Of the Most Necessary of Vacations

So I was lucky enough to attach myself to a group of friends going to Florida this past week, and let me tell you, that vacation could NOT have come at a better time.

The week prior was filled with the most stress I have ever had to deal with, what with assignments and midterms and unexpected interviews and work. I was also a little on edge about going off on vacation with a large group of people I didn't actually know ... and I was unsure of the sleeping situation ... and the food situation ... Let's just say, I was worrying about a whole lot of stuff.

The trip started off with a lovely 3am wakeup alarm. I am NEVER booking flights that leave at 6:45am. EVER. Because guess what, even with getting to the airport at 4:30am, I spent 2.5 hours standing in a HUGE line to get my boarding pass (this company didn't allow for printing them at home) ...

... and then in another HUGE line for security ...

... and then ANOTHER HUGE line for customs ... (and being me, of course I was in the slowest lines, all the time) ...

Well, by that point, it was the final boarding call (7am now), and of course, my gate was the one furthest away, so I had to call on all that training that I've done and do the most epic sprint throughout the airport (all with a big purse and a suitcase).

Thank god I wore sneakers.

And yes, I made it. As did the 5 senior residents decked out in flowery gear that came in about 10 minutes behind me. Stupid lines.

But finally, YAY, we arrived!

Our resort. It was HUGE. And had palms. Life=made. I'm very easily satisfied.

It was hot and balmy and I immediately changed into shorts and a tank and never looked back. I think I spent the entire week in those shorts and I could NOT be happier. This whole wear-five-layers-and-freeze-your-face-off thing that Montreal has going on has gotten a bit tiring.

As soon as we settled, we realized that we were starving. So the whole gang headed over to a pizza place. I, being so on top of things, decided to get a salad. It was deliciously beautiful.

Everybody else had pizza and breadsticks. Not gonna lie - I felt like a super-fit badass. No pizza or bread pour moi - fresh green veggies all the way!

Basically, our trip went thus - 1 day at Universal Studios ... and the rest of the time? Well, I was either reading, or chilling by the pool. Or sitting in the hot tub. Which you would think is weird, being that it was warm outside, but these hot tubs weren't hot in a Canadian sense of the word, so it was like sitting in a warm bubbling tub. With your friends. Sipping on whatever you had mixed up. So noone was complaining :)

Ah, such fun times. I miss the sun sooooooo much. Which is understandable, since it's been blizzarding here in Montreal for the past 2 days. I'm currently thinking of the best strategy to keep my (very light but hard-earned) tan for as long as possible. No showering until June, perhaps? Hmm ... I'll think about it.

Honestly, I enjoyed the sitting around in the sun and reading much more than anything else. Because I'm lazy. And I like to read. I went through a 700 page book in 2 days because much like everything else in life, I don't do the whole prolonged-pleasure thing. I swallow those books like there ain't no tomorrow. No self-control, this one.

Anyways, most people would say the highlight of our trip was our day at Universal Studios.

Except that it was actually quite chilly that day. I wore shorts and a hoodie, and by the evening, I was FREEZING my tail off. As in, everyone else went to do some more rides, and I waited for them and warmed up in a Starbucks.

Now of course the main reason to go to Universal Studios is ... Harry Potter World. Disclaimer: I'm not a Potterhead. Harry Potter themed stuff doesn't make me pee my pants/scream/faint with joy. But even I could appreciate how nicely everything was set up.

(It was a little weird to look at the 'snow' covered roofs ... while wearing shorts in the summery weather).

Of course we went into ALL the stores. Honeydukes in particular was very well done.

That my friends is a chocolate frog. Except in reality, it was more like a GIGANTIC chocolate toad. Because my friend bought one, and man, that is one hunk o' chocolate. I got something else instead that I'll be gifting to one of my friends ;)

And in spirit of Harry Potter-ness (and also because I didn't want to lug around 5 tupperware containers with my pre-made snacks all around the theme park), we had lunch at The Three Broomsticks.

 
The thing about Universal Studios is ... LINEUPS. That was pretty much the theme of the trip. (Well, besides lazing-around-doing-nothing). Lineups at the airport, lineups at the park, lineups EVERYWHERE.

We stood in this fricking line for 1.5 HOURS. And it WASN'T EVEN A RIDE. I was steaming mad by the end. It was some sort of water/light show about Poseidon. But dammit, I stood in line for those 1.5 HOURS so I could sit in a fricking ride for at least 90 seconds! And instead, I had to stand in some room, crammed against all sorts of other people (I'm pretty sure I almost stole somebody else's child and groped some random ladies' boob) and watch some out-of-work actor do his shit.

You can tell that I get ... disgruntled ... when I'm tired.

Which was the theme of the day for me. If this is what it feels like to run a marathon (and yea, we walked around for 6-7 hours), I'm not sure if I want to do it. I felt like a limp noodle by the end of the day. 

Dude, these vacations are TI-RING. Back to procrastinating in my bed in Montreal!