Hello beautiful humans! I think we made it. I believe we actually had the shortest honeymoon ever. Unless it wasn’t a honeymoon trip at all…
Who wouldn’t like a vacation to celebrate marriage in some exotic place like the Maldives or Hawaii? I mean, who wouldn’t love a trip full of love and happiness; where there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure. Everyone would! Especially because they say the sweetest month of marriage is the first. I wonder what happens after …
There is just one tiny little problem with honeymoons:
They come immediately after the wedding.
So what, you ask? Well, throwing a wedding party and wanting to move in together afterwards costs a huuuuge amount of money. Did anyone ever tell you that? An exorbitant amount. Especially for two students. Or….a student and an unemployed. Because that’s what we were back then, five months ago.
However, infinitely grateful for the wedding we’ve been blessed with, my husband and I decided to stop thinking about the Seychelles for now, or the Fiji Islands, or Norway or Iceland or all the other amazing places in the world. They weren’t meant for us at this time of our life. We simply couldn’t afford it.
And that’s ok.
Fast-forward. We’re married for four months now and we finally moved in together, which already was an adventure in itself. Life’s good. The only thing: I long for travel, as always. There comes an afternoon, we check flights, an opportunity arises. Suddenly, a week later we’re on our way to Málaga, Spain. We have 3 days. Maybe 3,5. Honeymoon – honeyweekend – here we come!
But everything came different…
A honeymoon is supposed to be a period of perfect harmony, right? Our harmony was shattered into pieces not even an hour after landing in Málaga. We got off the plain, got our luggage and spent almost an hour looking for our rental car, running back and forth, in circles and squares, because the airport signs were really confusing. Finally we got there, put all our stuff in that magnificent Seat Leon, checked it for any scratches, wanted to get in and drive away, but – couldn’t open the door.
As it happens, this wonderfully intelligent car locked itself. The keys? I left them inside. The spare keys? In Madrid. The distance between those two cities? Around 550 km. How about taking another car? Impossible, all our stuff (including my phone and purse) was in that midnight blue Seat Leon. Wonderful prospects.
Obviously, I had to explain what happened in my poor Spanish. Everyone in the agency kept wondering how we managed to create problems even before we left the parking lot. Una catástrofe! So there we were, two hours after landing in Spain, and I’m already in tears, hiding in my husbands arms.
That’s not what a honeymoon is supposed to look like, is it?
Let me continue. Do you know this classic movie scene where two guys break into a car with a crowbar? Well, we witnessed exactly that. Two Spaniards had to break into the car and pull out the keys using a long wire. By this time I wasn’t crying anymore, rather we all had to laugh. I mean who goes on vacation, locks themself out of the car with all their belongings, and then watches a somewhat break-in to get them back. Keep in mind that we haven’t even left the airport yet.
It’s going to be a great trip – I could feel it.
Once we were inside the car with all our stuff back we couldn’t wait to get going. Away from the airport. Away to Gibraltar. Now, everything will be perfect and full of harmony, right? RIGHT?
No.
Gibraltar: A British Oversees Territory with an area of only 6,7 km2 located at the very South of Spain. The biggest attraction: the Rock of Gibraltar, which is home to the famous monkeys of Gibraltar and from where you can see Africa. We didn’t see Africa, we didn’t see any monkeys, we didn’t have the time to go on top of the rock. #cartroubles
Malága: In the middle of the night our next door AirBnB neighbors woke us up because of some key troubles of their own. #isthisreallyhappening??
Almunecar: While looking for a romantic candle light dinner possibility, the only place that was open off season was a kebab to-go. #honeymoonvibes?
Somewhere by the Sierra Nevada: We caught a flat tire in the middle of a field of nothing. Consequently, we had to change it – wearing a tuxedo and wedding dress.
Life isn’t always perfect.
Things happen. Even on honeymoons. The key to happiness is our choice to react in this kind of situation. Don’t let one little thing – or two, or three – ruin your day. I assure you, these adventures bring people together and make a great story in the end. #sotrue With the right person by your side, even the kebab to go becomes the most romantic dinner, and a flat tire a moment full of laughter.
Obviously, we’ll never forget our walks through wild olive fields or romantic sunsets. Neither will we forget how we suddenly ended up in a herd of goats in the middle of nowhere, nor the bottle of wine we had playing Battleship in an Italian restaurant. However, what makes travel – and life in general – memorable are all those tiny little imperfections. Let’s take life as it is without getting instantly annoyed.
I promise you, it’s going to be perfectly imperfect.
Sparkle & Shine, dear friends!
Love, K.
Photo Credit: Thank you to Perfect View Photo&MUA for that awesome Spanish adventure. You captured those instants that are dear to our hearts. A gorgeous memory!