review

Since watching Gossip Girl when I was 18, I’ve been obsessed with the remote Prada store in Marfa, Texas (remember the art sign in Lily VanderWoodsen’s Upper East Side apartment?). Now that we live in Texas, of course we had to make the – still 8 hour drive – to West Texas and see it in real life! We decided to stay 2 nights in Marfa itself, and then 2 nights at the luxury Cibolo Creek ranch to catch some sun and rest. Here’s what we saw & did:

The way there

The drive from Dallas to Marfa is about 500-something miles, so with enough stops for Bentley (and our own coffee-fixes) it took us about 9 hours. When you drive out of the DFW metroplex, you slowly start seeing nature become less green and more yellow and dry-looking. After a couple hours, the whole way is flat and becomes one big oil-harvesting field. I mean: industrial and dirty looking areas for hours on end.

When you arrive in the Marfa area, nature becomes more beautiful again: still dry, dusty and yellow, but also beautiful mountains and lots of cacti. I would say the road goes from green and curvy, to flat and oily, to real Texan dusty mountains. It was quite a scenery. Of course, we also saw a lot of remote homes and Cowboy churches (which I previously didn’t even know existed haha).

Monahans Sandhills

We stopped at the Monahan Sandhills State Park for some quick pictures. The sandhills are quite surprising in the middle of the West-Texas prairie, because somehow there’s a big area of sand only, where literally nothing grows at all.

So if you want a cute sahara-like picture, definitely stop here. We saw some people with kids camping there too, but since I’m not a huge fan of having sand everywhere, all day every day, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying the night.

Marfa

We found Marfa itself pretty quiet and boring, to be honest. If you’re in the area, it’s a neat little town to experience some existential vibes and a lot of art. Overall, we liked to see how a Texas desert town in the middle of nowhere could exist at all, and we did find some cute places to stay and drink/eat.

The first night we stayed at Hotel Paisano (where the whole cast of The Giant, including James Dean stayed while filming), and the next in El Cosmico (a colorful nomad-like camping site). Our favorite place was Planet Marfa, a lowkey but very eclectic bar with kind locals, and the Waterstop – really good food and a real old bar vibe. I wouldn’t recommend staying in Marfa more than 2 nights.

THE Prada Marfa store

The main reason we wanted to visit Marfa was for the Prada store. For people who are unfamiliar with the concept: The Prada store is in a remote area and is NOT a real store. It is an art piece in corporation with, so not by Prada. You can’t enter the store, and the main thing it is used for is the famous Prada Marfa picture. And it is quite a sight: seeing a Prada store at the sight of a very quiet desert road! And such a bucket list thing for me.

I learned about this store when I was very young and watched Gossip Girl. Lily VanderWoodsen has an art piece on her wall saying: Prada Marfa, with an arrow and 1837 mi. It is the distance from the Prada store in New York to the Prada ‘store’ in Marfa. Now that we’ve visited the store, I’d say we’re allowed to hang it on our wall as well. 😉

Hotel Paisano

The first night in Marfa we stayed in Hotel Paisano. Like I said, this hotel is famous for hosting the whole cast of the movie The Giant. We’ve never seen this movie before, but definitely will go watch it now! The staff and service in the hotel wasn’t impressive, but the old decor and look of the building were pretty iconic. Compared to the rest of Marfa, it did feel like the place to be (hotel-wise). And real fans can book the James Dean room!

El Cosmico

The second night we stayed in the rainbow airstream at El Cosmico. This quiet, bohemian camping site is the place to be for glamping in Marfa (though I’m not sure there are others haha). We enjoyed the quietness and hippy-like features of this place. The airstream had both heating and airconditioning (and yes, we needed both) but with an outdoor shower and a train that toots its horn a couple times a night, that’s about all the luxury you get. I’d still recommend going here because the place is iconic for Marfa standards and the complimentary coffee and glitter cake pops were great!

We found a winery!

After our Prada photoshoot, we took a detour back to Marfa to see some different middle of nowhere-views. We accidentally found Chateau Wright and decided to do their wine tasting and had a couple bites with them. Even though I’m not a huge fan of Texas wine (so far), we did decide to bring home a few of their best bottles.

The place was really cute with a great overlook on the vineyard and wildlife, and the staff were very kind and knowledgable. If you’re in the Marfa area, don’t skip this place! It was one of the highlights of our trip and we even spent enough hours there to get sunburned haha.

Cibolo Creek Ranch

The highlight of our roadtrip was definitely Cibolo Creek Ranch – and yes, we loved it even more than seeing the Prada store in real life. We found this ranch as one of the only luxury stays in the area, and truly enjoyed every single part of our stay here. Cibolo Creek is a private ranch used as a five star hotel. Since you can’t really go anywhere to go eat or have fun (apart from driving back to Marfa), we had all our meals and activities right there on the ranch. The horseback riding was amazing, with stunning views and a lot of stories about the owner, livestock and history.

A lot of ‘wild’ animals live on the ranch and it’s one of the only places that sometimes even looks lush, thanks to the creek and fresh water sources in the area – which is rare for the West Texas prairie. The pool, cocktail hours and interacting with fellow travellers is something we still actually miss! And if it wasn’t as secluded and far away as it is, we would definitely come back. If you’re looking for a nice Cowboy-style yet luxury getaway, this is the place to go.

Some last words and recs

Marfa is a great place to visit, IF YOU’RE IN THE AREA. I wouldn’t recommend driving 8,5 hours like we did, just to see what Marfa is about or to visit Cibolo Creek Ranch. Since the Prada store was on my bucket list, it was worth the drive for us. But if you’re not obsessed with any of the elements Marfa has to offer, I’d recommend skipping the Marfa area altogether, amazing as it was – because West Texas is just So. Much. Of Nothing.

The villages and sightseeing things are quite far apart, so take in consideration long dusty drives and a lot of ‘middle of nowhere’-feelings. Yes – even in the center of Marfa itself. If you’re looking to visit Big Bend, I’d say book your stay closer to the Big Bend area than Marfa or Cibolo Creek Ranch – we didn’t visit the Big Bend at all because it was still too far away, and we heard the same from other travellers. Other than that, we had a great time!

Feel free to also watch the vlogs:

So, we are two months in on the Athletic Greens. We (my fiancé and I) initially started drinking this supplement because we wanted to make sure we get all the nutrients we need, without having to stress on food too much. And we do. But what we gained is a lot more. Let me give you the pro’s and con’s of this green morning-drink.

The quality

Before we start, I need to tell you that we did a lot of research when we were looking for a supplement. Athletic Greens is hands down the most complete, high quality supplement out there. Not only does it contain almost every vitamin and mineral you need from very good resources; it also contains enzymes, probiotics and fibre.

On top of that, the ingredients are perfectly proportioned to be as easily digestible as possible for your body – so you actually benefit from all the nutrition that’s in there, and are not simply paying for very expensive pee. So, if you’re looking for a supplement, Athletic Greens is really one of the best out there.

The taste

When we started drinking it the first morning, we were surprised by the good taste. I wouldn’t say it tastes as good as green smoothie or juice (because it’s still a powder), but it wasn’t as sandy to be as some of the reviews said and the taste is pineapple-ly and spicy.

We kinda like it. But the flavour is quite strong and sometimes I have to drink a sip of water with it as it itches my throat (kinda like cinnamon), so that’s something to consider. This doesn’t bother me, personally.

The benefits

We were most surprised by how the felt amazing on the first day. Really – I’m not exaggerating – I felt like I was high on caffeine, had a very good night sleep and took some Ritalin. Except, I didn’t do any of those things. I just had one coffee in the morning and when I wanted to take my second afternoon cup, I decided it wasn’t necessary because I was so full of energy.

Sadly, this effect only lasted one day. The following days, the superwoman feeling was gone and even though I still felt better than before, I wouldn’t describe Athletic Greens as something magical. That was really just the first hit (that I was thankful for though 😉 ), though I think it does tell us something about the effectiveness of the drink.

Some long-term effects for me, are: weight loss (easier than normal, less cravings), better sleep, slightly glowing skin and more constant energy-levels. It also cures hangovers or colds quicker than usual. I also feel that my nails are even stronger than before. And of course, the nice and calming idea that overall, I get all the nutrients I need alone is worth a lot to me.

The Cons

Honestly, I don’t feel like there are real downsides to this drink. But if I had to come up with some cons, it would be that for optimal absorption, you need to wait 30 minutes until you can eat breakfast or have a coffee. Athletic Greens can’t help this – it’s just the way our body works, but this does require some planning in the mornings.

Another more obvious downside could be that this supplement is quite pricy compared to other, lower quality supplements on the market. I personally don’t mind this, as I’m very willing to invest in my health and it makes my life easier. But I can imagine not everyone is willing to pay this amount of money as it does not replace healthy meals.

Are you on Athletic Greens or do you want to try it?

xx Coco

A lifestyle blog by Conny VanderMeer

Marfa (West Texas) roadtrip 2023