My First Really Good Story

Last night was a little interesting... but I have to start before that so that I can go in order.

Tuesday night, after blogging here, I went to the train station, got a coffee, and checked my pack out of storage. I went up to a cozy little spot with a couch, and wrote in my journal. Later, this nice guy brought me some free coffee because it was really really cold in the train station. After I was done, I went to a quiet little corner and slept on the floor for about an hour or so, waking up because I was so freaking cold. I paced around a bit, and finally gave in and took shelter in a coffee shop where I sat around and read for awhile. My train, the Eurostar, left at 525 AM and I passed out before we were even out of London. I woke up two hours later somewhere in France, right before I got to Paris. I booked my train to Luxembourg (which was only 6€ for booking fees thanks to my Eurail pass) and walked around Paris for a bit before my train left. I'll save my judgement for when I actually stay there, but I think I like it. I bought a French pastry for a euro, and then sat around the train station till it left. I repeated this (excpet without the pastry) in a small town called Metz, then arrived in Luxembourg, Luxembourg at around 430. I found and checked into the hostel here by 530. It's easily the nicest one so far; it was recently renovated.

Then I went back to the train station and went to a little place outside of the city called Diffredonge, where Allison's school is. I got off at the wrong stop so it took awhile, but I got there a little before 8. I met some of her friends, saw her school, and generally had a good time drinking and playing card games at a local bar.

Now before I go here, keep in mind that I hadn't eaten. I had three tall draft beers (they were probably 20 ounces) over the course of almost three hours. They were really good, but I didn't realize that even here they're MUCH stronger than what I am used to... and oh my goodness I got far more drunk than I meant to. Off of three beers!! It wouldn't have been a problem, except once I got back to Luxembourg city (I did that part fine) I got hopelessly lost. Luxembourg is an almost mountainous region, and my hostel is down in the valley. I went down the wrong side of the hill, and ended up a kilometer south of the hostel before I realized it (I know because I found a bus map... how I was able to ascertain how far away I was and yet not how to get back, I'll never know). I then proceeded to go up what I thought was the ridge I'd come down from, only to end up 2 kilometers (yes, even further away) east. By this point I was sobering up, and so I was able to actually USE the map this time (I found another one) and headed back in the right direction. I eventually found a taxi and landed back, safe and sound and without losing anything, at around 130. So... that wasn't fun, but it'll make a good story later, right?

So today I woke up feeling a little woozy but no worse for wear, ate breakfast, and planned the next bit of my trip. Next up I'm going to Brussels, which is in Belgium. After that will be Amsterdam, and then Germany. I want to go to Berlin and then to Munich, and then Paris, and then somewhere in the countryside of France, and then to the beaches of Southern Spain. After that will be Italy, which takes me to the end of my trip. I'm actually going to be pressed for time to make it to all these places and still have the last three or four days for Rome, so I won't be staying in each individual country quite as long as I'd like. Oh well.

This morning I met this canadian by the name of Brendon, and he and his friend and I are going to cook dinner tonight together. Between now and then, I have nothing to do so I'll just be walking around the city. Tomorrow I'll leave here first thing.

Luxembourg is beautiful; it's reminiscent of the Smokies, but packed with houses and buildings that are distinctly European. There are some midevil ruins here, called that Casemates, and I was there before I came here. They were pretty cool, but there's not much to them. I am here at the perfect time, too. Fall is beginning to set it and there are rich reds, oranges, and greens on the ridges all around me. It's very beautiful.

And....
Nessa and Ricky - I'm so glad you gave me the update! How exciting! I am glad ricky got his job and that things are going swimmingly for you.
Grandpa - Thanks for the compliment!

Ok I'm running out of time, so that's it for now. I'll try to get to a computer on Friday sometime and talk about Brussels.

-Swag