Top raver, booth infiltrator and our very own AM to PM girl, Lissy Lübeck is back for summer 2023, sharing her thoughts, experiences and inner musings from Ibiza's clubland. A year older, but a year wiser? Probably not.
If you heard it from anybody else, you'd dismiss it as hyperbole, but Lissy Lü's real life is like that.
Partying as a profession is a hard life... but somebody's got to do it!
Wednesday 2 August
My alarm woke me abruptly at 10:00. It was hard not to click cancel, let alone snooze, as five hours sleep is just not enough for my little brain to compute. It was clear one night in Magaluf had broken me. I managed to drag myself up to make the most of our time at the hotel before returning to Ibiza.
We headed down to the pool to say goodbye to everybody, who were getting various different flights to various different places. Alex had spent the night in FISHER's unused penthouse suite instead of his own room. Fair shout! Would hate to see it go to waste.
As hungover as I felt, it turns out all I needed was a dip into the pool to sort out my sore head.
Inviting and revitalising - the pool at Melia South Beach, Magaluf
With a few hours to kill before my flight, we flagged down a taxi to take us into Palma Old Town for a little mooch and some dinner. I wasn't sure if we were going to make at one point, as our taxi driver was driving like a lunatic. I nearly lost my head and screamed at the driver to slow down. It was terrifying.
After all that anxiety, I had to pop into Zara for some retail therapy. It's obligatory when passing one, anyway.
Being big lovers of Italian cuisine, we found a place called Ritzi. It was this beautiful restaurant situated in a gorgeous traditional old town building, and the food was top notch. I ordered spaghetti arrabiata for main and the berry coulis panna cotta for dessert.
Five stars for Ritzi all round. By this point, it was time to catch my flight back to Ibiza. I was greeted by Stephen at the other end, who drove us home for a quick turnaround before we headed to Pacha for the 50 Year Anniversary Party.
Both feeling the effects from a heavy, heavy week of back-to-back partying, we knew we had to step up our game for this night. Falling face first onto my bed was the preferred option by this point, but we move.
With a cheeky McDonalds en route to give us a burst of energy, we headed club-bound, arriving just shy of 01:00 to catch Bedouin warming-up the stage for Carola and Solomun. It wasn't much of a warm-up, because the tunes they were playing were absolute belters!
The crowd was loving every second of it. Perhaps better known for their more sultry, mellow take on electronic music, I was not expecting this. The duo have gone up in my estimation! Maybe I need to give their Saga night another try?
It's a shame my Shazam wasn't playing ball, because I wanted every single track they played. One track I didn't need IDing was Fred Again, Four Tet and Skrillex's Baby again.. It took the roof off.
At 03:00, the back-to-back we had all been waiting for came to life. The two Pacha jefes took to the famed booth for three hours of musical heaven. I was intrigued to see how they would play as their sounds differ quite a lot, but they managed to find the sweet spot between both of their sonics and it was amazing.
It was definitely an epic celebration for the club, and a monumental moment to celebrate its 50 years of Pacha Ibiza. This one went straight into the history books for all the right reasons.
What a club, what a legacy! Here's to the next half a century.
Saturday 5 August
After a week of relentless partying for the clubbing team, I've never appreciated lying in my bed doing absolutely nada more. More than deserved, in my opinion.
After a deep sleep, myself and Stevie mustered enough enthusiasm to get up and about and not fester in our own filth.
Seizing what was left of the day, we decided to head on down to Cala Salada to catch the sunset. Despite it being on our doorstep, I'd not yet been, so I was keen to have an evening swim and watch the sun go down.
Due to the position of the cove that Cala Saladeta lays, by 19:30 it was already in shadow. There was a tiny smidge of sand still in direct sunlight, but only for 30 minutes. Conceding defeat, we perched ourselves on the rocks in between both beaches to optimise our vitamin D intake.
Another 30 minute later, the sun had completely vanished behind the hill, so we went back to the villa for a swim. Loungin' in bed all day rarely pays on Ibiza. Let that be a lesson to all of us.
Get up and get active or waste the day. Before we know it, summer will be a memory. Times tenfold for anybody visiting on holiday.
Sunday 6 August
Today, my beautiful home girls arrived for their five day trip to the White Isle. While two have been to Ibiza before, the other two are "Ibiza Virgins". I was more than happy to help them with an itinerary for their stay.
After a long morning of travelling after their 06:00 red-eye, they wanted their first evening to be super chilled.
I met them at Blue Marlin for some early evening cocktails and a much needed catch up.
With all of them with long-term boyfriends, buying and renovating houses, new puppies and high-flying careers, there was much goss to be caught up on. I've known them all since I was 11 (Emily since I was four), so it's always interesting to compare notes!
I'm proud of every single one of them for the women they've become. I think they're also intrigued to learn what I get up to with my days. I think it's fair to say that I've taken a less conventional route in life...
Plaza del Parque in Ibiza Town is a pedestrian area full of cafés, bars, restaurants and shops
Several strawberry daiquiris and jugs of sangria later, we headed into Ibiza Town for some much needed solids. Again, my craving for mussels took over, and I took them to the spot where I've had some 10/10 shellfish before, Dilo on Plaza del Parque. I knew they would like it here, as it's reasonably priced and Instagram friendly.
To my horror, the waiter informed me that mussels were off the menu. I could've cried. I compensated by filling up on bread and aioli.
By the end, I was so bloated, I couldn't even stomach dessert, but seeing as the girls are on holiday, a trip to the gelateria felt obligatory. We were all super tired, so they trundled back to their hotel in Es Cana and I headed home to bed. Again.
Monday 7 August
For multiple reasons, today was one of my favourite days of the summer. You know those days that you don't expect much from, but they just end up being a super fun day that you'll always remember? Well today was one of them.
First off, I met up with the girls at Nikki Beach for an effortlessly day of sunning, gossip and all things girly. You can read all about our day chilling by the pool by clicking on the link.
Afterwards, I dropped them back at their hotel so they could get ready for a their first night in a super-club. Not huge fans of proper hardcore raving, I carefully chose the party to strike the right chord. Not everybody who comes to Ibiza is a committed clubber, it's worth remembering.
After a lovely dinner, I invited them back to the villa for a tour of the crib, poolside drinks and reminiscing about our school days before being collected. On our way to the club, the girls made a group call, declaring a 04:00 curfew. Even that sounded ambitious. I won't lie, I was expecting an early exit from them too. I think we all underestimated the power of Ibiza.
Pav and Phoebe know everything about reality TV and showbiz, so when Christine McGuiness and some ex-Love Islanders walked in, they were in their element.
Maybe it was the added allure of the celebrities, but in the end these two fair-weather clubbers out lasted me and ended up staying until close. I haven't seen Pheebs two-step like that since the good old days of year nine. It was hilarious.
I was cautious that they might be a little overwhelmed, but they all loved it which made me happy. It's always nice to get visitors from home as it helps ground you in reality, when the craziness of Ibiza life threatens to drift you off piste.
Thirsty for more misadventures in clubland? The next entry from Lissy Lü's dancefloor diary is online now.
Read previous weeks' capers here:
One night in Magaluf
Radio 1 weekend
For daily insights, you can keep up to date with the life and times of Lissy Lü by following our TikTok channel here.
