We planned to meet up in France before I left for Riga in September 2017. The original idea was to travel together with my friend Nicolo as well and have a proper reunion after more than a year, but in the end he had to cancel. Even so, I still decided to go by myself, taking the bus, because I was really happy about the idea of seeing everyone again.

First, we met in Lyon, which is quite close to my home, and then we continued to Dijon, where Lindsay was living.

It was really special to reunite with all the girls I had met during my Erasmus program in Trier. Seeing them again after more than a year felt effortless, like picking up exactly where we had left off. We spent our time laughing, talking about our Erasmus memories, and reliving that shared sense of freedom we had experienced together abroad.

DAY 1 – Friday 01.09.2017

I left home early in the morning, and my mum drove me to the train station in Asti. From there, I continued to Turin Porta Nuova, where I took the 9:25 bus to Lyon.

I arrived in Lyon around 2:10 pm, and Tiphaine came to pick me up. From there, I met up with Pauline and Aline, and we went to the supermarket to buy drinks to bring to Lindsay’s house. After that, we all drove on to Dijon, where Lindsay’s parents were away, so she had the house to herself.

We first stopped at her place, where we had dinner and started the pre-drinking together. Later in the evening, we went into the centre of Dijon for a concert by Vitalic, a techno party in the main square of the old town. The atmosphere was incredible—open-air, lively, and full of energy.

After the concert, we went back to Lindsay’s house and slept there, together with a few of her friends.

DAY 2 – Saturday 02.09.2017

In the morning, everyone left, so it was just me and Lindsay at the house. We stayed in for a while, recovering a bit from the night before and enjoying a slow, quiet hangover morning.

Later, we went into Dijon to explore the city together. While walking around, we also bumped into one of her friends from the night before, which made the day feel even more familiar.

In the early afternoon, we headed back to Lindsay’s house, where we had a raclette together absolutely delicious, with plenty of melted French cheese and a cosy, laid-back atmosphere.

I ended up sleeping there again that night, making it a very easy and comforting continuation of the whole weekend.

DAY 3 – Sunday 03.09.2017

In the morning, Lindsay and I woke up quite early, packed everything, and drove together to Lyon, where we had a family lunch at Tiphaine’s house with her parents, sister, and some of her French friends. It was a really nice and relaxed moment, with good food and a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

After lunch, Lindsay left for Montpellier, where she was studying at university, while I stayed behind with Tiphaine and Pauline. We spent the afternoon in Tiphaine’s village, meeting other friends and just hanging out together in a very easy, local kind of way.

In the evening, we went back into Lyon and stayed at Tiphaine’s apartment in the city centre. We had an aperitif with Pauline as well on a boat, and I really loved seeing Lyon by night it felt calm, beautiful, and full of atmosphere. Later, we met up again with their friends and went out for dinner, then continued the night going from bar to bar, drinking quite a bit and getting a little carried away.

We tried to go to a small club afterwards, but since it was Sunday night, most places were closed and it wasn’t very lively. In the end, we headed back to her apartment and went to sleep after a long and fun weekend.

DAY 4 – Monday 04.09.2017

We woke up completely hungover, but we still tried to gather enough energy for me to visit the city and for them to show me around Lyon. The weather was beautiful and the city itself was amazing, but I was honestly very tired and running on low energy the whole day.

We spent the entire day walking around the city, stopping for a typical French lunch and just taking our time exploring. In the afternoon, we also visited Pauline’s university apartment, which was a nice little stop during the day.

Later on, we had a quick fast food dinner together, and after that we went back to Tiphaine’s house just with her so we could chat a bit and wind down. I ended up going to bed early because she had to work the next day, and I had an early bus to catch back home.

DAY 5 – Tuesday 05.09.2017

We woke up very early, and Tiphaine drove me to the bus station. As always, saying goodbye felt a bit sad, but at the same time it was a warm moment after such a beautiful week together.

It had been a really special time reconnecting with everyone, reliving those Erasmus memories, and simply enjoying being together again. Even though it ended, I left with a lot of good memories and a feeling of gratitude for the time we shared.