Sunset strip, Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza

In the past couple of weeks I was lucky enough to return to Europe for the first time since I studied abroad there in 2007. Although I was going somewhere I’d never been before, it felt like a homecoming of sorts – it certainly reaffirmed my notion that the European continent is a lot more interesting and fun than the North American. The US has a lot going for it, but I’d rather spend time in Europe than anywhere else.

This time around I went to Spain – Ibiza and Granada specifically. As I have much to say about both, I’ve decided to split them up into separate reviews. Without further adieu, let’s talk Ibiza.

Wikipedia has this to say about Ibiza, and Sant Antoni de Portmany (the city I stayed in) in particular, “Sant Antoni de Portmany  is a town on the western coast of Ibiza. It is the second-largest town and municipality in Ibiza; an island described by Time Out magazine as “arguably the clubbing capital of the universe.” Many people aren’t even aware that Ibiza exists, but those that do tend to be familiar with this reputation. Trust me, the clubs are there and they’re amazing – but there’s definitely more to this island than just the nightlife.

When I first deplaned in Ibiza, I had been on an airplane for a long time. And as a bus took us the 20 minutes or so from the airport to Sant Antoni de Portmany, where we’d be staying, I briefly worried that I’d made a mistake. At first glance the streets looked like a dirtier Miami, with little except billboards advertising the major clubs’ closing parties to look at. It didn’t seem terrible (the weather was 80 degrees and sunny), but it didn’t seem to be the remarkable Mediterranean island I had envisioned. Luckily enough, I’d find that part of Ibiza in the next few days.

Where to stay

I stayed at Marina Playa, a small white-stone hotel overlooking Sant Antoni bay. By European hotel standards, the rooms

View from Marina Playa hotel balcony, Sant Antoni, Ibiza

were huge and very clean. We had a pretty awesome balcony and a fridge, and really needed little else. This place isn’t a 5-star hotel, but it was absolutely perfect in terms of location, comfort, and the overall experience. The hotel is run by and English family who could not have been more accommodating throughout our stay. If you ever head this way, I’d recommend this hotel without hesitation.

Where to eat

There are tons of good places to eat in Sant Antoni, but by far the most popular is “the sunset strip.” This strip of restaurants sits right on the sea, with the sun setting each night directly between two islands a few miles out. Hundreds of people gather each night at these restaurants, or simply on the rocks with a bottle of wine, to watch the sunset and listen to the DJs that play background music throughout the day and night. Nearly every restaurant has a DJ in Ibiza, and they’re almost all great. You might picture thumping techno music as something of an ambiance killer, but it’s not like that. You can certainly find that scene at night if you so choose, but the DJs that play on the sunset strip play more wistful, relaxing remixes that actually fit wonderfully with the scenery.

Cafe Mambo, Sant Antoni, Ibiza

If you head to Sant Antoni, the sunset strip is an absolute must do. This is definitely a place where I got my zen on – it’s really tough the be anything but relaxed when you’re there. Any of the restaurants will do nicely, but I had one of the best meals of my life at The Mint Lounge by Cafe Mambo. Drinks, appetizers, entrees, and an espresso cost something like 60 euros, which is absurdly cheap. Sticking with european tipping guidelines of 5%-10%, I left something along the lines of a 11% tip for our waitress. You would have thought I just successfully delivered her first-born child, as she soon emerged with two glasses of champagne on the house. Followed by two tequila shots on the house. As we soon found out, people in Ibiza are just dying to give you free stuff, especially if you tip even reasonable well.

The clubs

The clubs are the reason that most people go to Ibiza, and they are

Privilege, Ibiza

absolutely world-class. The week we were there, the first week in October, is actually the perfect time to go. August and September are “in season” and the island is generally packed with tourists, mostly Brits. I can’t tell you how many Spanish people said, “Ew, Ibiza. Too many drunk British people.” Sant Antoni is in fact filled with (largely drunk) Brits, but to me that wasn’t so bad. I love British people, and they only get wittier when intoxicated in my experience. But by going to Sant Antoni after the main tourist season ended, we had a much less crowded city all to ourselves – as well as nearly every clubs’ annual closing party.

I went to the closing party at Privilege, well-known as the largest club in the world. At capacity, this place holds 12,000 people. Yes, it was wildly overpriced, but it was worth every penny. The closing party started at 11:45pm, and didn’t end until 4:00pm the next day. Most of the best DJs and performances don’t happen until sunrise. We’re talking absurd performances throughout the night, smoke machines, fire everywhere, and all the while having unicyclists peddle on tight-ropes over your head. It’s silly as could be, and there are rooms with all sorts of techno, trance, and house music (yes, they are all considered to be very different in Ibiza).

If you’re looking for a club in Ibiza, you probably can’t go wrong with any of the island’s super clubs. I’d check out Privelege, Space, Pacha, Eden, El Paradis, or Amnesia.

Other stuff to do

Aside from checking out the beaches (yes they are largely topless, which caters nicely to my juvenile American mind) and the

Es Vedra Island, Ibiza

amazing Mediterranean water (salty enough that you naturally float), I’d absolutely recommend taking a boat tour to Es Vedra Island. I took a 3-hour cruise on a boat called the Captain Nemo that was absolutely fantastic. The cruise costs only 23 euros, and comes complete with a champagne toast, amazing music, and a stop to swim at one of the most spectacular beaches on the island. The journey shows you much of the coast of Ibiza, which is largely unspoiled and very remote aside from the cities of Ibiza Town and Sant Antoni. Once you get to some of the more remote parts of the islands, you understand why Ibiza is so popular with many celebrities. It gives them a beautiful place to get away where they absolutely won’t be bothered, yet there’s amazing food and nightlife readily accessible.

The highlight of the cruise is when you arrive at Es Vedra island, a small island of cliffs that is simply awesome to look at. It’s completely uninhabited, and supposedly has a magnetic pull much like the island in lost that has caused all sorts of weird things to happen there. As we returned back to Sant Antoni after leaving Es Vedra, we passed a fully naked man who waved to us as he steered his sailboat by with one hand and sipped a beer with the other – his also fully naked girlfriend sun tanning on the bow in front of him. That pretty much sums up Ibiza for you – unregulated, beautiful, and fun.

All in all, Ibiza should not be discounted solely as a party island full of drunken Brits – that stereotype is true, but it’s a very one-dimensional perspective on a place with so much more to offer. Whether you’re looking for a super lively vacation or one that’s beautifully desolate, you can find it in Ibiza.

We’re going to be going on a brief hiatus for a while, as I’ll be heading over to Spain to check out Ibiza and Granada. Look for the next installment of howiGit travel post-trip, somewhere in the vicinity of October 12.

In the meantime, you should all be plenty entertained by this Sunday’s Patriots – Broncos game. Remember that old Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning thing, mano y mano? It’s produced some of the most exciting football I’ve ever seen in the past, and you know Peyton wants this one even more than ever before. It’ll certainly be a good indication of how many cobwebs are still left on that right shoulder of his.

Let’s go Orioles!

By Jimmy Cunningham, howiGit New York Writer, Manhattan, NY

I am not the globetrotter that our editor-in-chief is but I recently tricked a beautiful woman into getting married and that allowed me to get out of New York City and onto the beautiful beaches of Turks and Caicos. We ate like pigs, started drinking at noon, napped on the beach, and generally lived the life of luxury for 10 days. I highly recommend getting married if you enjoy any of those things.

Accommodations
We stayed at the Gansevoort Turks and Caicos located on Grace Bay. The hotel was recently named one of the top ten trendiest resorts in the world and Grace Bay a top ten beach by MSN. The room was great, bigger than my old studio apartment, and overlooked the ocean which was impossibly blue. The staff was always friendly and I quickly became friends with many of the bartenders and waiters. A not-so-little-known fact about me; if you give me food and booze I will love you forever. One of the staff members discovered that I was a Giants fan. Every time I saw him following our initial meeting, he had a trade to propose that would end up with the Dolphin’s receiving Eli. We couldn’t work out a deal. But even on an island in the Caribbean they know Eli is the man.

Drink
There are two local beers on the island, Turks Head Pilsner and Turks Head Lager, known to the locals as Turks Head Dark and Turks Head Light. The beer is pretty good for an island beer, and much better than Presidente seen at a lot of resorts. A tip from the locals is to add a little grenadine, but I didn’t test that out as I had developed a steady routine of three Corona buckets a day. I do not believe Turk’s Head is available outside of Turks and Caicos, but if you’re lucky enough to find yourself there, give it a try.

Food
It was no surprise that I consumed a fair amount of seafood on an island vacation, but even I was surprised by the final tally; I had fish everyday that I was there and consumed no less than 10 different varieties. Conch is the specialty on Turks and Caicos and was the favorite for sure.

The food at the Gansevoort was great. Weirdly the restaurant at the hotel was Italian, but that didn’t stop us from eating fabulous dinners there. We also did some extensive research of the beach bar menu, having lunch and a “snack” (fourth meal) every day. When we did leave the resort, we had nothing but success.

Somewhere – The name of this bar caused a lot of Abbot and Costello-esque situations when trying to talk about what to do with dinner or when you pass the place accidentally and have to ask someone who does not speak much English how to get to “Somewhere”. When we finally found “Somewhere” we were met with great mexican-style beach fare –  you can’t beat a fish taco and a margarita overlooking the ocean after a long day of tanning and boozing.

Anacaona – on the fancier side, Anacaona is an outside restaurant lit entirely by candles and located on a string of boardwalks. The ambiance was great, but the food was even better. I mentioned that conch is the local specialty, and I had an appetizer of conch 4 ways, and as if that wasn’t good enough, I followed it up with a pot pie. A lobster pot pie, more specifically. I don’t think I need to say any more.

Coco Bistro – our last dinner outside of the Gansevoort was definitely the best and my most highly recommended. We had heard about Coco Bistro prior to arriving and were unable to get a reservation all week – they were booked almost 2 weeks in advance. On the recommendation of the concierge, we went early and took a chance, and were so glad we did. For all the hype, Coco Bistro has a totally unassuming exterior, and we were pretty sure we’d be let down. Wrong. They seat you in a garden behind the actual building that is totally canopied by trees. Not that you notice the surroundings when you are eating like a caveman. The food was outstanding. I started with tuna sashimi and followed that with penne with lobster, shrimp, and scallops. From somewhere deep in our food comas we managed to verbalize that we would try to power through dessert. For research purposes only, we battled through coconut pie and banana fritters. We had to be rolled home.

Overall the trip was amazing, no meal was bad and it rained for a total of about 3 hours in 10 days. After having the best night of my life at the wedding (I will never hear the song Shout again without getting goose bumps) it was followed by the best ten days I have ever had. If you want to eat, drink, and relax then Turks and Caicos is the place for you.

When thinking of Tampa, Florida, my mind always conjured up images of spring training baseball, old people, and strip clubs. While these images may not be totally incorrect, I feel like I got to know the place having spent the last week there. It’s a bit of an unremarkable place, but it’s also one that I grew quite fond of.

In general, Tampa feels like one of those towns that exists solely to host conferences – alas, I was in fact there for a conference. There’s a ton of hotels, but there’s generally no one and nothing going on downtown. Sure, there’s a few skyscrapers, but there’s an abundant lack of restaurants, bars, people… quite bizarre. I came to learn that these things do exist in Tampa, just not downtown.

The water in the picture above is not Tampa Bay, and yes, it is abnormally green (it was dyed this way for St. Patrick’s day). Tampa Bay, as I’ve always known the city, has fallen out of favor – in the name of the town’s baseball team (formerly the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, now the Tampa Rays) and in general use. Tampa Bay is in fact a part of the city, the swanky wealthy part in fact, but it doesn’t accurately capture the rest of the city. OK then, Tampa it is.

So aside from the obvious (the weather), what’s there to love about Tampa? First and foremost, let’s talk sports. This place ain’t Boston, but it’s definitely a town of sports fanatics – love it. The Buccaneers, the Lighting, and the Rays are, in order, where the town’s sporting faith lies. I think it’s awesome that it’s such an avid hockey city, given its southern location. That said, for everything I think of the Rays and the whole spring training baseball ordeal (home of the Yanks), I was disappointed to see the Rays in 3rd place in the hearts and minds of Tampians… er, Tampa citizens.

Aside from professional sports, Tampa is home to both the University of South Florida (USF!) and The University of Tampa. I was staying directly across the street from The University of Tampa, which was described to me countless times as a small private school of snobby rich kids (but they have a great baseball team)! The University of South Florida, on the other hand, has made me a fan. Everyone I met from this school was super nice, super fun, and willing to chat it up with a couple of presumed Boston assholes. They also love their USF sports, and I was sad to see them lose out to Ohio in this year’s NCAA tourney.

As for other things to get excited about, I stumbled across a few solid restaurants:

Hattricks – The shake and bake wings are a can’t miss.

Jackson’s Bistro – I had  carmelized diver scallops and red snapper, black jasmine rice, and red thai curry. It made me happy.

For bars (and St. Patrick’s day festivities), South Howard Ave (SOHO) is where it’s at. The Dubliner or MacDinton’s are both great, and even better is the fact that you can get cabbed around Tampa for $3 per person rather than having the cabbie run the meter.

All in all, Tampa was a much smaller city with a lot less going on than I expected – it makes Boston feel huge. But it’s a great sports town filled with super nice people, great weather, and just enough to do. I’ll be back next year for a spring training trip, and I can’t wait.