If I told you there were white sand beaches in the UK, you might laugh at me. 

But yeah, there it is. Porthmeor Beach in St. Ives, Cornwall. 

At first, I was more than excited to be spending time in this beachside resort town. We spent the first day exploring, eating "Cornish ice cream" (spoiler: it's the same as regular ice cream) and getting real English fish and chips.

But the days began dragging on; all of us realized that this was a resort for older couples or families with young children, not college students looking to explore.

There were hikes to occupy our time, luckily — my friend Hana and I spent a good couple of hours clambering over rocks to get to a beach after an accidental detour.

It was also during this time that I got a nasty case of food poisoning. Like, I'm talking about passing out 4 times in 48 hours and being bedridden for almost a week. 

Thank God for friends who bring you crackers, take you to get coconut juice because rehydrating salts taste like shit, and catch you when you fall (or faint, literally — thanks Hana).

Despite my overall dislike of St. Ives, we managed to have a good last day. More or less because I got to swim in the ocean, which always makes me feel better.