a little bit of everywhere

The last you read, I was gallivanting around Roma. Well, to say the least, I’ve lived approximately 12 lives since then. Now on stop #4 since that day, I’m writing to you from our little rental car on the coast of Mallorca. Spain will have to get its own post because I fear I may never leave…..

But, the joy I have felt these past few weeks is something indescribable. No matter what fails, speedbumps, or missteps we took, I wouldn’t have traded a moment of it for the world.

Cinque Terre, Italy

Riding the train in from Rome was an experience all in its self. I left every medicine to my name at the last airbnb, accidentally SMASHED izzy’s head in the car door of our taxi, and made our train by the skin of our teeth. Stepping onto that train as an absolute shit show, we were ready for some hiking and a beach rot.

Our airbnb was nothing short of perfect. You step off the train into Vernazza, the middle of the five towns, and it only takes you 2 minutes to see the beauty of the water, the mountains, and the charm that is Vernazza square. Our airbnb was right in the middle of it all with a view that I have dreamed about since I first saw it. It was already almost 8, so we changed and ran down for a dinner on the water.

Restaurante Luca had the perfect view of the sunset and we enjoyed sparkling rose, caprese and trofie pesto pasta. Pesto was originated here in Cinque and damn, they lived up to their fame.

Exactly 5 years ago from this day, June 13th, I was sitting in the exact same spot. Next to the water on the Vernazza port, looking at the same sky, but life looks completely different. Physical looks aside, I am an entirely different person. That girl who was so scared for what high school and life had to offer her would never believe who she is at 20. She’s confident, she’s not afraid to put her thoughts onto paper and put them on her blog (she seriously would’ve laughed at me telling her this), and, best yet, she’s back with her best friend doing the trip they always dreamed about.

We sat by the water and talked about life, love and all the things that make our world turn around. After lounging for an hour passed the sunset, we decided to call it an early night because tomorrow, we have a visitor!!!

Quin came in from Florence at 10 am and we immediately grabbed cappuccinos and set off to hike the trails.

One of the most magical parts about Cinque Terre is the fact that you can hike from one town to the next. Now, it may take 5,486 steps, endless supplies of water and a professional level of endurance, but the view makes it all worth it. We decided to hike from Vernazza into Cornigla and then take a train to the furthest sourthern town, Riomaggiore for a little beach day. Turns out, they love rock filled beaches here. But, despite the lack of sand, we made the best of some UV rays and chatted for hours. Izzy convinced me to swim in the arctic waters and besides flashing the whole beach, you’re welcome ;), and almost drowning from the current, it was great !!!!

Realizing we were a little toasty… we headed back to Vernazza and got ready for a dinner that would go down in history.

Now, take this story with a grain of salt. The night before, Izzy and I’s waiter loved nothing more than the fact that we were hilarious, and A. As we walked down for dinner, low and behold, Kris is there (spelling Kris with a “K” should’ve been our first red flag). Surrounded by 6 women he works with, he came up and bought us bottles of prosecco and even talked to my dad on facetime?…. I don’t know either, no further questions allowed.

We ended up joining their party and after a few too many few shots, it was time to go home.

Our day in cinque terre was…. unforgettable to say the least. We hiked over to Monterosso and headed straight to the Stella Marina Beach club. We met up with Vianca and MK which was the perfect edition to our little squad we had going on. Izzy though, she was down for the count. Kind of like a tootsie pop, the world may never know what made her so sick, but it was straight from a horror movie. Halfway into my Hugo Spritz bucket under the iconic orange and green umbrellas, I got the eyes of fear from Iz. If you know this look, you already know what my next move was, run.

What went down in the next two hours is something the internet does NOT need to know the details of. I will leave that up to your imagination.

Once I had her settled, I made my way back into Monterosso for a boat ride with captain Nico! the night was perfect. He gave us his speaker, flowing cups of Italian white wine, and indulged in our mamma mia concert. There is truly no view quite like the one of Cinque Terre from the water.

The way the colorful houses cascade down the mountains and fit perfectly into the port. The way the small fishing boats ebb and flow with every passing wave. The way the sun melts into the Mediterranean Sea and lights up the sky with the most perfect golden glow. It all is a type of beauty I only pray you get to experience yourself one day.

Somehow, I blinked and another day of laying on the small sandy beach of Vernazza, eating gelato on rocks in the water, enjoying fresh pesto gnocchi and letting the sun kiss my skin was over. Too bad our next stop is none other than Barcelona.

The travel day was one of pure exhaustion. Vernazza may be one of the most beautiful places known to man, but its quaint charm makes it a pain in the ass to leave from. The train took us from La Spezia, to Genoa, to hit an uber to the airport, to have to pay a whopping $85 to check our “way too big” bags, to fly into the holy land, ESPAÑA.

Complaints aside, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Barcelona, Spain:

We got into our Uber and immediately felt the relief of understanding a language. I quickly realized how much of a privilege it is. I spoke back and worth to the driver as we tried to navigate closed streets and the chaos of Las Ramblas. Finally, we made our way to the airbnb and gave ourselves 10 mins to settle in, look presentable, and get out the door.

Our first stop was dinner at Tapeo. This is a meal that I am still dreaming about, regardless of the fact that it was a whole month ago (which feels absolutely unreal to say). We ordered wine and saw a vegetable for the first time in longer than either of us would like to admit.

The avocado quinoa salad with mango was the perfect intro into the spanish meal ahead. The patatas bravas were ones that have managed to stay at the top of my list throughout all of our spanish travels. The star of the show though? The Iberian por ribs in a sticky, sweet, soy sauce were mouth-wateringly delicious. Two orders of them later, we shed a tear at the meal being over.

From there, we wandered around the streets of Barcelona on our way to find a piece of home. Seeing Isa was like a breath of fresh air. We sat in a speakeasy that served cocktails that both confused me, yet worked so perfectly. We gossiped, sipped and laughed at the stories we all had.

The next day, it was time to explore. Barcelona is one of the coolest places in the world. If I had to describe it to you, I would say that it is the spanish Rome. A place where city meets history except all wrapped in a beautiful package designed by Gaudi. From Park Güell, to Casa Mila, to the cathedral that will blow anyone’s mind and the beach of Barceloneta, it gives you a little taste of everything.

We spent our day on a coffee world tour, critiquing the Spanish Zara and Mangos, wandering parks galore and stopping at every art shop we passed. Izzy found a playground that she made her bitch, photoshoot and all…. But, of course, every model needs a post-shoot meal.

We took a long walk to La Balabusta for yet ANOTHER 10/10 meal. If there is one thing that shocked me about Barcelona, it was the food. This corner restaurant was home to modern Greek cuisine and it did not disappoint. The feta in phyllo dough was dripping in honey. The homemade challah bread paired perfectly with the tzatziki. And those chicken skewers, don’t get me started.

Feeling full, we wandered over to our 10pm “Cube” show at Casa Mila. Now, should we have done some research? Absolutely. Did we? Hell no. So, it’s safe to say we were in for a treat. You walk into a room that is covered in screens and displaying some of the most confusing visual art you will ever lay eyes on. It was weird, lets leave it there. Thank god

there’s gelato to ground you though. We took over cones and walked back to call it a night.

Before you yell at me, yes we went to La Sagrada Familia, and it is everything you could ever dream of. Get yourself a downloadable audio tour and walk around at your own pace. Ever step you take closer to the church, the more details you notice. This church is more than a work of art, it is a masterpiece. Unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, La Sagrada Familia is where I feel the closest to God. There is something so comforting to me in the connection between God and nature, and La Sagrada Familia ties the two together seamlessly.

If you do anything while you are here, please do yourself a favor and experience this masterpiece. The rest of the day was filled with exploring Park Güell, trying natural wines at Bar Salvatage, and eating tapas and tinto de verano with Isa until wayyyyy later than we anticipated.

It took me forever to write this because I have been so caught trying to soak in the best month ever. If you think this is good, just wait until you hear about my new home away from home.

See you soon,

Xoxo P