My Writing Portfolio Narrative Essay/Short Story | Page 2

I’ve always loved going on road trips, but I had never experienced it outside of my home
country. This long trip around different European countries was absolutely remarkable, a dream
of mine for as long as I can remember, and a result of constantly bugging my parents into letting
me travel with my friends. Our last stop was Groningen, a picturesque city in the heart of the
Netherlands, where the prominent yearly summer festival, Noorderzon, took place. I was
immensely excited to attend this massive performing arts festival, which had performances
ranging from deep house music to Shakespearean plays, from Jake’s favorites to mine.
The ride was quite pleasant, especially since we had stopped at a German fast food chain
where we indulged in traditional bratwursts and piquant French fries. We arrived at our three-star
hotel, and Sam, Lisa and I got our bags while Jake parked the car. We completed our check in,
hastily left our unpacked bags in the miniscule hotel room, and headed out the door to the
Noorderplantsoen, the public park where the festival was supposed to take place. The entire city
was breathtaking, with abnormally tiny houses lining the boulevards and cheerful people hanging
out on their porches. Some people even greeted us, which was awfully kind and slightly bizarre,
but my mom had told me that Dutch people are possibly the friendliest ones out there. I glanced
at my friends, who were beaming with excitement, and that’s when I noticed the ginormous sign
saying Noorderzon. I eagerly fished out our tickets from my dainty red clutch and handed them
to the colossal security guy hovering before us. He nodded, and we stepped into the park.
There were a myriad white fairy lights decorating the majestic green trees and adding a
touch of romance to the air. Tens of thousands of abnormally tall people were walking around
the park, with giant bottles of beers in their hands and broad smiles plastered on their fair faces.
My friends and I approached the stage where a local band was playing English indie pop music.
“I’m going to get beer, I think I saw some near the entrance,” I informed my friends and when I
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