Whoa, we are going to Ibiza!

Last weekend I had a fantastic trip to a destination I’ve been dying to to go to, that’s right Ibiza. Just outside of the coast of Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea, is the little island of Ibiza. It is known worldwide for its party atmosphere but as I found out the island has plenty of things to see and do for families as well, I was so surprised, but pleasantly so.

The first thought to enter my head when I think of Ibiza was Vengaboys. Vengaboys you say? I know, it’s been a decade since I heard some good old Vengaboys tunes, but luckily Youtube has all of the videos to get you in the mood before getting there…

The tune has been playing for about a week on my iPod before even getting to Ibiza and I’m feeling pumped! I catch the flight to Ibiza from Gatwick Airport at 6am. The majority of people on my flight are seniors or a family, was I on the wrong flight… Ibiza is meant to be party city… pilot announces we are taking off for Ibiza so I’m ok, it’s the right flight. I sleep for most of it … zzz … arrive early in the morning to check in to the lovely Mare Nostrum Hotel.

Eddy, Pascal and Dan at Bora Bora

Day 1
The Mare Nostrum is located in Playa d’en Bossa, close to Ibiza Town. The two places to go to if you are looking for good nightlife in Ibiza, is either Ibiza Town or San Antonio. What’s also located nearby the Mare Nostrum is Bora Bora and Space, but I will get to that a bit later. The Mare Nostrum is a good hotel with noon check out, gym, pool, cafeteria, and bar. The hotel rooms are pretty standard compared to most places I have been too, although the only thing that was missing for me was the bar fridge so you can store your own food or drinks, but that didn’t make much difference to us.

I had another two hour nap before lunch, deciding I would call up Bek and Dhani a bit later as they had arrived the night before. After my sleep I was starving so I went down to the cafeteria and bar area to get a bite to eat and I find Bek and Dhani sitting there sipping away on Sangria. Don’t you just love it when things fall into place, didn’t have to call anyone or go running around to find them, excellent.

We all decided to go and explore our surroundings a bit more and headed towards Bora Bora. Bora Bora is the name of a club on the beach. I realise it has the same name as a French Polynesian Island but they aren’t related. It starts pretty early at around midday with people partying and tunes cranking. Then again are they just starting or still going from the night before, you can’t really be sure can you? The clubs open so early in the day and close so early in the morning that people are coming and going all the time. Here is a sample of what you can expect on Bora Bora. [ slight warning, does contain A LOT of crazy people and some topless ones too ]

Now we were looking for some dinner and go exploring further as we didn’t want to head out clubbing just yet as Dan, Pascal and Jemima weren’t arriving til the next day. We found a restaurant near Bora Bora with good food but average service, Dhani said the omelette was fantastic. After dinner we headed into Ibiza Town to have a look around.

Ibiza Town is a beautiful place divided up into New Town and Old Town. Old Town is situated by the water and part of an old fortress up on a rise. You can spend hours running around exploring all the cafes, restaurants, shops, and market stalls here, which is precisely what we did. I can’t explain how awesome I thought this place was, it’s just so picturesque and relaxed. Old Town and the fortress is a good place to go on a tour or sightseeing as there is plenty of history to read about here. The rain poured down pretty heavily as we were heading back, almost torrential, but I’m not sure if that is normal as September is towards the end of the season for Ibiza.

Day 2
The next day the sun was out in full effect, warm and beautiful. Dhani, Bek and myself had decided to head back into Ibiza Town to have a look at the area during the day and see what the views would be like of the sea, and they were amazing!

About midday Dan, Pascal and Jemima had checked into the hotel and were ready to have a few drinks, so we all joined up at Bora Bora. We got some drinks at a local shop and I found a bottle of Duff Beer! How cool is that! I had to buy it of course… tasted a bit like a Carlton Mid, mmmm Duff Beer gaaaah!

The drinking at Bora Bora was just the start of the night for us… and the end of the night for some of us. We hadn’t anticipated A: how cheap it is to buy a bottle of vodka in the shops, and B: how fast we could drink it. By 8pm we were a group of very drunken people. Dan and Pascal went to bed early, but Jemima, Bek, Dhani and myself were determined to head out. We caught a cab to Privilege which is roughly in the middle of the island, and as far as I know the world largest nightclub. We didn’t end up getting in because they hadn’t opened yet at 11pm but standing outside of it I can tell you it was HUGE! Bek caught a cab back to the hotel as we didn’t know when the club was going to open, so myself, Jemima and Dhani went for a trek to find a McDonald’s. I think I was the only one who realised how far away the McDonald’s really was but we eventually did catch a cab to get some food and then back to the hotel where we called it a night. I do have to add this funny little story… we found a beautiful little Spanish place down the road from Privilege and it was completely empty. As we walked in we couldn’t even see anybody working in there and then all of a sudden this woman appears… we ask her softly, questioningly… “Do you have food?”, and she replies back with a questioning answer, “Yes, this is a restaurant.” Well it was funny in the moment ha ha!

Day 3
A big breakfast was necessary this morning as we shared our embarrassing stories around the table. I spent most of the day with Dan, Pascal, and Jemima on this day, as they hadn’t been into Ibiza Town yet. I thoroughly enjoyed playing tourist guide while we walked around Old Town and had a lovely lunch in one of the restaurants in a little side street. Dan and Pascal had Paella which is a typical Spanish rice dish, and it tasted fantastic, I’ll have one of those next time. I had my first Sangria for the day, which is a Spanish red wine / punch, and lovely to drink on a hot day, or when sunbaking by the pool as we did later that afternoon!

It had been a good tourist day with sights, shops, food, drinks and sleeping by the pool, but it was getting closer to 5pm and we were getting ready to head to a club called Space. Space opens just after 5pm and has cheap entry starting at 15 euros. As the night goes on the entry fee goes up to about 65 euros at midnight so it pays to get in early. Partying in Ibiza is going to cost you money so expect to pay around 50-60 euros for entry if you are getting in later in the night and drinks will be around 8-15 euros each.

I usually say that The Family in Brisbane is the best nightclub I have ever been to but I can now say that Space is the biggest and best nightclub I have been to so far, it just blew my mind. You have to go and look at the website to get an idea of what this place is like. Thousands of people, incredible music, the world’s top DJs, it is like a festival here everyday… and that is reflected in the price as well. The people here are friendly and we managed to find an Italian guy who was shouting us for most part of the night. I met a few other Australians in the club as well, one guy from New Zealand that said he’d recognised me from Brisbane, but we couldn’t remember from where, and then a couple of Sydney boys that are also living in London. Small world… or well travelled world rather.

After a long night it was time to go to bed early in the morning.

Day 4
I slept in for quite some time this day, skipped the hotel breakfast and instead resorted to eating fruit that I had stocked up on the day before. I checked out at noon and then sunbaked by the pool from noon til about 5pm. I was still exhausted after that sleep by the pool that I slept on the lounges by the reception until 9pm before catching a cab to the airport at 10pm. I spent a lot of time reading a book and also reflecting on my Ibiza trip and came to the conclusion that I need to come back next year during peak season and spend a good week or two here as there is too much to see and too many places to go to. Earlier in the year I had planned on learning French in London and maybe live there in a few years time but now I’m thinking that Spanish might be the way to go first, spend a bit of time in Ibiza then move to mainland Spain and live there for a while. Well it’s all just thoughts at the moment; we’ll see what the future brings.

Visit my facebook profile to check out all the fun photos from Ibiza, or click here to view the album.

I’m back in London now and still looking for a place to stay and a job to go to and the exciting times are just beginning…

Old London Town

This is my third attempt at writing a blog, and hopefully this one will stay around for a while longer. I thought I’d write a bit of a travel journal/guide, documenting my experiences and adventures and recommendations of different places to visit.

I’ve travelled for most of this year, leaving Australia in early February to stay in Thailand for two months, and then back to the mother land in Sweden from April onwards. I might write something later on about Thailand and/or Sweden but I thought I’d start with my awesome weekend in London. I had two reasons for my trip to London. Firstly I wanted to visit my friends Dan and Pascal who just moved there from Brisbane; and secondly I wanted to check out the city to see if I really wanted to live there in the future.

I arrived on Thursday evening (2008-Jun-26) at Gatwick Airport. First up I recommend getting an Oyster Card as it will get you around most of London without having to think about public transport costs too much. I took the train and tube to Bermondsey station where I was greeted by Dan. I was at a loss for words at first, both because it was surreal seeing Dan in London but also because my brain had switched over to Swedish lately so I had trouble getting words out ha ha. Once we arrived at the apartment Pascal had just arrived home from work so we decided to start cooking up some dinner and open up a bottle of wine. After much catching up and some more wine it was time to call it a night, early in the morning.

A couple of hours later it was already time to get up as both Dan and Pascal had to work that Friday. I decided to do a big sightseeing trek around London, but not before having a cup of coffee. I started my walk from Southwark Park road and made my way across to the Tower Bridge. I quite like the Tower Bridge so I spent a bit of time there photographing the bridge itself as well as some of the London skyline. Walking across the Tower Bridge and looking at the rest of the city gave me a familiar feeling of being home in Brisbane. It was quite odd, but as soon as I set foot in London I felt comfortable at once.

I continued over the bridge and stopped at the Tower of London. I only briefly read the information signs as I’ll do a more in-depth history tour next time. My walk continued through the inner city and along the river. I passed the St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tate Modern Collection, Battle of Britain monument, before sitting down on a bench to have a cheeseburger lunch looking at the London Eye and pondering how much I had covered in my walk already and yet seen so little of massive London!

Onwards I went and walked across Westminster Bridge and got some photos of Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. I thought it would be bigger… get it? Ha ha, yeah ok. When I got across to the London Eye I noticed some sculptures of Salvador Dali, they are hard to miss and Salvador Dali being my favourite artist I had to look around to see why the sculptures had been placed there. In the County Hall Gallery which is next to the London Eye there is a permanent exhibition known as the Dali Universe. I spent a couple of hours walking through there and I think it is well worth the £12 entry fee.

It had been a beautiful day so far in London with only a bit of overcast. I walked across the next bridge and made my way towards Buckingham Palace. I had to stop to take cover in front of a bank because it started pouring down rain. Can you believe it? Raining in London, who would have thought? He he. The rain didn’t last for too long and I eventually made it all the way to Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Monument. My final stop on my sightseeing trek was to walk to Picadilly Circus. I have to say that the actual centre of Picadilly Circus didn’t impress me too much, but I guess it’s a good starting point or meeting place as there are heaps of shops and other interesting places to find if you walk around the area. There are some great bargains at Picadilly Circus for getting cheap or two for one tickets to shows though.

It was time for my tired feet to get a bit of a rest so I caught the Tube from Picadilly Circus back to Bermondsey. Dan finished earlier than Pascal so we caught the bus to Oxford Street where both of them work in retail stores. We had a quick wander around the shops and street while waiting for Pascal to finish work. If you’re looking to spend a bit of money on shopping then Oxford Street is a good place to be. The Friday ended with an early night to catch up on sleep from the night before.

I woke up on Saturday morning well rested from a good night’s sleep. Dan was off to work, but Pascal had the day off. Pascal and I had planned to head to the markets and show me some other areas of London. We caught the Tube and headed to the Portobello markets. The funniest thing happened on the Tube, a pigeon flew in and just stood there. I’m guessing it’s been for a ride before as it calmly waited for the next stop. When the doors opened it looked up at the doors, as if to make sure it was the right stop and then it just walked out. I just had to get a photo of the cute little pigeon! The markets were one of the many highlights of my trip to London. There is so much to find here I ended up with some new sunnies, mini-wallet, antique portable binoculars, and had my eyes on heaps more but will definitely come back here for some future shopping.

After the markets we caught the Tube to Liverpool Street station and wandered to Brick Lane. So far this is my favourite place for shopping. There is awesome fashion here and great little cafés to eat at. Pascal and I spent the afternoon walking through some of the shops and had a haloumi and aubergine burger, which was very tasty. A friend of Dan and Pascal’s met up with us as well, Jemima, who is another Brisbane girl living in London, and who I’ve met a couple of times previously in Brisbane. Having a group of Australians living in London made it all feel closer to home. I’m not sure how we can ship the weather over though; I’ll just have to settle for weekends away down the Mediterranean until I’ve figured that one out.

The three of us now walked around Brick Lane and stopped for a snack at Café 1001, which has delicious frappes and a nice atmosphere, definitely worth checking out. Another place I recommend in Brick Lane is Illustrated People, which make really cool t-shirts, or All Saints which has the fashion I love at a price slightly above my weekend budget, NEXT TIME I TELL YOU!

Saturday evening we decided to order in some Thai food. There is a cool little website called Just-Eat.co.uk which has a selection of different types of food from local places that deliver right to your door. I’m quite used to eating “westernised” Thai food that has slightly richer sauces and a more mild taste but I was surprised that the Thai food we got was very authentic and nearly burned our heads off. Good food is always a good start to a Saturday night as we started getting ready to head out.

Dan and Pascal had already organised tickets to Ministry of Sound Club where Roger Sanchez was playing for the night. Ministry of Sound is a good club but if you have been to the Family I think you feel a bit spoilt, having such a world class club in Brisbane. I’ll try to explain my view of Ministry of Sound. The main room where Roger Sanchez was playing is a big open space slightly familiar to a warehouse, and neon signs/lights hanging from the rooftop. The other main room, which is what you see when you first enter the club through metal detectors, has a bit of a Monastery feel to it with a long bar alongside the dancefloor, but there are also some stairs to walk up where you can overlook the dance floor and bar. Once up on the balcony there are two areas, one VIP room with couches and a second lounge area that has seats and a bar for a quieter atmosphere. Finally there is also a third dance floor which is tiny and has a third bar, reminded me a bit of the smaller bar room that can be found at the Met, close to where you walk up the stairs towards the smoking area.

After a night of dancing and the morning light starting to show itself by the horizon we decided to take a walk down to the river. London seems to be full of eerie places that remind you of Brisbane as we were sitting by the river watching the sunrise it has a very similar feel to sitting by the Brisbane River at Teneriffe. It was a lovely way to end the night/morning.

A Sunday is usually best spent not doing too much with some close friends after a night of partying. How perfect was the timing of this weekend when we could grab a six pack of beers and walk to Southwark Park and sit on the grass enjoying the sounds of the Cuban Music Festival on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Monday had arrived and it was my last day in London. I hadn’t spent too much of my allocated budget to my surprise. So what does a person do when you have a wad of cash, it’s the last day of your holiday, and you’re in a vibrant city like London? You go shopping of course! Where? Brick Lane! No time to waste, jumped on the Tube to first head to London Bridge station so I could store my suitcase somewhere. Now I didn’t think this would be a big mission but turns out the nearest station that has “Left Luggage” facilities, what I would call a suitcase locker, is at Waterloo Rail Station. Finally got rid of my suitcase and headed to Liverpool Street. Stopped for some Gelato while doing some people watching and then spent the afternoon acquiring some new items for my wardrobe and also went into Rough Trade Music where I got my hands on some new music.

Getting to the airport for my flight and the actual flight home was pretty standard. I flew Sterling, which I can recommend, not a bad airline at all. I have friends that have recommended Ryan Air because of their super cheap flights but I have yet to fly them. If you’ve been on a flight with them let me know how it is.

In short, what did I learn from my London weekend? It’s all the hype everyone says it is and worth the holiday or plans to work/live there. Next step, I need to find a place to live…

“You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”  – Samuel Johnson