Our French friends Patrick and Fabien have asked us several times over the last few years to come and join them in Ibiza. It's not that we don't want to. It's just always a problem getting the time off when they have the time off. But now we finally got our free time to match. I booked my summer vacation in good time this year and managed to cross our 8 days during the 2 weeks that the guys were going to be on the party island. They rent a hotel in San Antonio and have friends who live in Santa Euluiria - where we stayed too.
Jens has been to Ibiza at least a 1000 times before I ever met him. The last time he was there was just 2 days before we met. On his way home from Ibiza, his flight had to make an emergency landing. Jens still has the newspaper article of the very scary take-off/landing. His eyes were wide open as he looked out of the small oval window, watching the plane dump all of its fuel before returning to the runway.
Several years after Jens and I got married, he finally took me to Ibiza and I remember hitting him in the shoulder for not bringing me to the island earlier. That was my first and only time to Ibiza. I've always wanted to go back. So naturally, meeting our friends there would be a blast but trying to coordinate dates was very difficult. But finally we made it happen and we had a wonderful time.
Here are just a few pix and a shot story of our adventure and then I will put the other PG-rated photos on my shutterfly site. Click this link HERE to see all 187 pix or at the end of this story.
DAY 1
Having a fresh smoke before checking-in.
Getting ready to board.
Getting ready to land.
Patrick and Fabien are so sweet, they told us not to rent a car because they would be picking us up at the airport - can you imagine that!!
Here we are at the self-pay parking auto-mat.
They dropped us off at our hotel and gave us time to un-pack and catch a 20 minute snooze.
"We'll be back at 8:30 to pick you up and take you to dinner.", they told us.
They knew of this wonderful out-door restaurant on the beach promenade.
Fabien recommended the squid.
Jens ordered the filet mignon which he said melted like butter in his mouth.
Jens ordered the filet mignon which he said melted like butter in his mouth.
DAY 2
Our first full day - we got up and checked out the surroundings.
This is the back side of our hotel which opens up directly to the beach promenade.
Just 2 or 3 minutes away from our hotel is this wonderful water fountain
smack in the middle of the promenade.
The promenade is lined with a huge selection of cafés and restaurants.
It didn't take us long to find our first café-con-leche.
t
A few minutes more along the promenade and we come to the pedestrian street.
At the upper end of the street is the city hall.
Later that evening, Patrick and Fabien came to pick us up from our hotel.
Our hotel is on the east end of the island and their hotel is on the west end of the island.
They invited us for cocktails at their top floor apartment with humongous private patio which allows for amazing views over the Mediterranean.
We are having cocktails and snacks watching the sunset to the west and para-gliders to the north.
Now we have moved from the sky-high patio to the sea-side restaurant.
I don't remember who said what but it must have been funny.
Patrick and Fabien are also celebrating their 16th anniversary and we were celebrating our 24th.
They are so kind and caring, that they insisted that we sit facing the sunset.
The guys ordered squid and it was quite decorated.
Jens loves pasta carbonara and I had some very amazing fish that was in layers with creamy sauce.
DAY 3
Today Patrick and Fabien have booked a sail tour around the island so we are free to discover on our own. When standing out on the sidewalk in front of our hotel, we can look up and see this church at the top of the hill. This will be our big adventure today as it is recommended in the travel brochures.
It doesn't look far and I hope that Jens can make it. I suggest that we get started before the day gets too baking hot. But we were sweating already before we even crossed the street from our hotel. Luckily there was actually a private drive that cut along side of this peach colored apt. complex.
When we got to the top of the short cut and crossed the main road, the next street was calf-burning steep.
Had I seen this hotel on Booking dot com, I would have booked us a room here. It looked so charming. And I am sure the views from this hotel fit its name.
Along the way we saw this fig tree.
The below pix is a close up of what you can see to the left of Jens's head.
These orange balls are cactus fruit that you can buy at the markets - free of thorns.
I'm guessing that if they are not picked, then they become flowers and then new green cactus pads - or something like that.
We are almost to the top now.
Below you can see our hotel - the yellowish looking building to the right of my sweaty face.
Looks like a good place to worship and/or meditate - eh?
Jens said this guy looked like one of the construction workers hiking up the hill with the lumber to build the church.
This is the back side of the church but it is the side we can see from our hotel
which you can see in the center of the photo.
Jens is at the gate to the cemetery.
The views are amazing from the top.
Now we are getting ready to go back down the hill.
But we will take a different route which will lead us to the near-by river.
It's the end of summer but I can imagine this must be even more amazing during the wet season
when the water dances and splashes over the rocks.
Due to the position of the sun, I am now looking back up along the river.
Just behind me is the sea where the river empties out into the Mediterranean.
It didn't matter how many times we stopped along the way to take a break nor how much water we drank.
There was only one thing that could save us and it was a large beer under the shade of palm trees and umbrellas. We are actually sitting at some other near-by hotel. It's so nice that all of the hotels are welcoming to passers-by (to take your money). It's not necessary to stay at the hotel to enjoy their offers.
Later that evening we headed back to Restaurant Bahia where we ate on our first night.
Jens ordered an amazing shrimp and avocado salad to go along with his filet mignon.
I order fresh fish. It was on the menu as grilled or as Iberian Style. The waiter assumed I wanted it grilled. He was surprised when I said it wanted it Iberian Style. I figured, since I'm here......
Jens and I took a little stroll along the beach promenade and then up along the pedestrian street.
We sat at one of the cute little cafés and ordered a beer.
We sat at one of the cute little cafés and ordered a beer.
Later on Patrick and Fabian came by to pick us up and take us to lunch
at the edge of town and on the beach.
at the edge of town and on the beach.
I ordered sardines. I cut off the heads and cut off the tail.
I had no idea I was supposed to take out the spine.
Patrick asked me, "oh you eat the spine too?"
I'm not French - how am I supposed to know these things?
I'm American - we just open up and shovel it in.
I had no idea I was supposed to take out the spine.
Patrick asked me, "oh you eat the spine too?"
I'm not French - how am I supposed to know these things?
I'm American - we just open up and shovel it in.
Fabian ordered squid.
Later that evening, Patrick and Fabien's friend Martine invited the 4 of us to her apartment for dinner. From her balcony we can look out over the harbor much like our apartment here in Copenhagen.
Day 5
This afternoon Patrick and Fabian came to pick us up again and take us to a beautiful home that belongs to another one of their friends. It's just about a 10 minute ride away from our hotel. The weather is hot and sticky so we don't have much energy for anything other than lying about and dipping in the wonderful pool.
Jens melts on one of the many beds at the pool side.
Patrick keep cool in the pool.
I spent most of the day in this wonderful cabana for 4.
Do these sunglasses make me look fat?
Later on Jens gets wise and moves back into the shade.
Meanwhile Patric and Martine take a cool dip in the pool.
Foot fetish, anyone?
In the shade - yet still melting away.
This very large typical Ibiza home has lots of interesting angles and subjects to photograph.
The quality is not so good on this blogger site but you get the general idea - I'm a swinger!
Patrick and Fabian met us at our hotel. Tonight we took a walk along the beach promenade and then up to the pedestrian street to this restaurant with a secret covered garden patio that can't be seen from the street. It was very $pecial.
One of Jens's favorite appetizers is shrimp sizzled in garlic and olive oil.
I ordered delicious fish.
Tonight Fabien did not order squid.
Big beef for the boys!
We ate so much today we could barely squeeze in dessert but somehow we managed.
This is the last stop at the edge of civilization before coming to a huge stretch of beach.
Here we stock up on drinks and homemade sandwiches.
DAY 6
Here we stock up on drinks and homemade sandwiches.
Most likely it's for fishing boats or rescue boats.
The water is absolutely gorgeous and warm too.
It really is this color you see here.
After a hot day, we just couldn't do much more. We were invited to join Patrick and Fabien for a drive to Ibiza city to get some dessert and possibly a cocktail but 2 old farts like us had enough for today....
a simple pasta dish - spaghetti carbonara.
DAY 7
We are back at the beach again today with the same sandwich and soda stop as yesterday. And the same long and hot melting trek through the pine forest. Eventually I grab my camera and went for a 40 minute walk and found even bluer water - it's true!
After the beach we had our good-bye dinner. Patrick and Fabien say they know this little place on the beach. And when they say "on the beach" they mean ON THE BEACH!
I took off my shoes too.
Day 8
We had to check-out by 12-noon at the latest. But we had a evening flight so what the heck were we going to do all day? We had 7 hours to kill.
"Have your bags packed and ready and we'll pick you up at 12", they told us.
How fantastic is that?!!
It's time to dry off and put on some real clothes and head back out to reality.
Click HERE to see all of the 187 photos on my shutterfly site.
