viva espana.

when i came to spain
and i saw people party 
i told to myself 'what the f@$#'
-sak noel


i just got back from spain. ibiza and madrid, to be exact. it was a spontaneous trip my friends and i booked only one month ago. so for four weeks, i brushed up on my espanol, enlisted in multiple zumba classes, and shopped for bright bohemian attire. my very own spanish boot camp, if you will. the day quickly arrived. jfk to mad to ibz. what was a new york girl to expect. well, visiting ibiza is like venturing into one of alan ball's exotic fairy-like scenes in true blood. the alcohol is flowing, beautiful people are laughing, colors are vibrant, dj's are gods, and models are goddesses. scratch that, everyone was beautiful, even the flight attendants looked as though they'd stepped off a 1960s airline. on a side note, my father and i have this joke about the snl sketch where the flight attendants bid each of the passengers adieu by repeating "buh-bye" to each and every person on the flight. well that definitely translates out of the country because all of the flight attendants repeated "adios" to each passenger. anyway, ibiza was quite the adventure and as much as we partook in the party scene, we were still able to immerse in the daytime island culture. we went to soft sandy beaches, ventured out into the mediterranean sea, and somehow found ourselves snorkeling below these caves you only see in movies starring matthew mcconaughey and kate hudson. so after 4 days of tiesto, swedish house mafia, the island of formentera, our boat captain borga, the salinas beaches, the es vive hotel, and the hippy flea market, it was hard to believe we had to leave. however, my eyes were telling me i needed some sleep. an hour later, we arrived in madrid. a complete switch from the hippy island lifestyle, madrid lends itself to a more manhattan feel which, according to the locals, is what they aspire to. however, there's no escaping that european flare (and who would really want to). late night meals with cheap good wine and assorted plates of delicious delicacies. unfortunately for me (vegetarian), most dishes include jamon. but that didn't stop me from indulging in the ever flowing wine and bread and egg-potato omelettes. suffice to say it's back to the zumba classes. a week in spain felt a lot longer. perhaps it was the lack of sleep or the constant agenda we had to keep up with. i celebrated my birthday in spain. another year older. although i'm still young and independent, the days of dancing to tiesto in ibiza and rocking out to the red hot chili peppers in madrid are beginning to fade. but until then, rock and roll.