Top 5 Things I Will Miss About Spain #2

Shopping!!!


It can be a girls best friend. It can also be a release aka Retail Therapy. Shopping! I mean who doesn't love going from store to store, selecting ultra-cute outfits and making them yours. I love shopping so much, I even Internet window shopped. I mean you have to keep your fashion up to date even if you don't have money. To add to that you are shopping in Europe, where you can find the newest fashion trends way before we do in America. That is unless you are a top model or fashion designer. I am neither, but I do dream!


Late & Lovin it in H&M

After hard days of practice, there is nothing like chilling on the weekend in a mall. My town of Finestrat had a pretty descent mall. It was not as big as the ones from back home. But I loved it just the same. There were actually many high end stores in there that I wouldn't dare step into because I knew I would probably be able to buy a piece of an outfit.


Always wanted a cute cut out bathing suit, but this one was too uncomfortable

If we were not at the Central Commerical La Marina, we were down by the beach in Benidorm that also had some pretty nice stores and little shops ran by vendors. The vendors sold little knick knacks and souvenirs. Sometimes you could bargain with them for a cheaper price.

Another place we shopped was in the airports. I mean we were there a million times with nothing to do but wait for our flights. Mostly connecting through Madrid, my favorite airport to shop in was Barcelona. But if you do happen to visit Spain and you fly through Madrid, visit Terminal 4. It is the newest terminal and it has many shops, a lot of them being very high end stores such as Dooney & Bourke, Coach, and Lacoste to name a few. Some of you may remember I bought my green LaCoste purse from the Madrid airport and love it till this day.

Sweetest purchase made in Spain- this Rihanna inspired dress from Zara

Movin on... SHOES! Sweet Baby Jesus! I have to admit I am addicted to accessories; three in general- purses, shades, and SHOES! This obsession has made it impossible for me to put anymore shoes in my closet. I confess, I bought five pairs of shoes while in Spain. One of my favorites is pictured below. Adding to my obsession was the easy accessibility to such cute shoes. In America I wear about a 10 1/2- 11. (I know my feet are small to be 6'2). In Europe that is equal to about a 40- 41. Usually the shoes sold in the states for people with big feet (anything over a 8 1/2) are hideous. I know many tall women can have my back on that. And I mean who has the money to have them custom made like Paris Hilton (size 11). So to get to Europe and see the most hip, stylish shoes was equivalent to me panting like a dog with its tongue out. I absolutely had to take advantage. :D

Confession: These Shoes from H&M hurt my feet so bad, but I couldn't resist

One of my favorites by Mango

Lastly, and probably one of the funnest things about shopping is trying on clothes. This was a past time Lindsay and I cherished. I mean if you don't like it in the store, you won't wear it outside the store. Key Rule. There is nothing like walking up and down the walk way in a dressing room, pretending its a runway and you are a model at New York's Fashion Week. Don't forget to pose at the end in front of the mirror. Another rule I might add is that you don't have to have money to try on things. Whats wrong with trying on things that you know you will not wear outside the store because- a.)the outfit is too Au Couture and over the top to wear in reality, or b.)the outfit is too expensive, but you still want to see what it might look like draped over your body if you did have the money to purchase it. There were many times in which we entered the dressing room arms full of clothles and walked out with nothing. Still fun.

Cute sundress I passed up in Zara

Another cutie I found in Zara... the back is cut out

So if you are ever in Europe, bring an empty suitcase and go nuts! For the moderate shopper wanting to look nice at a reasonable price I suggest these favorites of mine... Mango, Zara, H&M (in America too), and Stradivarius. But take it from me... its always nice to splurge sometimes.

Top 5 Things I Will Miss About Spain #3

3.) Maria Revilla

Ok when I have ever said I love my setter. I mean in high school I was pretty fond of my setters, but beyond that its been a high way of hell trying to connect, communicate and restrain myself from getting in a physical altercation with the quarterback of my team. (Well I will make an exception for Katelyn- we made up and actually had a pretty good relationship afterwards). So me being anything close to friends with a setter is pretty amazing, and if there is one thing I will miss about Spain, its this chica.

Maria is the best kind of teammate there is. Her positivity is contageous. I mean I had the hardest time being down and negative around her. She brings so much energy to the court. M started off as our main setter, but with coaching decision, she became our 7 player off the bench. But she was never discouraged and every time she got an opportunity to come into the game, it always pumped me up. The energy she brought to the court was awesome.

Off the court she is the sweetest person as well. Always willing to learn and understand my culture as an American as well as share her Spanish culture with Lindsay and I. She was one my of translators at practice as well, sometimes forgetting to speak Spainish at all. Towards the end of my time in Spain, her family opened up their home to Lindsay and I for three days and even gave us tickets to a futbol game in Getafe. Touring Madrid was one of the highlights of my stay in Spain. So thank you and Gracias Maria. I will miss ya.

Top 5 Things I Will Miss About Spain #4

Top 5 Things I Will Miss About Spain

4.) Fanta Limon & Kebab


It seems as though I have picked up a favorite food in every country I have lived in. When I say favorite, I mean obsession. In Germany it was the Apple Juice with gas and the sweets. In Finland, it was the Pear Cidar and Rulla (another form of kebab). In Spain this year, it was defintely the Kebab and Fanta Limon. I was actually introduced to kebab by my friend Shonda Cole when I visited her two years ago in Spain. Since then it has become an obsession. Everytime the girls and I went to visit our American friends in Benidorm, we had to make a stop. And no kebab meal was complete without Fanta Limon.

Nicknamed 1/2 burrito by Nay, Kebab is actually a dish from southwest Asia. Similar to the Greek food the gyro, it is fried meat wrapped in a thick tortilla, shell or pita served with a salad, special sauce and sometimes peppers. If you are like me, you add hot sauce to it. Yum! Traditional Kebab meat is Lamb, but pork, chicken, goat, beef, fish & seafood is also available.

Each time I ordered kebab, it was of the Döner Kebab version. Döner Kebab is this big stick of meat that rotates while being cooked. Then when it is time to serve, the cook just shaves the meat down onto the tortilla and prepares the kebab for dinner. Döner literally means "rotating meat" in Turkish. Upon first inspection, the meat does not look very appetizing, but once its in it shell on your plate and the juices are running, you will start to drool. Kebab is also served in just about anything including pizza or even in a salad.

To go along with a delicious kebab plate, may I suggest a can or "lata" of Fanta Limon. Now this tastes just like any regular lemon carbonated juice, but for some reason I cant get over the electrifying taste it leaves in my mouth. It could also be that this flavor of Fanta is not served in America; so when I came to Spain, I absolutely fell in love with it. At every team party, function or dinner I went to, everyone who knew me knew exactly what drink I would order. May I add that Fanta limon is also great when mixed with wine. :)