Good Friends Come When You Least Expect It

The fourth and final free weekend went down with a bang. It all started on Friday morning, when I boarded the 6am train for Luxembourg. I was almost crying because I was so excited to meet up with my friend Esther. She just moved from the states and it hadn't really occurred to me until now that she is actually gone. I finally arrived in Bascharage and Esther whisked me away to the stables to see Hersey, the only horse I've gotten to watch grow up. The barn was really cool. It had a really rustic feel and you could tell the layout was developed by just adding on a section of stalls when needed. After we left the barn, Esther took me to Luxembourg City to show me around the "city center." The thing I learned about Luxembourg real quick is that it takes about 5 minutes to be in a new city. So you basically feel like the country is one big city. The city was very cool. There is kind of an upper part with shops and a lower part with restaurants and clubs. After our short city tour, we headed back to the house and changed for dinner. Did I forget to mention it was Esther's birthday?! We went to eat Italian at a little local place to celebrate. Bedtime came early because we new the next day would be a long one.

5am wake up call. Time for Paris. We hope in the car and headed on our 4 hour drive to the city they call a fashion capital. I've been lucky enough to go a lot of places, but I've never been to France. Paris blew my mind. We walked the entire city on Saturday had lunch in front of the Louve. We ended the day by going to the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge was spectacular. It reminded me of a circus show. The room had its own environment and you felt very luxurious and relaxed. Paris was an amazing experience because I got to share it with Esther and Michael. It was also Esther's first time and Michael spoke French and was able to act as a tour guide. I love Paris and I plan to be back. 

We left Paris at midnight expecting to arrive home around 4. The car ride back was torture. We were all struggling to stay awake. On top of the sleep issue, it started pouring raining which made the drive down the pitch black autobahn even more difficult. We didn't get back until 5:30, an hour and a half later than expected. I walked upstairs immediately and crawled into bed completely exhausted. 

Sunday didn't begin for me until noon. I needed 6 hours of sleep to regain some strength. We all went downstairs and had a nice large breakfast of cereals and breads with all kinds of what were to me exotic spreads. Esther and I pack and got dressed and headed back into the city. We explored some more and took pictures and finally stopped at a chocolate shop...dangerous territory for both of us. After eating some of the best chocolate cake and quiche I've ever had, we hoped in the car and started our drive to Bonn. I was sad when we arrived that my time with Esther was over but I loved and appreciated every moment of it. There is no doubt in my mind that is was the best free weekend I had. If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I would be traveling and staying in Europe with a women from Germany I would have told you that you were crazy. I'm so happy I was wrong about that. I'll always love my crazy German.