I only spent one night in Paris since I've spent time in the city before and will be returning for a weekend with my classmates from Lille. I decided to utilize the “Benelux” portion of my rail pass and hopped on a train to Luxembourg. When I arrived, I was met with German signs for the first time in a year with a few recognizable signs around me reading Abfahrt! (departure) Verspatet! (late). I was immediately reminded of my last Europe trip, when we arrived in Vienna and I couldn't get over the German words and kept repeating them robotically to the amusement of my travel buddies.
All through the trip I've been missing these girls. Emily would always ensure everyone ate before we were starving, and often before we even realized we were hungry. Her plan-oriented mind left little room for forgetting to do something like find out where the hostel was located (oops, forgot to do that once) and ensuring we had proper seat reservations on the trains (that screwed me over more than once). Chloe would kick my butt into gear if I was being lazy, and also justified downtime when we both just wanted to spend an hour napping or going on our computers in the hostel.
I travelled with Sarah and Stephanie less often, but I still have times when I think about how they'd help me. Sarah was always up for anything, and I could shop vicariously through Stephanie without actually having to load my backpack up with any more weight. Both knew about really cool places to see, whether they be art galleries or monuments or just cool areas of town.
Travelling alone has its perks, but it's always nice to have a friend, especially to have someone to share a meal with at the end of the day. I really don't like eating alone at restaurants, and have generally avoided it for the most part by making my own food at the hostel or getting something to go. I'm quite excited to make new friends when school starts in a few days in Lille. In the meantime, I'm going to channel the energies of my absent travel buddies.
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