Fleur's Adventures: Whoa! We're going to Ibiza!!

After a lovely week with the family it was time for our Easter holiday from uni and my chance to get to the beach. As Keri had never been to Spain before and I wanted to get to the coast we decided a beach holiday was in order. We chose Ibiza because it is meant to be nice in April, before the clubbing season starts. So our plan for some sun, sea and cocktails came to be during my one week holiday! (one week seemed very very short after my normal five from Durham :P)

On the Saturday afternoon I made my way into Madrid and checked into our hostel for the night. The hostel was literally an apartment which the guy owned... very amusing and thank God I speak Spanish as his English was non-existant. I then went to meet Rachel, Danielle and Holly, three lovely linguists from Durham for dinner. Danielle and Holly are currently placed in Madrid and Rachel was visiting from Bilbao so it was the perfect occasion to see them. After a good catch up and a lesson in how to make a Spanish Tortilla from Danielle's housemate I headed to the airport to collect my American friend!! he he!

The flight was a bit delayed (of course it was I hear you say!!) so I made the most of my time and explored terminal 4 - the newer part of Madrid Airport and quite frankly the much nicer part. I was also greatly amused by the bouquet of flowers vending machine... Then suddenly I heard some Germans come through the doors, so then I thought.. she's coming and low and behold appeared a Miss Keri Forbringer.

After a good night's sleep we made our way back to the airport the next morning for our flight to eebeeza (as Keri would say). I was slightly disappointed the Vengaboys song didn't come on as we took off but you know.. The flight went by really quickly (it's only 55mins) and thanks to the clear blue skies we enjoyed looking down at the Spanish countryside and then the sea. Very quickly we could see the island and got pretty excited!! Once landed, we got a taxi to our hotel in San Antonio. We stayed at the Hotel Puchet and I would hugely recommend it. We went expecting a hostel and found a newly refurbished hotel with a nice pool, nice rooms and breakfast included.

As it was only mid afternoon we decided to go and explore. We found the beach very quickly and enjoyed walking along the sea front before getting stopped by a guy trying to pull people into his bar. He did a good job and we enjoyed a cold beer looking out at the port. We then went to a couple more bars along the way before getting to the Golden Buddha and getting a pitcher of Sangria to enjoy the sunset. A good start to the week! The following day we made the most of the pool and spent the entire day enjoying the sun and just taking some time to do nothing. I also made the most of the pool, as I haven't been swimming for a long time and was greatly amused by the fully grown man who thought the pool was too cold so took about half an hour to jump in. That evening we got a few beers and some chorizo and chilled on the balcony. We had a lot to talk about :)

On the Tuesday we decided to rent bikes and go on a little adventure around the coast. We set off with no plan or expectations and were pleasantly surprised by what we found. We came across some beautiful little coves and thanks to it not being peak season at times we went for ages without seeing anyone. We ended up going through the mountains at some point (which nearly killed me due to my current lack of fitness - I am hitting the gym immediately in July!) and the scenery was stunning. The last beach we went to was just beautiful... there are no words... I really enjoyed the cycle back as it was all down hill and I loved having the wind in my hair.. he he what a cliche!

Day three was spent on a big long beach on the south east coast of the island. It was the most beachy beach there and I really enjoyed another day of just reading and taking in the sea and sun. The following day it was a little overcast so we made our way to Ibiza town on the East coast. We explored the fishing port for a while enjoying all the little alleys and then went up to the top of the fortress. We then enjoyed a couple of cocktails :P on a Plaza as the sun went down.

On the last day we had lunch in the sun before getting on the plane back to Madrid. We stayed the night in Alcala and then went into the city for the day. What started out as a fairly grey day turned into a lovely one and so we made the most of all the touristy sites and then got a rowing boat in the lake, having bought macaroons. Life was pretty good :) We then went to a lovely Plaza - Plaza Santa Ana for dinner and some Sangria. The next day I took Keri to the airport and we said goodbye - thank God I am going to Salzburg in less than a week!!!!! :D And now for the photos: