Travel & Hotspots
May's Ibiza Diary
Ibiza is like a bottle of champagne. The taste won't be very surprising (you've already tasted it and you know what you're going to get), but it's always good and exactly how you want it. So we booked our favorite house in Ibiza on Boxing Day (yes, that's a slight deviation, then I know that a period of deep darkness and boredom is approaching and the only thing that keeps me a bit on my feet is a fresh vacation, so on Boxing Day after the too-much-of-everything lunch, the laptop opens and I surf the world).
Now you should know that I once decided to fly around Ibiza in the high season. A bit too many people with, how shall I put this nicely, a slightly different daily schedule than mine and mostly a lot of people with exactly the same schedule as me. In fact, with people who also go to the same places in daily life as I do. Nice, don't get me wrong, but before you know it, you're sitting all day around a jug of sangria with people you could also see in Amsterdam. No new insights and unexpected encounters, just same old, same old.
But Ibiza is loved for a reason. Or did you really think that Estelle Cruijff, Wendy van Dijk and Saskia Noort would spend their summers in a dump? Without infinity pools, without sun, without spicy beach tents, without local shops? No, you didn't think so. In case you haven't been here (which I can hardly imagine), it is really beautiful here, you eat divinely, you have the Spanish messy hospitality combined with Ibiza's hipness, it's sun assured and did I already mention that you really have nice beach shops here? With those crocheted bikinis that cost a fortune in the Netherlands and that you can slide into your wicker bag here for a neat 35 euros? That's another tip by the way. The bags here are made of wicker. Or leather with lots of fringes, but that's actually a bit over the top even here. For the label-loving pitspoezen among us (guilty): if you want to flash a designer bag on the beach, the Neverfull from Louis Vuitton is a good option.
But anyway, where was I. So it was going to be Ibiza, because if we were finally going on vacation (from Boxing Day to July 24 is quite a long time), we wanted to do it right.
House via Ibizahousefinderz.com (my secret for the best houses and perfect service), tickets with KLM (it's just a bit nicer to fly in the afternoon than at 06:00 in the morning), and off we went. Then the same, then meeting a lot of acquaintances.
On our first round in the city of San José, I discovered a new shop. My favorite salt (proof, proof) Sal de Ibiza has now become a whole boutique. With all their products and the cutest kaftans (which are still nice in the Netherlands) and those crocheted bikinis that are embroidered with shells. And I also discovered a new restaurant in Santa Gertrudis, Mikado. With an Asian cuisine that everyone was eagerly waiting for after Bambuddha Grove (once really the pinnacle of cool) became a kind of restaurant factory.
And those were my finds after a quarter of a day in Ibiza. I haven't even been to Los Enamorados Ibiza yet. You know, the hotel of Rozemarijn de Witte, the woman who came up with the magazine LINDA. And if Rozemarijn does something, you know for sure that it’s stylish and tasteful. And that you will be surprised by something you have never seen before.
There I am with my sour same old, same old theory. Absolutely nothing same old about here. And what do you think? After three days in Ibiza and even a full day at Es Torrent (one of the best little bays and a magnet for nice people), I haven't encountered any acquaintances yet. I should quickly message Fred van Leer to see if he's around for a drink. Because a vacation in Ibiza without friends is just another vacation in Ibiza without friends.
In any case, it's totally okay to come back here next year. After all, I need to keep up with everything that's happening here. Also from a professional point of view. Right? I will make a reservation with the landlady right away. That’s done and I can just keep the laptop closed next Boxing Day.
