Mallorca, Spain

What we woke up to every morning

Watching the sunset

Wow is all I can say about the beautiful island of Mallorca, Spain. Going to a paradise island with beautiful beaches and weather has always been something I've wanted to do, and this honestly fulfilled me for life (although I am definitely going back). We began our journey by ferry, leaving late at night, and not arriving in Palma de Mallorca until 8 am. Originally, we were very worried about this so called ferry we knew nothing about, but after arrival to the port terminal, we were blown away. The ferry turned out to be somewhat of a cruise ship, with a huge bar and cafeteria and very nice seating for foot passengers, allowing us to get some shut eye. After muchas cervezas, we were all finally able to fall asleep.

Leaving the ferry, we ran into some English speakers (who ended up being Canadians). These people were Courtney and Stephanie, two 18 year old girls backpacking across Europe for six weeks. Fortunately, the girls were amazing and not to mention hilarious, and will definitely be long time friends of ours. Since none of us really knew what we were doing or where we were going (aka winging it), we decided to join forces and take a bus up to Alcudia (the north of the island) and find a cheap hostel to share. After bartering with the Spanish woman, we were able to get two apartment style rooms at a place about 200 meters from the beach for only 10 Euros a night. Dominique and I shared a room with our new Canadian friends, while the boys shared another. The place had an amazing pool, great spacious rooms, and a gorgeous view. Things honestly couldn't have worked out better.

We headed directly to the beach, where the view was literally breathtaking. Look to your left and see the gorgeous mountains, look to your right and you see the crystal clear Mediterannean. Although pretty cold for a Floridian like myself, the water was so refreshing and calm. Thats when the partying began, and did not stop until late last night when we made it to bed. After a few nights of karaoke with the locals, discotecas until 6 AM, and wine and cheese on the beach while watching the sunset, I am completely in love with Mallorca. Not only did we make some new friends for life, but we also formed a very close bond between all of us. This weekend is very close to going down as one of the best of my life, and I really hope I can take my family back to Mallorca someday so they can see it for themselves. I will be adding some photos/videos to the blog, but for the full album you will have to hit up Facebook...trust me, its worth it.

Tyler and Meagan are arriving in just a few hours from London to stay in Valencia until Thursday. From then, we are all taking a trip to Rome to celebrate Dominique's birthday! Considering Nick and Dominique have been there before and know all the great places to eat, I am expecting this weekend to be great. Although on Monday we must part from Tyler and Meg, we are then flying straight into Madrid rather than Valencia. We are meeting our program there for the week for an all inclusive look at the beautiful city. This means no classes for a whole week! Wooh :) Although a break from school will be nice, I am enjoying my classes incredibly. Intermediate espanol is tough, but so helpful. Today we learned to sing a song in Spanish, and plan to perform it at the local karaoke bar once we've got it down pat. My food and wine class is what you would expect, if not better. We received our very own wine glass and have a tasting of one red and one white each class. In just a few weeks, we are taking a bus to a vineyard not too far away to see how they make the wine and purchase a bottle for ourselves. I know that everyone back home is jealous, but I miss you all so much! Please keep emailing and sending pictures, it really does help. Mom and dad, possibly send me some pictures of you guys and Cody? I am praying for him <3 Hope everyone is doing great, and I would love to hear from each and every one of you. Until next time, buenos noches.