Holiday!

First of all, I apologize for how late this is!  I've been super busy since I got back from break and have hardly had a free minute.  So I'm going to go way back to the very beginning of spring break--get ready for a verrrrry long post!
Thursday, the 5th of April, we had a fieldtrip to the Tower of London.  It was pretty cool, and I can now say I've seen the Crown Jewels, but it was a freezing cold day so it was a little harder to enjoy.  Friday my friend Alissa and I embarked on a dessert tour of the city.  We mapped it out ourselves, so if we were feeling too full we could skip out on a couple.  We ended up splitting 8 desserts I think, and we finished with margaritas.  It was so much fun, but I was definitely in a sugar coma by the end of it.
We left for Barcelona super early that Saturday (the joys of travelling with bargain airlines and from an airport an hour and half outside the city) and got there midday.  Our hostel was way on the other side of the city, so we made the trek to drop our things off before exploring the city centre.  Barcelona is absolutely beautiful--it has definitely made my favourite cities list.  We saw the Sagrada Familia, a cathedral, and a bit of the famous Gaudi architecture before having bocadillas (sandwiches) at a little cafe.  Afterwards we slowly made our way down Las Ramblas, the city's main market street that leads to the sea.  At some point we ended up in a plaza, where there was a pillow fight going on among a crowd of Spanish students--it was so random, but really fun to watch.  Then we wandered along by the sea, checking out the boats and watching the sunset.  Barcelona was so much more laidback than London--no one was in a hurry and there was laughter everywhere.  And I loved hearing Spanish all around me and being able to use the Spanish I know.  I honestly have never been that drawn to Spain or Mexico--the culture just never really interested me.  Being in Barcelona completely changed my mind though.  I would so love to go back and spend more time in Spain.  The next day, we slept in before spending the afternoon on the beach.  Then we made the journey to the boat, which took much longer than planned.  I was so happy to finally be on the boat!  And it really was an incredible cruise ship--it was massive and so nice inside.  Monday we were at sea all day, so it was the perfect day to lay by the pool.  I definitely have never been a pool rat or the type of girl that sits outside all day just to get a tan, but I have to admit it was kind of nice to get lost in a book while sitting by a pool in the middle of the Mediterranean.    That evening our meal was formal, so we got to get dressed up and feel like we weren't poor college students for a night.Tuesday we were in Tunisia, which is in North Africa.  It was definitely not what I expected, not that I really know what I thought it was going to be like.  We had planned on just staying in the port town to save money; the problem was that there was absolutely nothing in the port town and it really wasn't a very nice place.  The other problem is that we really didn't think about dressing appropriately--Tunisia is a Muslim country, so we really should have worn jeans and long sleeves.  We just got hassled the entire time, and it was making us all feel more than uncomfortable.  So we turned around and went back to the boat.  Wednesday we were in Malta, which was beautiful.  We wandered around the centre of Valletta for a while, and then we decided to go on a sightseeing bus so that we could see a few more things.  We stopped at some beautiful gardens and at the old capitol, and then found a little cafe for lunch.  Thursday we were in Sicily, and it was such a beautiful day for such a beautiful city.  We also met this old man who was on a cruise for four months that went around the world--he'd literally been everywhere.  We talked to him for probably 20 minutes because he just had so many stories to tell and he was so nice.  I honestly couldn't tell you what we all saw in Sicily, but it was all so pretty.  Friday was Rome, but Abby and I didn't pay to go into the city since we'd both been there before.  The port town wasn't very exciting and it was raining all day, so we had a very lazy day.  Saturday was Genoa, another beautiful Italian city.  And then we were back in Barcelona Sunday and flew back that night.  We didn't get back to central London til after 3 in the morning, so we were definitely exhausted.  I did laundry and semi-unpacked on Monday before heading to my aunts' that evening.  For my birthday on Tuesday we went on a day trip to Bruges, in Belgium, on a coach tour Jenny found.  It was a five hour journey each way, but it was so incredibly worth it.  I've decided I'm moving there.  It was just gorgeous--it reminded me a lot of Pella, but obviously better.  We had a delicious lunch at a little sidewalk cafe, which was covered and warmed with outdoor heaters since it was so miserable out.  I made sure to get frites with mayo for mum, and Jenny made me try the beer since it was my birthday.  We even split a Belgian waffle later in the day, which was to die for.  And I can't forget all the little chocolate shops that were on every street.  Most of the architecture in Bruges is Gothic, but the storefronts and the houses looked very Dutch.  I honestly could have spent weeks there and been happy.  But we had to get back to London that night, so that we both could work in the morning.
We actually ended up not having to work on Wednesday, which was really frustrating but probably good at the same time so that I could get caught up with assignments and e-mails and graduation stuff.  Thursday we had class all day, and then my friend Molly, who's doing her postgrad at Bangor, came to visit for the weekend.  Friday we had a daytrip to Brighton, which was a lovely place.  It's on the seaside, and it was such a quirky student town--it was the kind of place where I could see myself living.  Yesterday we did Camden Market and Covent Garden, and in the evening we went to see Billy Elliott on stage.  It's one of the best shows I've seen so far--I think I cried twice from sadness and once from laughter.  We had been planning on going to Wicked, but last minute changed our minds because Billy Elliott can really only be seen in London, and Wicked is everywhere.  We definitely made the right choice.  Today we went to Spitalfields Market in the East End before checking out the London Marathon at St. James's Park.  Someone told us that Prince Harry was handing out the awards so that obviously was our motive for going, but we didn't end up seeing him and instead got to enjoy watching the runners in all of their crazy costumes cross the finish line.  I could not do a marathon, and especially not in London rain.  Molly left earlier this evening, and now I'm finally getting around to this and other homework.
I wish I had time to go into more detail about everything that's happened in the past couple of weeks, but I feel like you'd be sitting here for ages!  It truly was a wonderful break, and I feel very blessed to have been able to do it.  I have to admit I wouldn't choose to go on a cruise again, but it was really cool to see so many places and experience so many new things.
Anyway, I'm off to do my homework.  Hope you all have a lovely week and I will see you soon!