FINDING NEW ROUTES

Berlin, Barcelona, USA and Mexico

By Foreign Natives

January 9^th, 2016

berlin and barcelona

After spending the last summer months in Canada and Wyoming, we felt like going back to the civilization again, so we decided to go spend the autumn in Berlin. Because…why not? autumn also had caught us and it was pretty cold in the van so that was a good excuse. Spending some time in Berlin had been on our minds for a while. We wanted to experience its cultural life, music and open-minded culture. So it was good enjoying an apartment with a kitchen and bathroom for ourselves during two months.

After that, we spent one month in Barcelona for Christmas with our families. We already miss them!!

vanlife illustrated

During these three months Eva has been working on a project related to the Van Life. Since we hit the road, she has been taking photos of all the vans that we found on the road. We realized there’s a lot of types of cars where people live in, from the most classic to the most weird: vans, cars, trucks, RVs, trailers, buses, etc. So she started painting with gouache a set of vans that could express the variety of what we find on our way. The final product was a 2016 calendar, with one illustration for each month. Everything handmade, even the typography!

Yo can check all her illustrations on her Instagram account #vanlifeillustrated: https://www.instagram.com/vanlifeillustrated/

She is also accepting orders, so she can paint your van beautifully! :)

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going back to usa

In January 15th we went back to San Francisco. Ferran, a friend of us, took care of our van during these three months, we are really thankful!! When we arrived we found a big surprise, as he had decorated the van to give us a really nice welcoming!! Welcome home!! :)

We enjoyed being back in San Francisco. We surfed, walked, brunched and hanged out with our friends there. In the end, we have spent two years of our lives in this city, so it’s always special whenever we go back.

The following week we packed everything and with a big amount of excitement, we hit the road again. This time to go south. Our next destination was Mexico, but we took our time going down, stopping at some of our favourite spots from Southern California. Big Sur obviously being a highlight for anyone traveling in a van around California. The pictures speak for themselves!

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mexico

As we were getting closer to the border, the stoke was growing by the minute and, after a last stop in San Diego to eat one last In-N-Out burger, we turned our mexican music tapes to the maximum volume and approached the line that divided San Diego from Tijuana. We expected lines, waits and a deep search of our van by the Mexican officials, but there was none of that. An officer just told us to keep going without not even stop to check our passports and…voilà! there we were! Mexico!

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Our first days were spent on the coast between Tijuana and Ensenada, just 70kms south of the border. Weather was great, food was tasty (and cheap) and you could already feel the much more relaxed pace that exists south of the border. Being latin ourselves, we felt like home! :)

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interviews

During these months we have also been interviewed by two blogs. We are really happy to share them, so you can learn more about our experience and thoughts. :)