Our cruise during spring break was glorious. I got a chance to truly relax for the entire break and I got closer with the friends I roomed with. In addition, I got to go to a lot of really neat places. On Monday morning, we went to salsa lessons on the ship and in the afternoon, we docked in Naples and made our way over to Pompeii. While the old Roman city had closed for the day, I wasn't too disappointed since I've been twice before. What was really crazy is that we ran into some Penn State students from AIB right outside the entrance. They happened to be passing through just like us. Tuesday brought us to Palermo on the island of Sicily. We didn't have anything planned in particular, so we just walked around the city and stopped at interesting places. It rained a little which was pleasant.
We made it to the great continent of Africa on Wednesday when the ship stopped in Tunis, Tunisia. We booked an excursion with the cruise that explored Medina, the Souk, and Carthage. The Souk was fascinating with it's many jewelry shops and intricately designed rugs on display. I bought a silver ring for what seemed like a reasonable price. We also listened to a sales pitch by a man running a fragrance shop. All of us ended up buying a fragrance and I got jasmine since it is apparently what Tunis is known for. Carthage was even more interesting and we were allowed to roam around the ancient Roman baths on the edge of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.
We had one day at sea of which we took full advantage by sleeping in and going to the pool. We then made it to Barcelona where we met up with another group that had been there all week. We were led to the famous Sagrada Familia which I had seen 10 years before when the inside was not completed. The church is close to finished now and the inside is gorgeous with it's tall white columns and bright stained glass windows that threw color all over the walls. The church is one of the more exciting cathedrals I've ever seen and I appreciated the opportunity to see it again. We then went to a Spanish restaurant where many in our group ordered seafood paella and sangria. It was pleasant to meet up with other study abroad students for a day and explore the vast city of Barcelona.
Our final day on the cruise was spent in Marseille, France. It was a very quaint and pretty city and we got along fine by just looking for cool buildings or structures in the distance and walking toward them. We also made sure to get a crepe and a croissant.
Overall, my spring break was amazing and I would do it all over again. The cruise was a great way to de-stress while still hitting some really cool places. I also thoroughly enjoyed the company. I do look forward to getting back to AIB and hearing about everyone else's experiences.
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