After a week of midterms, it was Friday night, and I was packing for my trip to Spain. Typically, my spring break consists of enjoying beaches in Florida, so I never thought I would be enjoying the beaches of another country. I was extremely excited because I have never left the country before, and I didn’t know what to expect. I learned that the international airport process was surprisingly easy. I assumed international travel would be a lot more complex. Our first stop was in New York, and my friends and I had a two-hour layover. This basically means that I am going to tell everyone that I explored NYC, even though I was stuck in the airport. I even bought souvenirs to make it seem more believable. Next, we were on our seven-hour flight from NYC to Madrid, Spain. I really thought being on a plane for more than five hours would be miserable, but it was actually very nice. Once we got to Madrid, we dropped our luggage off at the Airbnb, and then began our adventures.
A perfect word to describe my experience in Madrid would be “wandering.” We would walk around until we found something to do. We found the El Retiro Park which was gorgeous and massive. “The Lake” was my favorite part of the park because of the beautiful architecture and street performers that surrounded the water. You could even pay a few euros to rent a rowboat to get on the water. Our wandering also applied to us finding food every day. At every restaurant we stopped at, my friends and I got the meal of the day. The meal of the day in Madrid is so commonly seen and it typically means that you get a three or four course meal for like, $12. I can easily say my favorite dish was from a restaurant called La Finca de Susana. It was a rice dish with pineapple, tomato sauce, a fried egg and tempura. It looked crazy, and I thought at first that they had given me the wrong plate. But it was one of the best dishes I have ever had in my life. My favorite pastime was shopping in the city. My friends and I would walk into all kinds of shops, my favorite being Ale-Hop where I bought a cute backpack for only 10 euros. After all the fun in Madrid, our next stop was to Ibiza.
Our main goal in Ibiza was to see stunning beaches and sunsets. Once we landed, we quickly realized it was off-season on the island. It felt like a deserted, and everything was closed. We spent hours walking the coast of the beach, and we only saw a handful of open restaurants. But we later found out that on Wednesdays the island is extremely dead. The next morning, we woke up to the livelier version of Ibiza. For that day, my friends and I took a bus to San Antonio so that we could see the glorious sunset. On the last day of Ibiza, we spent the day relaxing on the beach.
After spending a week in Spain, I wanted to stay and forget my life in America. It felt as if the Spaniards have their values in the right place. They seemed to be more in the moment and have a higher appreciation for their interpersonal relationships. Overall, this trip was transformative because it taught me how to see the positives in my life and appreciate my family and friends even more.
