This past weekend I got to visit the people who were there when this whole website started, my abroad friends. It’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen both of them, and it was amazing to reconnect. The last time I saw Meaghan we were in Switzerland escaping the reality of job hunting and the last time for Ally was in Miami on her spring break. Needless to say a reunion trip was very much needed.

It was weird to plan this trip when I had Vegas on the mind the entire time beforehand. We easily made our reservations for flights and hotel stay at the Boston Park Plaza, and that was about it. We knew we wanted to see each other, and didn’t have a strong need to see the touristy stuff. I had been to Boston before with my family but I was still excited to see some historic sites. Once we got closer and the excitement built up, we made a few reservations and were set. The week at work leading up to Boston was quite hectic so I was excited to leave it all behind and reunite with friends.

Everything about my trip was easy. My flight took off on time, I had a window seat, and slept the whole way. Upon landing I went straight to the hotel and was the first to arrive. It was weird to be in a overly nice hotel without my family, especially when I was referred to as Ms. Blasdell. The room was hilariously tiny, even more reminiscent of our abroad days. Ally came to the hotel soon after and we grabbed lunch at a cute local café in the snow. It was sad that it was snowing so hard in April, but what was even sadder was that the snow flakes were so thick that the second it touched you, it turned to water. So essentially we were just rained on. Regardless it was great to catch up with her and discuss everything that’s happened in the last year. Meaghan came a few hours later and soon we were off to dinner in Chinatown laughing the whole way. It was if time had never passed and we were all back into our routines. We went out that night in the Faneuil Hall area and danced until we realized we had been up for way too long and headed home.

The next day was full of freedom- as in we walked the Freedom Trail from nearly start to finish. It was so cool to see the many important parts of Boston all within walking distance of each other. Boston has a great history and I loved seeing what I studied in high school come to life. It was very cool to see Faneuil Hall and it’s street performers in day light, as well as Paul Revere’s grave site and Boston Harbor. It definitely would’ve been more fun if the weather was better, but we still had a blast.

We enjoyed dinner in little Italy that night at a restaurant called Al Dente. It was good I made a reservation because there were maybe 20 tables in total and every single one of them was filled. I enjoyed Penne Bolognese with a lot of bread, and remembered soon after why I don’t eat pasta a lot. We walked it off thankfully and made it back to the hotel in time for a cozy pregame before we hit the town part 2. Our night out was much better this time around and we enjoyed plenty of cider and dancing at a Boston bar in a different part of town. The music was great, but what still baffles me is that all Boston bars close at 2 am. That was wildly early for us Chicagoans and New Yorkers that were in attendance. I remember looking at the clock at 1:28 and thinking yay we still have 30 minutes left of dancing. What they didn’t tell me is that everyone must be out by 2 am, so lights come on at 1:30 to start the process. We still had fun ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Sunday we decided not to stroll too far, but ended up walking the entire city. We got breakfast nearby then continued on our way down Newberry Street which was absolutely adorable. It was a fun combination of boutiques and national stores, all inside brownstone buildings. Our favorite/weirdest stop was the Harry Potter store, filled to the brim with the oddest harry potter paraphernalia that one could imagine. As we left without buying anything, I truly wondered how much of a fan the owner must be to spend his days operating a version of Olivander’s wand shop. We turned at the end of Newberry and started walking towards Meaghan’s former university, Northeastern. It’s very much a city school but as you inch closer the college campus vibes start to seep in. It’s super cute and I definitely see the appeal- but after 4 years in the Miami sun Boston seemed a bit too chilly for college.

We returned to our hotel and chatted for a bit before heading off to our respective destinations. It was so so sad to leave them since I truly don’t know when I am going to see them again, but we all agreed that a once a year trip is required at the minimum. It’s crazy that people who gathered from all parts of the U.S. for a semester in France are still connected in so many ways, and that we continue to stay in touch, but I am so thankful for that. It was fabulous to see them and while I wish we had more than a weekend, it was better than nothing. We’re thinking all-inclusive Mexico for our 2019 trip, a proper combination of sun and drinking after our cold Boston times. This is my last trip planned at the moment which is crazy to think about, but I am very excited about moving into my apartment and starting summer in May. I say this Mid-April while we’re having a snow storm 😦 One can dream!