“Whoosh!” I felt a cool breeze of air against my cheek as multiple trains came and went. I looked around as people rushed from platform to platform, some with business suits and briefcases, others, tourists much like us. My parents and I walked into a coffee shop, as the aromatic scent of coffee swirled around me. It was very busy inside, with many people talking, waiting for orders to be ready, and some simply sitting and waiting for their train to arrive.

This wasn’t my first time on a train. The first time I went on a train was in Shanghai, China, where I rode a bullet train. This was definitely my first time on a train in London, however. We were departing to France after we spent the first week in London. My parents ordered coffee for themselves and my grandparents, whereas I enjoyed my warm cup of hot chocolate. I looked out the window of the cafe at the screen displaying the train status. Half of me wanted the train to come faster, Half of me not; I wanted to stay in this moment. My warm hot chocolate in my hand, the room filled with the sound of more than a hundred different conversations, and the scent of coffee wrapping around me.

While I was still silently debating with myself whether or not I wanted the train to come faster or not, I had finished my hot chocolate. Without my hot chocolate, I started to look more into the platforms, studying them. One of the many people outside had caught my eye, it was a girl, about my age, holding a Harry Potter book. Being in London especially a train platform there, had reminded me of the Platform nine and three quarters, a secret platform for wizards in the book. Suddenly, I felt like I was in the book, searching for the right platform. Right when I looked up, the display screen suddenly flashed a message, 1832 to France. It was our train!

I quickly walked out of the coffee shop, a bag in one hand and my suitcase in the other. We got to platform eight as the display screen had listed, and waited for the doors of our train to open. I waited anxiously as the last of the people on the train got off. It was our chance to go on. The inside of the train had space for luggage in the front, bathrooms in each car, and soft sofa like chairs that faced each other. I sat down at the first seat, and put my bag on my lap.

After sitting down, I relaxed a little, feeling the sunlight seep in through the giant windows, and warming the seat.

“Welcome onto train 1832, headed to France. We will be arriving shortly in about an hour and a half.” the train captain announced.

For the first half hour, all I did was stare out the window in wonderment and awe. It was wonderful. Rolling hills, with an occasional pasture, the serene sky, with clouds that looked like a oil painting. All my life, I hadn’t really been to the countryside, seeing it while we whizzed by, it was more than amazing.

I looked around the car, wanting to explore more. After getting the permission of my parents, I started on my journey to explore the different cars in the train. While I was walking, I suddenly thought about everything in that moment all over again. I couldn’t believe it was happening. I was in a train car to France. I was more than 3,796 miles away from home. We were going more than 60 miles per hour. After thinking about the situation in whole, the vacation felt less like a vacation, and more like an adventure.

As we pulled into the station, we passed another train. The way the train passed, ever so fast, I blinked, and in a split second, the train was gone. I looked out the window, hoping to spot that train, looking up just in time, I spot the last trace of the train, putting me in perspective about just how fast we were going.

When I headed back to my seat to gather my stuff, we were about to reach the station.

“We will be arriving shortly”, the train captain announced.

I sat there, staring out the window, hoping to watch the scenery for seconds more, just as we pulled into the station.