Sometimes the best experiences come from the most unexpected places — like the easyBus from Gatwick to Victoria Station. There, I met Ryan, a thirty-something New Yorker who had just left his job in finance to buy a retro sunglasses company and travel the world. He invited me to a dinner party that night in Notting Hill, and although I was hesitant, I decided to go. En route, I got hopelessly lost and almost got run over about ten times (damn driving on the left!). I ran through the streets of London to make it on time — not unlike Carrie in the season finale of SATC — but when I finally arrived around 11 p.m., they hadn’t even started. The group was fantastic — multicultural, intelligent and downright hilarious. Dinner lasted late into the night. When the restaurant proprieters finally kicked us out, Silvia, an Italian model for Maserati, led us to club Cuckoo, where we bypassed the line and danced til dawn.

Making friends while traveling solo can be tough. I am still haunted by a trip to Amsterdam a few years ago, where I had planned to meet up with friends Tasi, Nari and Will. It was my spring break from study abroad in Rome, so I scheduled my flight to arrive a few days earlier to soak up a little culture. I booked a bunk bed in a large dorm setting in an attempt to make friends, but found myself the only person in the room. I wavered about venturing into the common room bar, but in the end chickened out, bought British Cosmo and stuffed myself with falafel while cursing my spinelessness.

I’ve become a little more comfortable with hostel culture — I’m staying in one now and have plans to explore the Natural Gallery later with a bunkmate — but it’s still a struggle making new friends abroad. If only easyBus was everywhere.