Munich

It's been a busy few days since I arrived back home on Friday. Thursday evening, my sisters and I left Malaga and headed to Munich, Germany.

We had a fantastic flight with Lufthansa, and were shocked that they provided so many drinks and a meal while on board for only 2.5 hours! The crew consisted of tall blond hair blue eyed flight attendants- very German. Once we landed in Munich, we were quickly escorted off the plane (within minutes) and shuttled by bus over to the terminal. I was so impressed with the German airport, it was so incredibly organized. 

We waited no longer than 5 minutes for our checked luggage- this is unheard of in North America! The airport was also very tidy, and was just superior in every way. 

We were unable to find a cheap hotel in Munich, so we opted to stay over night at the airport until our 12 pm flight the next day. Now, I've stayed overnight in airports before, but this was way too long. Looking back, we definitely should have booked a hotel, but I'm glad we chose to save money and sleep on a bench in the noisy airport instead haha. Made for an adventure and resulted in me having the best sleep of my life on Friday night.

Inside the airport, there was a ton of ways to entertain ourselves. They had a few bars and restaurants open, as well as a live band. The mcdonalds was open 24 hours, as well as a supermarket with everything imaginable inside. The Germans are so efficient, why waste time and space having to go to multiple stores when you can just get everything you need from one!?

After changing into comfy clothes, we spent time wandering around the airport, grabbed some food, and enjoyed the live music. We were able to store away our bags for 4 euros, so luckily we did not have much to lug around with us all night. Unfortunately, neither of us got much rest, as the airport was constantly being cleaned in some way, so we were always asked to move. Soon enough it was morning and we were ready to check in for our flight. 

To make a long story short, this was one of the most stressful situations I've ever been in. We checked in but were not given a seat on the plane. Although we were flying standby, I found this odd, as last time I checked the load was showing a green happy face (meaning we should have no problem getting on). However, our ticket now proved otherwise. We went to the baggage counter and the man refused to check our luggage. He said the flight was oversold by 20 seats and that we should go to the gate as soon as possible and ask for a jump seat. As you can imagine, I was panicking (tried to appear calm so as to not stress out my sisters, but inside I was losing it!!) How on earth am I going to let my 16 year old sister sit in a jump seat for 9 hours?? I frantically started looking up flights elsewhere, but I kid you not, everything was full. We were not going anywhere anytime soon.

I was finally able to find a flight to London, England. From there I had no idea what we would do, but I thought atleast it's a place I'm more familiar with, everyone speaks English, and there are many flights to Toronto that we could try to get on. All of the flights of course were also oversold from London to Toronto, but I figured it was worth a shot. I checked us in for the London flight, and what do you know, it gave us seats. Thank The Lord. So now we had a backup plan. The only problem being that our so-called backup plan was scheduled to depart at the exact same time as our original flight. Well... Wouldn't this be interesting. 

We hurried through security and then rushed to the gate for our original flight. Luckily, the two gates were nearby, so I was able to quickly run back and forth. After such a terrible night and an awful morning, we were so blessed to have such nice Lufthansa crew members working at the gate. Upon hearing that our mother works for Air Canada and that we were thinking of connecting through London if there were no alternatives, they seemed very eager to help. It was an oversold flight with other standbys listed, but these ladies were determined to get everyone on board. Alas, we were able to squeeze on the flight just minutes before departure. We were all scattered apart on the plane but none of us cared as long as we made it on. 

The flight itself was fantastic. Lufthansa is by far the best airline I've ever flown with. The crew was so nice, and the service was impeccable. We received 2 meals and a snack, with many rounds of drinks being offered as well. Unfortunately I was seated right at the middle exit, so it was freezing. This also happens to be where the baby bassinets are located, so I was stuck beside a crying baby the whole flight. Now, normally this would not bother me, as I love babies, but having been up for 24 hours, I was definitely a little irritable and that crying baby was putting me over the edge haha. I managed to tune the baby out, it wasn't his fault after all, and watched a few movies. 

To my surprise, Storm showed up to meet me after my flight. This was incredibly sweet of him, although he didn't end up making it in time hahahaha. I hate to laugh because I'm sure it was very frustrating for him but it's such a typical guy thing to do. I really appreciated him coming all the way down to surprise me though, it was really cute. We headed straight home, and have had a very low key weekend, as I am still exhausted from the trip. Looking forward to getting back into routine tomorrow though!! That's it for now, my European adventure is over, but hopefully there will be plenty more ahead in the future!

Last day in Malaga

Yesterday was my final full day in Spain, so we all tried to make the most of it by spending the day at the beach. We played volleyball for a little while with two young Spanish men, who were quite unimpressed with our lack of volleyball skills. My sandals broke mid game, so I was constantly running around trying to cool off my feet from the hot sand. Us Spinellis aren't exactly known for being the best volleyball players, so it was quite a comedic event. 

Did I mention that we saw THE BLACK PEARL??!!!

Besides that, nothing too exciting happened throughout the day. We all went for dinner around 9 to Mama Leone's, which everyone had been raving about. I still can't believe how late the Spanish eat dinner, we weren't finished our meal until almost 11 o'clock!

My beautiful sistas!

Momma Spinz getting in on the action!

On our way down to the restaurant, Mj insisted on taking a photo of us at the marina. I can see why, it is such a beautiful spot (not that you can see it, she isn't the best photographer haha).

At mama's, Alanna, Mj and I ordered a 10 euro three course meal. For the appetizer, Mj and I each ordered a mixed salad, while Alanna got chicken soup. My salad was great, however, I have noticed that in Spain they typically use iceberg lettuce for all their salads, where I would have preferred some better greens. Alanna does not recommend the chicken soup. We ordered sangria at dinner also!

For the entree, Alanna ordered Spaghetti bolognese, Mj ordered chicken and fries, and I ordered spinach lasagna. I was thrilled with my dish. At first glance, it looked very creamy and there was little pasta to it, but I ended up eating the entire thing. I've only recently become a spinach fan, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this meal.

For dessert, Mj and I ordered a caramel creme brûlée, while Alanna ordered rice pudding. Nothing special to note for the desserts, but overall they were good. Rachel and Emilee split garlic bread and a chicken Cesar salad for dinner, which they were not too fond of. Again, I thought it was incredibly weird that it was iceberg lettuce in a Cesar salad! 

After dinner we took a long walk along the marina, and ran into a few friends from the dance studio. We also stopped for another photo op, naturally.

We did not stay out too late at the marina, as we had to head back to the hotel to figure out our flights for the next day. 

Goodbye Spain... Next stop... Munich, Germany!!

Mijas

The wifi here is extremely frustrating, my posts keep deleting and I'm having a hard time uploading them, so I will keep this one short and sweet. Mijas doesn't need much of an explanation anyway, the photos will do all of the explaining. Yesterday was amazing. Mijas is the most beautiful place I've ever visited!! 

The drive was about 30 minutes from Benalmadena and consisted of me taking a ton of pictures of the beautiful scenery. 

The town of Mijas was basically a little village, where all the houses were white and most of the streets were cobble stone paths. You got the "everyone knows everyone" kind of vibe from it. So cute.

Shortly after arriving we toured around the town and went into many little shops. Check out the amazing view!!

The first stop on our tour was an old church created inside a cave. It was very interesting. 

We then enjoyed the view some more and purchased the most tasty sugar glazed almonds! They were to die for!

For dinner, we ate at a local Steakhouse. The people were so friendly and accommodating, given our limited time frame (Emilee had to hurry back before the show). 

Margarita pizza for Rachel:

Pepperoni pizza for Emilee:

Alanna and Mj enjoyed their chicken and steak dishes, respectively.

And rigatoni Napolitana for me!!

This was some of the best food we have had in Spain so far, and the servings were huge too. One thing we have been surprised about is the lack of spice in the food here. I definitely thought it would be more prominent in the Spanish dishes, but they have actually been quite bland. Again, maybe this is a known thing, but I just thought it was so strange! I love my spices!

After dinner we all received mojitos on the house! I'm not a fan of mojitos whatsoever, but these were the best I've ever tasted!! We then headed over to the main square to watch the Lois Laxton dancers perform.

We had a great crowd come out to watch the show, and the dancers were fantastic (especially Emilee)!  

Alanna took some better action shots of Emilee dancing, which I will have to post on here as soon as possible! I was busy videotaping the performances, so I was unable to take photos. After the show, the dancers went around handing out Canada flags and pins to the audience who seemed to really appreciate it! They were all really excited to receive a little piece of Canada. 

The LLDS performance was followed by a group of young Spanish dancers. They were so incredibly cute, and it was so cool to watch them on stage doing their Flamingo routine. Check out how cute their outfits were!!

After the show we all went out for drinks at a local restaurant. Turns out, the owner is Canadian and is from Toronto! He has been living in Mijas since 1997 and has a few successful businesses here. He was really happy and proud to see so many young Canadians coming to perform in Spain, and it was exciting for us to see a fellow Canadian being so successful over here in Europe!! 

Beach day in Benalmadena

I'm currently sitting outside on my balcony after just having a relaxing shower. I wish I could say how serene it is out here, but I'm listening to this group of people make what sounds like a mixture of duck and seagle noises across the street hahaha. It's the strangest thing I've ever heard. I'm just waiting on Alanna and Rachel getting up from their naps and then we are all headed to dinner. Today was another beautiful day here in Benalmadena! We spent the first half by the beach and the second half by the pool.

I stand corrected- to my left is Alanna, naked, posing against the balcony door. How unusual...

Here's some photos from today:

Not sure if I'm running away due to the freezing cold Mediterranean Sea or because I stepped on a sharp shell..

We walked along the beach and saw the most amazing selection of rocks and shells along the shore. Alanna seemed pretty uninterested, but for Rach and I this was a gold mine!! We spent so much time looking through all the rocks, trying to spot out the coolest ones.

Since we are on a tight budget, we decided to make our own sandwiches for lunch. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and mozzarella cheese were bought at the local supermarket! Not the fanciest meal, but this has become a standard practice for us on this trip!!

We are headed to dinner now, so I'll post again tonight and hopefully share some details from Emilee and Mj's trip to Morocco!! I personally can't wait to hear all about it! If they are in good enough moods to tell us, that is. 

Day 1 in Madrid!

On Wednesday night my two sisters and I took off to Madrid, and it has been quite the adventure ever since. Yesterday was our first day in Madrid. It was my first time flying with Euroatlantic Airways so I was a bit hesitant, but it turned out to be a great flight (minus the zero vegetarian food options available on board). 

We landed around 11:30am and then hopped on a train to our hotel. My first impression of public transit in Spain was a good one, as the train was so easy to navigate and very cheap. After getting settled in our hotel, we ventured onto the streets of Madrid. My sisters kept poking fun at me for carrying a map, but I couldn't have walked around without it! 

The streets were pretty busy, and a lot of them unmarked, so a map was essential.

We walked up to the Gran Via, by which time my ears, not legs (surprisingly), were sore from listening to the complaints of my sisters. Yes it is a steep hill, but we're in Spain, so frankly I'm not concerned about anything other than enjoying this beautiful country. 

The Gran Via was flooded with people and was full of life. We explored the many shops and cafés that it had to offer, and took many pictures on the way. I really enjoyed our walk back to the hotel however, as we chose to go down the smaller not so popular streets of Madrid that depicted Spain just as I imagined it, and were so charming and cute. 

After having an unexpected but desperately needed nap back at the hotel, we went back out and ventured the streets once again. Our first stop, gelato. Chocolate for me, of course!

After enjoying my gelato, I convinced my sisters to accompany me to check out a CrossFit gym nearby. It also happened to be right as the sun was setting, which was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen! I mean, can you imagine doing a WOD in a place like this?

I was super drained from all of travelling, so I had a coffee as soon as we were back at the hotel. We then spent the next couple of hours planning the following day in Madrid, as well as the remaining week of our trip, before hitting sheets! 

That's it for now, I will post about the next exciting day of my travels soon!! xo