Wednesday, February 25, 2015

24 Hours In Brussels: Travelling With Your Best Friend


Have you ever travelled with your best friend? Udita and I went to Brussels last week and had so much fun. BUT ... it was the first time we'd ever travelled together!

The trip was her idea: she and her husband (who's British!) were coming over for a quick visit to see his family and she texted, "Do you want to go to Brussels?" Slightly random, but okay - why not? So I booked our train tickets, found a dreamy hotel, and carefully scoured blogs for highlights to include in our itinerary.

On my way to meet Udita at St. Pancras to catch the Eurostar, I realized that this was the first time I'd travelled without John or my family ... which made this trip both fun and exciting. Mostly, I was looking forward to creating some new inside jokes with Udita because whenever we're together, for some reason ... hilarity ensues. EVERYTHING IS FUNNY. EVERYTHING. Heart-stopping, side-splitting, doubling-over kind of funny (in fact, she just sent me a list of the top 20 funniest moments from our minibreak yesterday, which included getting hit on by a bunch of Belgian businessmen at the hotel bar. Yep, married and still got it.).

Our moms think that we're friends because: "You're both Asian! And you're both so musical! You have similar upbringings by ASIAN parents. You both love to explore the world! But mostly because you're Asian." And, yes, while it's true that we met as standpartners in the Mount Holyoke orchestra, and ... we're both Asian-American ... the real reason why Udita and I get along so well is because ... of our love of celebrity gossip magazines. And reality television. We'd rather take a time out and flip through pages of the latest of issue of People (which we did a lot in college ... and which we might have done for a couple of hours on this trip - oops) than pretty much do anything else.


But mostly? We always seem to be on the same wavelength. Even over an ocean apart, one of us will text and the other will say, "OMG, I was just WRITING YOU AN EMAIL!" Mostly, we bring out the best in each other.

She's the one I'll call (and I have) at 3:00 a.m. when I'm upset and can't sleep. She'll sit in her car in a parking lot and FaceTime with me for an hour, just because I needed to hear her voice. She's also the one I share my triumphs with; the one who writes emails to me in all caps and exclamation points because she's so excited for me. And I will do the same for her.

Travelling with your best friend adds an entirely different dimension to your trip than say, if you were travelling solo, with your partner, or with your family. You might use that time to discuss things you wouldn't otherwise talk about (like whether or not Kylie Jenner had her lips done) or to experience a place or event that's special to you both (we loved the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels for this very reason!).


On our final (and only!) night in Brussels, we had an extravagant dinner at Belga Queen (where you can order shots of caviar by the gram to enjoy with your oysters - yes, really). I sat across from Udita, who looked glamorous sipping a glass of wine with her blown-out hair and perfect makeup, and suddenly got misty-eyed.

"Look at us," I said, gesturing to our surroundings. "What do you think would have happened if we tapped the shoulders of college-us and told them that we'd be sitting in this fabulous restaurant, eating this fabulous food, living these fabulous transatlantic lives? We are so lucky."

And then I realized: we were so lucky to take this trip together. I'd always known that, even when I booked the tickets, but it wasn't until I was sitting there across from her, that I really, truly appreciated how fantastic it was to travel with my best friend.

It was a short, but sweet trip that I'll never forget. Until our next reunion in May, Udita! xo
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27 comments

  1. I went to Istanbul with my best friend and it was the first time we'd been on holiday together in years...and the first time ever it had been just the two of us. It was fantastic, we wanted to all the same things and it was soooo much fun. I think I'd fit in with you and Udita, I love reality TV and celeb mags too!
    Lots of love,
    Angie

    SilverSpoon London

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    1. I loved your photos from Istanbul! Same for me and Udita ... it was our first trip together and we had such a blast! We want a tropical vacation together somewhere warm next ...

      Haha, glad to know we're not the only ones with the magazine addiction! xo

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  2. Trips with a best friend are always the best!!! Looks like you had a great time.

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  3. Love this! Also love that we get to see your FACE in this post too!

    Polly xx

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    1. BHAHAHA I know, I was going to say something about that ... my mom is going to be like, "STRANGER DANGER!!!"

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    2. Haha, mums are brilliant aren't they! In my opinion, you should get the face out more often, it's a good one, show it off! ;-)

      Polly xx

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  4. Yes! Travelling with friends is so fun. A few years ago I did a little weekend road trip with some girlfriends to the Vermont countryside and it was the best weekend ever. Looks like you guys had a blast as well! (Also, I'm currently wearing the shoes you're wearing in the last pic.)

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    1. Oh. MY GOSH. A road trip to the Vermont countryside sounds like my idea of heaven. I have great memories of driving with Udita through Western Massachusetts (where we went to college together) and I miss that New England scenery so damn much.

      Also, re: shoes. NO WAY. Please show me how you're styling them!

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  5. It was SO fun but everything went wrong – it turned into a trip from hell, which made it all the better and funnier, you know? I've never been to Massachusetts at all and it's definitely on my list! (And I will...another day. Right now the styling is not exactly on point. #WorkingFromHome)

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    1. Yes, definitely ... because those trips from hell turn into great stories years later, when you can say ... "Remember when ...?"

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  6. I LOVE this! What a beautiful ode to friendship, and the little things that matter. And the fact that you both co-ordinate your outfits (I am sure unknowingly!), which is something I notice myself and my BFF doing - despite the fact he is a gay man. Hmm.

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    1. Thank you, Laura, and glad you could relate! The worst was when we got hit on by these Belgian businessmen at the bar ... I was wearing a striped dress and Udita was wearing a leopard print top ... I HAD NOT EVEN THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT IT ... until the guy pointed to me and said, "You're a zebra, and she's a leopard!" Ughhhhhhh ...

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    2. Uggghhhh... such a Belgian pick up line!

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  7. This sounds like perfection - it takes a special relationship to be able to travel together!

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    1. Yes, it totally does, Emma ... I can think of a few friends who might not be great travel buddies! It's a lot of time spent together ...

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  8. This is such a sweet post! And for some silly nostalgic reason, I am so happy that you're feeling this way about a trip you took to Brussels. Many of my closest friendships were made in that city and for that reason alone, it will always be a special place for me. xx

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    1. Oh, I know, sweet Jess! I thought of you a lot while I was there! Thank you for all your help in making our trip spec-tac-ular! xx

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  9. Love this post :D It really comes across how much you cherish your friendship. I remember the moment when I was first hit with the (very real) possibility that those people who I thought were my BFFs wouldn't even necessarily be in my life 10, 5, or even 1 year down the road. It's amazing when you can hold onto that. I've never traveled somewhere new with a best friend, but I've had one visit me in a place that was new to her. It was so cool to be weird and be...well...US in a totally different place :)

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    1. Aw, thanks, Gianni. Yes, Udita is a very special friend. She's been there for me through thickest of thicks and the thinnest of thins.

      But it's interesting the comment you made about BFFs no longer being in your life ... Udita is my closest friend, but we didn't meet until college, which I think is "late" for a lot of people. The majority of friends I have still have "best friends" from childhood who remain ... their best friends. I don't know. I used to think that there was something wrong with me, but I've just learned to accept it.

      And a resounding "YES" to being "you" in a totally different place with your BFF. It's so much fun.

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    2. None of my best friends are from childhood. The farthest back my best friendships go is high school. The two absolute best didn't begin until 2012. Friendship happens differently for all of us :D

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    3. That's comforting for me to know (I don't even have best friends from high school!), Gianni, because I used to feel bad about this. But you're right. Also, who we were 15 or 20 years ago is definitely not who we are today ... although some people do remain the same!

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  10. Sounds like you have a lot in common with your friend! Hope you both had fun in Brussels

    Suze | LuxuryColumnist

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  11. Loving your perspective on traveling with your best friend. My best girlfriend of 14 years and I just went away for a one night trip. We started laughing while at dinner because we both felt so grown-up and it just seemed weird. It looks like your trip was absolutely marvelous.

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    1. That sounds so lovely, Rebecca! Yes, we had the same sentiment, I think, when we were sitting in that restaurant. Friendships are to be cherished, that's for sure!

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