Mid-May Vacay!

With exams coming up in June, the next six weeks have been set aside for finishing essays, revising for exams and putting some work into my dissertation. It’s my last term with access to professors so I definitely have to up the intensity a bit in the coming weeks. That being said, everyone needs to get away. I feel like it’s a tad absurd for me to be saying that since I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world (well, Europe at least) for the past eight months, but I think a little girlfriend getaway is just what I need to re-center myself after essay-writing. Here’s the thing about traveling: It’s tiring! I mean real traveling; that is, plane rides, public transportation, sightseeing, experiencing and generally doing as much as humanly possible within a three-day period. Most of the time I come back to London more tired than when I left (albeit much more enlightened). I don’t want to travel in May, I want to vacation; to relax and do nothing! To just get away from London for a long weekend and lay.

Fortunately, my flatmate, L., is of the same mindset, so we’re planning a 4-day beachy getaway to soak up sunshine and do absolutely nothing. We threw around ideas for destinations with criteria being:

1) There are beaches
2) The beaches are nice
3) The weather is warm
4) There is significant UV so we can recover our California tans
5) There’s not much to see

It’s a pretty simple list, but #5 made things a bit more complicated. We narrowed it down to:

1) San Sebastian, Spain

2) Costa del Sol/Malaga, Spain

3) The Balearic Islands (Menorca), Spain

4) The Canary Islands (Tenerife), Spain

5) The French Riviera

6) Dubrovnik, Croatia

{Do you see a pattern with these pictures?!}

After doing some research (this is what I do when I’m not essay writing or blogging… gotta hone my research abilities), we discovered that San Sebastian, though gorgeous, costs a fortune. At £350 for a four-day getaway, we had to (sadly) disregard that one. Costa del Sol became a better option. Also really gorgeous and much more reasonable. I found roundtrip tickets plus a three-night hotel accommodation for under £175 each, but L. was a bit hesitant (doesn’t like the name ‘Malaga’), so we moved on. Note to self though: I think Malaga might be a good trip in the future… prices are reasonable and the beach looks gorg! The Canary Islands seemed rad to us, as well. I mean as an American, there’s something so glamorous sounding about them (please tell me you agree?)! However, I spoke with a British friend who mentioned that Tenerife is to Brits what Cabo is to Californians (I made the connection, but that’s the gist of what I got): a place where high schoolers tend to go after they graduate; lots of partying teens and a typical package holiday. Bleh. If there’s something I don’t want, it’s ‘typical’.

Well, that left us with the French Riviera (out of our price range), Dubrovnik and the Balearic Islands. Though Dubrovnik’s gorgeous, we worried that going to Croatia and doing nothing (but laying out) might be a waste. There has to be something to see in Croatia, right? To go there and not actually do any sightseeing might leave us feeling a bit failed. So, after contemplation, we decided on Menorca, though we still have to book. We found a package for £160 including roundtrip tickets plus a three night stay. Plus, the property is beach front. Can you beat it?! The weather’s supposed to be pretty great (65 – 70F or so), plus the sunshine has to beat what we get here. So excited for four days of nothingness with one of my BFFs.

Hello to crappy magazines, sunshine and tanning lotion, sunglasses (that I actually need), and bikini time on the beach! Time to whip out those sunless tanners and fake a glow before hitting the sand!

Lots of love from London,