I’m writing this post from the Northeast Regional Amtrak train, en route from Charlottesville to Washington DC. Every year, UVA designates a Monday and a Tuesday in early October as “Reading Days” – days when no classes are held – and most students take advantage of this short break and go home for the long weekend.

I didn’t realize how much I was looking forward to heading home until I bought my ticket, an act that turned a long weekend into a mini-vacation. Sure, I still plan to “review and regroup” for my classes,  retaking notes and studying for my imminent midterms, but I’ll also visit the Baltimore Farmers Market, go shopping, and spend some time with my family before returning to Charlottesville.

My roommate and I started off the weekend right by declaring Friday a no-schoolwork evening and heading downtown. We ate dessert first at The Flat, a cute little creperie on the downtown mall. We split the special – a delicious concoction of cooked apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey wrapped in a vegan crepe. They also have delicious coffee.

Then we walked the downtown mall in search of some light fare, and ended up at a diner. Afterwards, we took the trolley back to the corner and watched a few episodes of the Gilmore Girls (we’re on season 3 of our marathon to finish the entire series) before hitting up Archs for some German Chocolate Cake frozen yogurt. I’ll miss Arch’s over break! The Coffee Royale flavor is heavenly, especially when swirled with a chocolatey flavor.

Back at the apartment we finished up the night with a viewing of You’ve Got Mail (a girl’s night staple) and finally at 1am we headed to bed. It was a great night and we definitely missed the third member of our trio, who headed home on Thursday. Lucky!

Here’s to a weekend of home-cooked food (vegetarian lasagna, anyone?) and relaxation!