports cars everywhere.  There was a marina filled with the most impressive yachts I’d ever seen (until visiting Ibiza later in this trip) and women walking around with their men carrying dozens of their shopping bags.

Our first visit to this bustling boardwalk included a meal out to Pizzeria Picasso (recommended by the aforementioned concierge).  We ordered rich and delectable drinks and a few unique and exciting pizzas and watched the wealthy stroll by on the streets.

Our second visit to Marbella involved a classic favorite: Hard Rock Cafe.  We enjoyed some American food while ordering in Spanish.

Finally, we took Scott’s family back to the beach and the cafe we visited on our first day after our flight.  Scott’s mom, sister and grandmother (with a little extra convincing) went swimming in the Mediterranean ocean for the first time.

Stay tuned for posts about our excursions to the other Spanish cities during this week and tales from Ibiza, Paris and London after that.  Our 2016 trip to Europe is part of what inspired this blog and I’m so excited to finally be sharing these stories with you all.

-Lexi

Note:  About half of these photos were taken by Scott as usual, but the other have were taken by his mother, Tonie Jenkins 🙂