Holidays..?

Friday! The end of this week marks my second official week of Easter 'holidays.' Ha. Holidays. Cambridge really doesn't understand this concept very well. Every break I've had since being here, I've had some form of work to do. This includes the summer holidays. To be fair, we have huge breaks. Summer is three+ months, while Christmas is 6 weeks, and Easter is 4/5. However, 'break?' Not really.

I've now spent the first two weeks of my holiday still in Cambridge, rowing, and living in the library. It's been pretty nice actually - not too many people around, most of my friends still here, going to the Boat Race, enjoying the sun (from the window..), etc..

On Saturday, I'll be going to London yet again (third week in a row!) for the Men's Head of the River Race. Now, I am obviously not a man, but I am going because the boys are going. As in, First and Third are sending a Men's VIII, and since this is made up of my friends, I'm going to tag along and be paparazzi-y some more.

The more exciting news, however, is that I'm going home on Sunday! Well, 'home' being a blanket term for 'back to the States.' I'm actually flying to Atlanta to hang out with Mom while she works, and then heading up to Vermont next weekend to visit the grandparents and other various family members. I'll be back in Cambridge middle of next week, but this means I will get a holiday! I will probably spend most of next week in Starbucks/various coffee shops with my nose in my books, but I've decided not to take any work with me to Vermont. We're only going to be there for two days, but I am giving myself a proper break.

The main reason I'm excited to get down to Atlanta (aside from seeing my parents, of course) is my mom's apartment has a fully stocked kitchen! (I debated writing that in capital letters. That's how exciting this is.) I have a ridiculously long list of everything I want to cook, and haven't been able to since all I have in my room is a microwave. (This hasn't stopped me though - I have perfected the microwave oatmeal cookie. Mm.)

Other exiting things to do with my trip:
1. I am flying directly to Atlanta. As in, no stops. This is immense. I always ALWAYS have to change somewhere when flying to Cleveland. This is annoying, but not a big deal. The main high point of a direct flight is that I leave Heathrow at 2.30PM. In the afternoon! Because I usually have to make a connection, the latest I think I've ever left is around 10 in the morning. This sounds reasonable, before you think about getting to the airport two hours before the flight, and the fact that Heathrow is a 3 hour bus ride from Cambridge, and that the buses don't leave that often. (not to mention Gatwick is four hours away). What I'm saying is, I usually get a bus that leaves Cambridge at 3AM. Literally 3AM. I cannot express how miserable this is. It's like sneaking away in the middle of the night. HOWEVER. This time around, I get to leave on a coach at 9. What a civilised hour!!

2. I visited the Cambridge normal library and have an exciting stack of non-academic books to feast on during my trip. This, along with treating myself to way more food than I need in the airport, is probably the highlight of travel. I get myself something from Starbucks, that I wouldn't normally splurge on, and then take advantage of the '3 for 2' deals at WH Smith in the airport and buy more books than I need. I'm being sensible this time by taking library books!

I've realised there is pretty much nothing interesting in this entire post. No photos. I will finish on a tangent that includes photographic evidence.

For some reason, the British make really strangely shaped gummy candy. You know, like gummy worms? Except weirder. I love them, don't get me wrong. Delicious and tasty. But, this is kind of bizarre, isn't it?