made a wish today.

in rome.

at the fontana di trevi.

wish i could say more but this is all for now...

ciao! xo

the time has come.

pepe & mina (los abuelos)

mi familia

sav & i with the kids

we all had to say goodbye to our spanish families tonight. it was really bitter-sweet.

we've had so many lovely experiences during these three months in mallorca & met so many wonderful people. 

now we're off to travel for the next three weeks... not sure if i'll be able to blog much during our travels but i will definitely catch up once i get home if not. 

adios mallorca! 

sometimes...

i really miss this place i call home...

 and these people...

don't make fun of my drawing abilities. because i don't have any. but i have had plenty of opportunities to draw after spending the summer with two little girls. 

we took this picture the day before i left to spain on the polaroid camera dustin gave me for my brithday (i'm in love with it). 

being away from home always gives you time to refocus on exactly what is important in life.

& that is love. love of family & friends.

because its really all that matters & with those things life will always be happy.

yes, there will always be hard times. but with those people in your life who love & support you most, you'll always get through it.

can't wait to see you familia. in just three & a half weeks! 

notes from spain.

dear little sister,

i bought you the cutest thing yesterday. i tried it on & loved it too much so i had to buy one for myself as well. i thought i could just get one for you & then borrow it but then that isn't a very nice thing to do with a gift (plus i just might move out again.... someday) so i bought two. luckily the summer sales here in spain are muy bueno so i didn't feel too guilty.

dear humidity,

after spending another summer with you, i am still not a fan.

dear camera, 

you are a trooper. you have been by my side since my sophomore year of high school and have always done your job. but i'm starting to feel your 6.0 worth of megapixels just ain't cutting it for me anymore. or maybe its just that no pictures can do this island in spain justice. either way, i kind of really want an upgrade. santa claus? :)

dear car, 

i miss you. although i'm getting a lot more exercise here, i realize now how much more i appreciate you. sorry for taking you for granted. i hope the family is treating you well (or else!).

dear speedos, 

i used to be grossed out by you. but now i'm just thankful that some european men put at least something on in the first place. so thank you for providing the small cover that you do.

dear bed,

the second i jump onto you i might just never get up again.

dear autumn,

i see all these fb statuses, blog posts, etc. that you are on your way. but i don't have any sign of you here on this never-changing island. however, i do look forward to meeting you soon. along with my fall attire.

xo,

lulu

bellver castle.

you can see this castle from where we live in palma and there is a path through the forest that takes you right to it so seeing as we only have a few more weeks here in mallorca we figured we'd better get to it!

castell de bellver

following the pathway in the forest

naked  statues are really no big deal after all those nude spanish beaches.

the bellver castle is one of the few circular shaped castles in europe

not only was it fun to explore the castle but you could see everything from the top

it was fun to see the city we've been living in all this time from another  viewpoint

 the port where the cruise ships come in

close up of the city of palma & the harbor

this castle even had a drawbridge & moat surrounding it...  pretty legit.

holiday with mejor amigas

holiday was even greater because alicia, savannah, & i were all close by.

we somehow managed to get together every day whether it was by the forty-five minute (each way) walk along the coast to meet each other at the (basically nude) beach in the middle, bike rides, buses, or the occasional ride from our spanish parents. 

have i ever mentioned that sometimes i really miss my car? well, i do.

i didn't mind the walks so much though. it gave me plenty of time to think & just enjoy the scenery. i especially loved walking home while the sun was setting.

other than our bigger adventures which i have already blogged about, we spent plenty of time at the beach together...

& eating gelato, of course. this place had some called "spaghetti" that we couldn't resist trying. don't worry, it was really vanilla ice-cream with strawberry & white chocolate toppings. yum!

we jumped off the "trampoline" (yes, that is what they call a diving board) that is on the coast in la rapita.

 & to finish off our week we went to a festival in ses salines where alicia lives.

 i didn't realize i was like fifty feet away from the horse at the time... haha.

 food some people from the town prepared. lots of typical spanish things. like black pig sausages. no big deal.

 eating what are called "egos" here. pretty sure they are figs.

 sav, alicia, & i on the street watching the horses pass by

we had no idea what to expect at the festival we just knew it was a tradition from the island of menorca, spain & the mom of savannah's family said it can be dangerous and that sometimes people get hurt so we should be careful. we didn't really understand why... until it started and two horses would go down the main street at a time and the rider would have them jump up on their hind legs while brave (mostly drunk) people in the crowd would try to touch the horse's belly. it was like a spanish version of a rodeo but without the fences & stands to sit safely in & sometimes the horses would go right towards the crowd lined up along the narrow street. if horses could be this intimidating i can't imagine going to a running of the bulls here in spain. we were freaking out sometimes when the horses got too close but it was so much fun. we were laughing the whole night. there was a break in the middle where everyone on the street was dancing so we had to join in. it was such a fun cultural experience.

here are a few videos i took to let you get a better idea of what it was like:

this one or this one with a crazy horse who kept going right into the crowds