Bienvenido a Espana!

After class Thursday, we hopped on the bus to Gatwick (which was a little too bumpy of a ride and made everyone sick). Security was extremely different than America and not at all a pleasant experience. Not only did they steal my travel Fekkai products- apparently 3 oz is WAY too much- but, in America, the way the security people frisk you- would land you in jail. I felt very violated to say the least. But what made it all better was the shopping at Gatwick! no joke! They have Harrods, Jo Malone, you name it- kind of like the D terminal in Dallas on crack. AND a Mexican restaurant. We were very happy to be able to order guac, queso (kinda gross but we'd take what we could get), quesadillas and Coors light! But the weirdest part about the airport is that they don't tell you your gate until 10 minutes before. Then you go stand in a line and pick your own seat (similar to Southwest) but you can only have one bag. Period. No purse. And if you want to check a bag, one bag will cost you $75. It was ok though because we were prepared and packed very light (despite the textbooks). We got in very very late Thursday night, hopped on a shuttle with some annoying hillbilly people and finally crashed in the room around 2AM.

Mallorca is absolutely beautiful! The Spanish beaches kind of look like Destin sand meets Mexico clear blue water. Its in the Port of Alcudia in a bay on the island. For some reason, the place totally felt like camp- maybe it was the twin beds and sandy sheets. And lack of A/C. So we got up early the next day, went to breakfast, grabbed some awesome beach towels (with dogs in hats on them) and headed to the nearest bar on the beach. Taryn and I grabbed some pina coladas while Audrey and Alison grabbed beach chairs under umbrellas and we were all in heaven laying out in the sun and people watching. There are lots of European families so everything is translated from Spanish into English, German, and Scandinavian, which was really odd. For lunch we sat out on a patio and drank sangria and split a proscuitto pizza. We noticed that there was a bounce house in the bar at the beach and thought that was kind of strange. Little did we know that the Spaniards love a good bounce house and put them absolutely everywhere! On our walk home, we noticed several "Texas" steakhouses and even a Dallas one! We headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, where I noticed that my hair dryer and straightener wouldn't work because, of course, the plugs are not British! Anyway, I got over it and for dinner, Taryn found this amazing restaurant Satyricon in Old Town. It was an ancient Roman cinema converted into a Spanish restaurant and had amazing food and local wine. Our absolutely favorite part is that after every meal, Spanish waiters bring you complimentary drinks- or shots- as a nice little surprise with your check. So we sipped our champagne and then walked around to the local vendor tents on the streets. There was a toga party going on so people were really celebrating.

The next day, we woke up and went back into Old Town for brunch and walked around the streets. We tried to find a vineyard for wine tasting but most of them are located pretty far inland and you have to take a 6AM bus. So instead we grabbed beers and neon rafts and layed out at the beach again. The water was absolutely amazing and the weather was perfect. We walked farther down the beach and stopped for some sangria at a patio on the beach for happy hour and then found another beachside restaurant for dinner. Lots and lots of seafood pae-ella and wine and of course, shots with the check. We walked along the beach and took lots of pictures and headed closer to the hotel for dessert and drinks. For dessert, presentation is key. We got very excited when they brought out a sundae with a fiery sparkler on top, but quickly realized that this is completely normal and all desserts must be served with a sparkler. Actually, Alison later got a frozen drink and was surprised with a sparkler. Its really an easy way to make people happy. So while we were enjoying dessert, we heard this awesome karaoke guy signing Garth Brooks and Neil Diamond and all kinds of other great karaoke songs and had to run across the street to this open bar to drink pints and watch him in action. As loud Americans, he really loved us, but we were disappointed to find out he was only the opening act for this band of 2 old guys so we didn't stay long. The next morning, we woke up bright and early at 5:30 to head to the airport and we were ready to get out of Spain. Gorgeous. Loved it. Amazing beaches. People at the airport had no concept of personal space and for 4 cranky American girls tired from traveling all weekend, a smelly European lady shoving past us in the security lane was really the last straw. I did find the airport somewhat amusing though because the announcements in Spanish really sounded like those recordings that our Spanish high school teacher would play on tape for the exam! "Última llamada del vuelo British Airways uno cinco cinco- señores pasajeros, embarquen URGENTEMENTE por la puerta quince"- What gate do the passengers need to go to? 5 pts.