weekend in paradise...

This Saturday, I felt like I was living in a dreamland! We went to Cadiz, a city a little less than 2 hours from Sevilla, where we spent all day Saturday at the beach and then ran a half marathon on Sunday. The beach, ocean, and city were incredibly beautiful, and we were really fortunate to have perfect weather on both days. (sunny and calm on Saturday for the beach and a little more cloudy and breezy on Sunday for the race) 

Since it is only March, the beach was not too crowded (even though it may look like there were quite a few people there in the picture). Apparently when it gets really, really hot, the beaches are PACKED and you can barely even walk through all the people laying out. This was my first experience at a European beach, so I was slightly taken aback when I found out that it's completely normal for the women to go topless. I got used to the idea after being there for awhile, but I was pretty shocked the first time I saw it!

Kayla and I had a great time looking for shells, playing in the sand, and trying not to get too wet from the freezing cold ocean water. I also loved just sitting in the sun, watching little kids run away from the waves, and listening to the ocean. 

Saturday was Kayla's birthday, so that night we went out to a cute tapas restaurant and then a creperia where we demolished our crepes in a matter of minutes. My favorite had nutella and bananas inside and then whipped cream on top. I had never tried crepes before, but I have decided they are delicious!

The hotel we stayed in was really nice, and it was a good change from the sketchy hostel we stayed in on one of our last trips. After dinner and crepes on Saturday night, we pretty much went straight to bed so we could get a lot of sleep before our big half marathon on Sunday (which I will post about at another time).

As wonderful as this weekend was, I will say that I missed people from back home quite a bit. I love to be in all of these amazing places, but it is really people and relationships that make experiences meaningful. Know that I am thinking of all of you and wishing that you could be here experiencing it all with me!