9 days. 7 flights. 2,547 miles.
Written by Mallory November 28, 2016
The beautiful beach we hung out at one afternoon in Mallorca.
Taking pictures at Park Guell!
Waiting for the bus in Barcelona to take us to the airport.
The view from the gelato shop we ate at in Mallorca.
At the airport in Barcelona waiting to get out tickets.
Over our extended travel week, I was fortunate enough to travel through Spain and Portugal with three friends: Alex, Emma and Grace. We planned our trip around some crucial things we wanted to see and do. These things ranged from reenacting The Cheetah Girls scenes in Park Guell to relaxing on a beach in Mallorca. We weren’t quite sure how we were going to get our list done in the nine days we were away, but we were determined to make it work. We had planned seven flights in nine days and would in total travel 2,547 miles. It was going to be a week chalked full of memories, but arguably the most memorable experience for us all was Halloween night.
To give you a little back story, we had decided to not book a hotel for the night and just stay up until our flight the next morning. We did this for a few reasons:
We wanted to go out on Halloween night in Barcelona and we figured we wouldn’t be able to sleep too much because we had to be at the airport at 5:00AM. Our next destination was Mallorca and we decided we could just relax on the beach to recover from a night with no sleep. Going into the evening we were pumped. We had put our bags in a friend’s hotel room and headed out to grab some coffee and some dinner. Aside from a minor incident where I spilled coffee all over my hands, we decided it would be best to sit down for some dinner and hang out for a while. We headed to McDonalds because we were craving french fries and chicken nuggets. After a meal full of nuggets and fries, we drew cat noses and whiskers on our faces and prepared to head out with full intentions on being back for a “bugget” and “frucket” later that night. We headed out and Alex went to meet some friends who were studying in Barcelona while Emma, Grace, and I went and met some of our friend who were in Barcelona for the weekend. We didn’t have a super solid game plan, our end goal was just to be at the airport by 5am. We separated and hoped for the best! We went around with our friends for a while, but by midnight we figured it was time to try to find Alex. He was at a club a short cab drive away so we grabbed a cab and headed that way. It was insane! The line was ridiculously long and they had pretty much stopped letting people in because it was too full. Through sheer luck, we saw Alex through the window. We felt ten times better knowing that he knew we were there. He made his way upstairs and decided it was time to leave.
We got back in a cab and headed towards our friend’s hotel. It was around 2am so we still had a bit of time to kill. We found a small bar we hung out at for a good while before Grace decided we needed to dance. She was focused on finding a club within walking distance. She went on an adventure to find one and sure enough, she did and after a little bit of convincing we all agreed that it would be fun. We grabbed our things and headed that way. We spent about thirty minutes dancing like crazy. I was so much fun! We checked the time and realized it was time to go get our things for the airport. Seamlessly, we got our bags, caught a bus, and headed to the airport. The line was so long to get our boarding passes and the line for security was just as bad. We made it through everything with no issues and had time to grab some food and a postcard before heading to our gate. (We got there just in time!) We each got out own row on the plane which was ideal for napping. We made it all the way to Mallorca in one piece cat ears and noses still on. We had a relaxing day exploring the city and a much-needed early bed time. It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget and one I wont be doing again any time soon!
When I told my mom this story she thought I was crazy. She couldn’t figure out why on earth I would want to stay up all night and for lack of a better explanation, I told her, “I did it for the experience.” As I look back on my semester abroad (which is quickly coming to an end) I realize that I’ve done some pretty crazy things. No – not all of them were as crazy as staying up all night just for the heck of it, but I’ve been willing to step out of my comfort zone to experience all that life has to offer me. I’ve traveled places I never thought I would go, tried all sorts of foods, and even skied in the Alps. All of these experiences have given me some of the best memories that will last a lifetime.
Blogger: Mallory, Furman University
