That sounds way more depressing than it should. It’s actually been a pretty great day.

I’ve been traveling around Europe for a few days now with a couple friends. They both flew out of Venice very very very early this morning. So early that I don’t even remember waking up to see them off (though I probably did, at least a little bit).

So basically, I spent my entire birthday by myself. In Venice in the morning, on a bus to Ljubljana, Slovenia, and then in Ljubljana. But it really wasn’t that bad. I had a stream of Facebook notifications, texts, and tweets coming in. I had a chance to call my parents and another friend back home, and no one made fun of me for ordering liver for dinner (yes, I like liver, ok?!). Everyone at my hostel has been so great… starting off with a gift of a bottle of Slovenian wine from the receptionist (it is really strong). After spending some time wandering around and, yes, eating liver, I came back to the hostel and met some other travelers. We drank the really strong wine, chatted about past and future travels, and generally had a good time. One of the girls who had arrived at the same time as me and knew it was my birthday even got me a beer when she went to the supermarket.

So, traveling alone on your birthday isn’t so bad. It’s really quite great. Others are willing to celebrate with you, and it makes it even easier to make friends (imo). Especially if you have a bottle of wine.