Spain, Sangria and Sun

Hi again!! Here's an update on my time with Lauren....

I was fortunate enough to have my best friend from high school come visit me in Malta this past week. Lauren made the journey from Omaha to Malta in about 17 hours, and I was BEYOND happy to see her at the airport. She made it without trouble and was able to make it the whole first day without a nap! The first night she was here, we took the bus (glamorous, I know) to Sliema. Sliema is my favorite part of the island. It is modern and right on the water, with dozens of restaurants, bars and shops. We took advantage of the “buy one drink get one free” happy hour promotions that happen every day from 4-7. After a few delicious drinks, we ate at my favorite Italian restaurant. Lauren got, and I quote, “the best pizza I have ever had in my whole life.” Our first night in Malta was a success, but Lauren was definitely ready for bed by the time we got home.

After 12 hours of sleep for Lauren, we made our way to the Blue Lagoon. Located on Comino, a small island about 10 minutes from Malta, the Blue Lagoon is a part of the Mediterranean that looks like pool water. It is crystal clear and absolutely stunning. We managed to find a sandy spot and spent the entire day tanning and enjoying one of the most beautiful spots in the world. That night, we ate dinner at a restaurant overlooking the sea. Lauren had Maltese pasta (my favorite Maltese food) and we had drinks, of course. By the time we were done with dinner, it was almost 11 and we were exhausted. The next day, we explored Mdina, the old capital of Malta. It is a truly beautiful city, enclosed in archaic stone walls and sitting high up on a hill. We ate lunch at Fontenella Tea Garden and sat on a balcony that gave us a view of the ENTIRE island. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip because of the view, wine and the cake.

After spending some more time in Malta, we were finally ready to leave for Barcelona. On Friday morning, Lauren received an email from our AirBnB host saying she was no longer able to let us use her room. With five hours until our flight, we nearly had heart attacks. We were scrambling to find another place to stay, but most things were already booked. At this point, we learned our flight was delayed as well. That turned out to be a blessing because it gave us more time to look for housing. After enlisting the help of my parents, they were able to contact AirBnB to get our money back as well as look for alternative housing. Somehow, I stumbled across a beautiful hotel for only 100 euros per night. We decided to book the hotel for the first night simply so we wouldn’t be homeless upon landing. It was one of the most beautiful hotels I have EVER seen in my life. We felt so lucky to be staying there, and we decided that booking the hotel for the entire trip was a good decision.

Barcelona was my favorite city so far. The architecture that we saw on our city tour was incredible. The buildings were all historic looking and lined with palm trees. Lauren’s favorite part was seeing the FC Barcelona Stadium……..mine was seeing the main city square. We also both enjoyed the sangria. A lot. We spent all day Saturday on a hop-on-hop-off tour exploring the entire city. It was a great way to see such a big place in a cool way. We got lots of pictures and enjoyed our view from the top of the bus. That night, we attempted to go clubbing in Barcelona. We got in the clubs for free, but my first drink (basically a Dixie cup of pineapple juice and a drop of Malibu rum) was 10 FLIPPNIG DOLLARS. We decided that the clubs were better suited for celebrities and zillionaires and we returned home to our beautiful hotel for the night. Sunday, since most things are closed, we spent the day shopping and enjoying drinks on outside terraces. There was a Barcelona vs. Madrid soccer game that night and we watched it from a bar……called Obama. The food was bad, go figure. But, watching Barcelona play Madrid while in Barcelona was incredible. When they won, the restaurant was filled with screams and cars were going down the streets blasting their horns to different tunes. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Later that night, we decided to order a bottle of wine and enjoy the view of Barcelona from our hotel room. We were sitting on our couch overlooking the mountains, the city, AND the ocean sipping our wine feeling pretty darn fabulous. Then, out of nowhere, fireworks start. Right in our view. I’m not kidding. So, there we were, two Nebraska girls, sitting in Barcelona drinking wine watching a fireworks show overlooking the entire city of Barcelona. We were on cloud nine. Waking up at 4 the next morning was sad, but we managed to sleep almost the entire flight back to Malta.

I feel so lucky that my best friend was able to visit me and explore Spain with me too. Not many people will get to say they’ve had an experience like that with a friend. I was so sad to see Lauren go, but we really did have an incredible time eating, drinking, exploring and being together. The goodbye was easier knowing that I would see her in less than a month.

Everything else is going well. The weather is amazing, classes are fine (blah), and my friends here are still amazing. I love my life on this island, but I’m also getting ready to come home. I miss America, my friends, and my home a ton. But, until then, I have one more visitor coming. SHAWN WILL BE HERE IN FIVE HOURS.

I’ll post pictures soon!!

Xoxox,

Megan