Category: Milli Stephania

Puerto Rico 2015: Day 4: Condado, EDC and Showers

Posted on by Milli Stephania in Milli Stephania, Travels

Time for check out. Staying with Jose and Bill at the communal hostel was fun, but now it’s time for something a little more private. We headed to Condado, another pueblo right outside of Old San Juan, that resembled city life. This place was more of a tourist trap, not because of all the sights, but because of all the known hotels like The Vanderbilt, Hilton, etc. The view from our studio was beyond pretty, it actually looked a lot like Miami at first glance.

We had some time kill before our second Day at EDC, so we decided to get some breakfast at some spot near one of the castles. Today I was feeling a  little more energized after suckign on some Pepto Bismol tablets, and taking Bayer’s Back & Body pills, since my calves were on strike.

I painted half of my face gold and did some kind of curly mohawk thing with my hair. It was all worthless because while walking we got blessed with one of Puerto Rico’s infamous 5 minute showers that just drench you completely. It was way too fun running in the rain. It wasn’t fun, on the other hand looking like a racoon with all of the yelliner was dripping down my cheeks. I ended up wiping away my face paint with the bottom of my shirt.

Since it was Sunday, The Electric Daisy Carnival started off in the day. I knew I wanted to take the opportunity to get on the rides. Especially on ” la sillitas voladoras” (The flying chairs) After one ride, beer came into play, and of course, more dancing. I was so excited to see FatBoy Slim and he killed it. With only 20 more minutes into his set, i was ready to bust out dancing to Kaskade and Afro Jack.

I was in another world. I swear, music is my high. At least this time in our walk back “home” it wasn’t that bad, it was a nice brisk walk that lead to an even better shower..this time indoors.

Puerto Rico 2015: Day 3: Electric Daisy Carnival

Posted on by Milli Stephania in Events, Milli Stephania, Travels

Buenos Dias Puerto Rico!

That sprinkle of rain in the morning was refreshing . Good thing my hair is all out and curly, so I can’t be all picky about it getting messed up. We started our day at Walgreens. I was so lucky I found one. After thinking about what it could have possibly been to disturb my stomach. Tracing back moments..I soon realized it was from the tap water that I had been served at a restaurant yesterday.

Chris insisted on seeing more sights, which meant more walking. He slowed down for me which I appreciated, but there was no pace in this lifetime that was slow enough for me to feel better. i was cranky as hell and with the hills and the sun beaming on me, it didn’t help.

For breakfast, which I was forced to eat, I ordered a chicken noodle soup, which I ended leaving all the chicken and just sipped on the broth.

We met up with Monica for a quick pull, but today was EDC, and today was the only day we didn’t have a place to sleep tonight. Chris was beyond stressed. I on the other hand was more than ready to camp out on a park somewhere. Jose, the host of the communal living space we were staying at, who’s a such a chill person, was amazing and set us up with a space in the common area. This space was filled with different characters from all different kind of places. Toronto, Pennsylvania, London etc.

Most of us were headed to EDC, so when it was time to get ready, the girls were butt cheek exposed in tutus, while I was busy putting on rhinestones on my face, which I ended up sharing with all of them in the long run.

Waiting on line to enter the festival was HORRIBLE! Worst experience from a festival so far. There were thousands of ravers outside the ticket booths. I would say there was a line but in reality there was no order or organization at all. We arrived at 7pm knowing all we had to do was pick up our tickets since they were already purchased online.

Boy, were we wrong. Making friends on the line was easy. We all came from different places so “Where are you guys from?” was always an ice-breaker. We bumped into some cool people who made the wait on line a little more bearable. But after 2 hours, I was done being friendly and I had my game face on.

We would move one tiny baby step every other 15 minutes…if we were lucky. Some of the other people had no consideration for who or what was around them. Like one girl who kept leaning on the gate, knowing there was people behind her, and she’s squishing us with the gate. A blonde girl nicely asked her to watch herself, since she was shoving her, and the girl on top of the gate simply ignored her. When she shoved me with the gate, I told her her to get down, there was people behind her, and right away, she was back on her feet. Blondie whispered “Thank you” to me.

I’m the type of person who would say something if you step on my toes. Chris on the other hand is more free-spirited, and friendly, he kept telling me to calm down. Thing is, I was calm.

Since I was in front of Chris, I made it my mission to finally get to the front of the line, even if it took us a total of 3 hours to get there. This guy kept tugging on my shirt, and at that point I made it pretty clear that I hope he was holding on to dear life because he wasn’t trying to get lost, not because he was telling me to settle down.

Once we finally made inside at 10pm, the vibe was instantly different. Now everyone was to ready to party, ready to dance, ready to drink. That was the first step, Medalla beer please!

The music was blasting, the dj’s were turning their tables (or pressing buttons on their laptops) the lights were trippy, especially with how dark it was. Right in the middle of Blasterjaxx’s performance it started to rain. It was liberating having those 5 minute showers refresh us. Dancing in the rain. It was freeing.

The walk back to the hostel was not my favorite, our feet were killing us, If I could detach them from my body, Iwould have thrown them in the ocean.

 

 

Puerto Rico 2015:Day 2: Cafesito, Isla Verde and a Treehouse

Posted on by Milli Stephania in Milli Stephania, Travels

Coral Beach, La Isla Verde, beautiful view. 20 minutes away from where we’re staying at. Umbrellas and chairs have been rented, music is playing in the background, the sun is beaming and the water is warm. My sun kissed skin has never felt better. I needed this badly. Right now we have settled into our 2nd airbnb, my choice, and I’ve never been more prouder to say that. This tree house is smack in the middle of Viejo San Juan, the treehouse is private with it’s own little outdoor shower overlooking into a backyard. The amosquito net is a nice touch and once we fell asleep the rain started and since we were practically outside the rain trickled down our faces. But since it was pretty warm weather wise, it felt refresing and soothing.

Earlier today we met up with Monica, our first airbnb hist. That we got pretty lucky in meeting, she has been great in transitioning us into Puerto Rico. We all met up and decided to explore the slums. Something that I would much rather do than visit all of these touristy sights. The hood was poor, gritty but an experience I adored. I felt like it came out straight out of a movie. Los tigeres del barrio stood in a line in the middle of the street, creating a barrier that I initally thought…ok, we’re not getting through. But Monica being hood famous, just kind of smiled a bit and they all became super friendly right away. We walked into a rooftop bar and grabbed some mojitos. So good, even though everything was perfect. I was suffering inside. My stomache was turning all different kinds of ways and my calves didn’t have enough strength to hold me up anymore. I had done so much walking that I pushed my body to the limit, I swas uncomfortable. But the last thing I wanted to do was the party pooper. I suffered through it and I limited my drinks for this night. We walked some more while I limped some more, and when we found stairs to rest at… I found a bush, and threw up all over it. I felt better instantly. I didn’t even drink that much, I don’t undersatnd why I was feeling this way.

 

Puerto Rico 2015:Day 1: Arrival, Colon & Nuyoricans

Posted on by Milli Stephania in Client Photography, Milli Stephania, Travels

It’s 7pm, we are stuffed beyond explanation. But first, we arrived at our first Airbnb, safe and sound. The owner Monica is super chill and gave us a few pointers on where to go in the plaza. Chris and I headed to Christopher Columbus’s castle, which was huge but  non- the less beautiful. The view was exhilirating. The humidity wasn’t my favorite, but the breeze that was going on was absolutely perfect.
We walked, we walked a lot. My hair and I , we have parted ways a long time ago. We walked into a tiny restaurant called “Mojitos” and even though we didn’t have any, the piña coladas with rum were delicious. The mofongo was and on point and some special sauce that was with it, was soooo amazing. It was infused with garlic and lemon, I need to learn how to duplicate that now!

Chris is busy bonding with a Puerto Rican map and a flashlight, while I’m laying down rubbing my stomach, I’m so full, and it feels so good! It was time to head back out again. Dancing started late, but once it did, what a blast. We walked into a tiny lounge called Nuyorican Cafe, an over air conditioned lounge for a reason. Since we arrived a little early, Chris was freezing and I could tell he was getting grouchy but tried his best to hide it. I on the other hand simply ignored it and kept jamming to the salsa that was playing. The opening band was good, it had a bit of an island feel to it. But I was there for the salsa, I couldn’t wait for the other band to arrive. 4 Beers later, it was time to get moving.

Chris swears he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he’s a liar. After a while he started correcting me on how to turn the right way. Ew. Check him out getting all cocky.