Weekend in Ibiza and Seville!

In our third week, a group of 7 of us decided to take a long weekend to Ibiza. However, the flights back were unbelievably expensive, especially for Ryanair. We found quite a cheaper route going through Seville, but it meant we would only spend one night in Ibiza and three nights in Seville. It seemed unfortunate, but after one night Ibiza, we weren't sure if we could handle anymore.

We arrived on Thursday evening around 7pm, and took a taxi to our hotel, and driving through the city, it didn't look like what you'd think the party capital of the world would look like (oh yeah, did I mention that Ibiza is the party capital of the world? It is. I'm serious, go google it! I'll wait here....did you see?!). It mostly looked like what I think a small town in Greece would look like. Did you ever see that remake of mama mia with Meryl Streep? Yeah, like that. But I have a habit of misjudging people and places when o first encounter them.

First we ate as cheaply as we could, then it was immediately back to the hotel to get ready for the night. We were headed to a show with some big name DJs such as headliner Paul Van Dyke, Deadmau5, ***, and some other people I'd never heard of. I admit, it didn't sound like my scene. Certainly not the kind of music I'd be interested in if it weren't for the rest of the group.

Before going to our concert, we headed to a bar called Deja Vu, owned by a friend of one of the members of our group. Here we were greeted with a free shot (weak, very weak, but free) and a pitcher of sangria (not free). The owner encouraged us to drink more because "one drink at amnesia is 20€." Twenty WHAT NOW?? Yes I heard correctly, 20€ for a drink. One. Just one. We politely declined the offer of cheaper drinks because we were 7 headed to a party of 6500 or more, and our biggest priority was to stick together.

After midnight we hailed a cab (which are in incredibly low supply in Ibiza for whatever reason) and headed off to Amnesia. And let me say, my friend was right when he called it "Malibu with British people." Never have I heard so much English in Spain and not a single American accent to be heard except my own.

Well, how can I describe Cream Ibiza? It could easily fall into the top three of my most fun nights I've ever had (and the number one most expensive), and I only hesitate to say it was my most fun night because I can't immediately recall all my nights and don't wish to be over zealous. It was loud and crowded and hot and there were too many colored lights shining directly in your eyes, and dancing, lots of dancing. All of the things I usually hate, but I was with a good crowd and everyone, all 6500 of them, seemed to be in a good mood.

Unfortunately headliner Paul Van what's-his-name couldn't be there because of some extreme sickness, but I wouldn't have known if no one had said anything. You'd think they'd refund some of our 50€ we paid to get into the stupid show, but like I said, it was definitely the most expensive night of my life. I never found out how much the drinks really were, never having ordered one or asking the bartender out of curiosity, but our group of 7 spent well over 100€ on water alone. A bottle of .35L (or 11.6 fluid ounces, 5.3 oz short of the standard American size bottle. Really tiny, in other words) cost 8€, and if you wanted a glass with ice, 10€. With a roughly 25% premium with the exchange rate, that meant $10 for less than a bottle of water. But demand was inelastic. There was no escaping the need for water. It was so packed and so hot, an even hotter with all the dancing, and when you do it for 8 hours like the spaniards do, you can easily blow 24€ on water (like I did) and think it a reasonable purchase.

So yes, for 8 hours we partied. I think we left the show at a little after 7am, got back to the hotel at a little before 8. We settled in for a short nap, needing to check out before 12. We spent the afternoon at the pool before going to catch our flight to Seville around 7.

Which brings me to...

Travel tip #2:
When booking a hotel, know that you can go with the cheaper option, but they'll mostly be farther from anything worth being close to. You might shy away from a more expensive hotel because of the price, but if you book the cheaper one, you'll end up paying the difference in travel to and from the city center, and it'll take much more of your time. Anyway the point is, if you're booking a hotel in Seville, make sure your hotel is IN Seville.

The 35€ cab drive into the city certainly put a damper on the weekend's activities. Of course, the first night we stayed in the pueblo where we were staying outside the city, called Solúcar. We stopped in a random cheap restaurant, and stumbled upon a live show. I mean, it wasn't much, just 4 adorable little Spanish girls who were average singers, but still cool. We then went back to the hotel and slept for what felt like the first time in a long time.

We didn't get an early start the next day, but we went into the city, had lunch, and walked around. We went back to the hotel when the heat became unbearable (over 100F) and readied ourselves for a night out. It took a while to get anywhere, but first we tried what we'd heard was a really exclusive club frequented by celebrities and sexy fútbol players alike. I didn't have high hopes, but I did recognize how freaking cool it would be to meet a famous and good looking soccer player. Alas, we were turned away at the door. Then we headed to someplace nearby that had a fairly large crowd outside it, but apparently this place was high end. Or they must be with a 40€ entrance fee. Instead we went to a place called Plaza Europa, that was just as lively but for 10€ and a complimentary drink. Again I never found out the real cost of a drink, but 350mL of water was 3€. It's equally ridiculous to buy less than a full bottle of water for $4, but after Ibiza, 3€ seemed quite cheap.

This time we made it back to the hotel before the sun came up. It felt somehow early when we hailed a cab to take us back at 6 in the morning, but we didn't get up until about 3pm anyway. Please don't judge me dear readers, I know just as well as you it feels stupid to spend half your say sleeping and the other half sitting by the hotel pool, but it was expensive an time consuming to get to the city. I find solace in the fact that I'm headed back to Seville in just about a week. I SWEAR, this time I will definitely take advantage of being in in Seville.

There isn't much to be said about the rest of my weekend. Sunday afternoon, what we were awake for, was spent by the pool. We stayed in for the night. We spent our Monday afternoon by the pool as well, before heading off to catch our flight back to Valencia.

As for my final thought, Ibiza was really great, but who could possibly spend more than a couple nights there? You'd go broke by the third day. As for Seville, I don't think I can give a fair assessment, having only really been in the city for an afternoon. Once I go back, I'll let you know. Deal?