Bye, Europe

Most of my tour group headed back to London, I stayed in Amsterdam because my flight was departing from Amsterdam back to Vancouver. I wanted to go back to London with everyone else, but my time was limited due to the fact that school was starting in three days.
For my last hours in Amsterdam I walked from my hotel to where my tour group had dinner, from there a walked to central Amsterdam. One thing that I had to do for sure was to have a pannekoekon; I could not leave Amsterdam without eating one. I found this place that had delicious pannekoekons, so I ordered a cherry and vanilla ice cream; it was very good. I continue to walk around, looking for unique items to buy. I ended up buying three pairs of shoes because they were so neat. After shopping I headed back to the hotel, along the way I stopped at the Van Gogh Museum. It was very interesting to see original art work by Van Gogh.
Europe was definitely the experience of a life time, I had so much fun! I wish I could go back there soon, but there are so many other interesting places to visit.

Anne Frank's House

My second day in Amstedam was great, I had so much fun. I went on the canal bikes with some of the people that I was traveling with, it was so much fun. It was neat to see all the different houses and also the canal houses(boats). The canal tour ended at Anne Frank's house, which was great because I got to see what the house looked like. It was very sad to see how those people had to hide out, and be walking on egg shells all the time. I was extremely glad to be able to go see what the house looked like; it was a very narrow house with about three levels.
After visiting Anne's house, my friend Melody and I went to get our tattoos. Our tattoos turned out great! I was glad to have a tattoo that was symbolic to my travels though Europe. After the getting the tattoos, we went shopping; Amsterdam has a lot of cool clothes.

Amsterdam

Edam

I was in Germany for the last time before I headed off to Amsterdam. I was visiting the Rhine Valley; it is a peaceful place with not a lot of people. I remember the night before I was going to be going to Amsterdam, that I woke up and was so excited, that in less then twelve hours I would be in Amsterdam; I had been waiting three year to go there, and now it was finally happening!

My next stop was Edam, I had a lot of fun there; I was able to have the chance to ride a old fashion granny bike, and see a lot of scenery, which included windmills. After visiting Edam, I went directly to Amsterdam. I finally arrive in Amsterdam on Thursday August 30th at approximately 4:30pm. I checked into the hotel, and then got ready for dinner. After dinner my tour manager took us to the red light district and to see a sex show. It was definitely interesting, but at the same time sad to see girls in the window selling themselves. The sex show was more funny than anything. It was a culture shock to see how liberal the Netherlands are in regards to sex and drugs.

Swiss Alps

I went to the top of the Jungfraujoch Mountain, which is part of the Swiss Alps. I stayed in a cabin at the bottom of the mountain with Melody and Joanne. The Jungfraujoch Mountain is 11,330 feet above sea level, compared to Whistler which is 7160 feet above sea level. The change in temperture was very neat, it was sunny with a few clouds at ground level and at the top of the mountain is was extremely windy with blasting hail, you could only stand outside for a minute because the hail was hitting your face like bullets. The ice caves that you see me walking though were amazing. If you never have a change to go visit the Swiss Alps, take the time to go up the mountain; it is pricy but worth every penny. There is nothing in North America that can be compared to the fascinating and unique beauty of the Swiss Alps. Mother Nature sure does create extraordinary things.

Concentration Camp

Concentration Camp
Lake Bled

Solvenia was very pretty. We visited Lake Bled, which was beautiful, it reminded me of the scenery in Canada. Headed to Austria where we stopped at a concentration camp, it was absolutely horrifying. I just can't get over how evil and corrupt some people can be, it sure made me appreciate that I live in Canada and that I live in a generation were there is more freedom and democracy. I was appreciative that I got to see what a camp looked like and to see a part of history and to have a better understanding of it, but it was an experience that sure made me think of how lucky I am.

I went white water rafting for the first time in Tyrol; it was a great experience. The river was at a level two-three, which is not too harsh; the rapids were not to fast. I was perfect for my first time. We flipped the raft a couple of times, it was fun but at the same time a bit scary. I can't wait to go rafting again, possibly down Hell's Gate.

Albania

Dubrovnik, Croatia Albania

After beautiful Mykonos I headed to Albania, what a difference in culture. The houses were half built and there was garbage everywhere. It was a neat place to experience, there were donkey carriages and sheppards with their sheep. The bus got a flat tire because the roads are mostly dirt and the road that are paved have many potholes. I stayed in Albania for one night.
The next stop was Dubrovnik, Croatia, it was so beautiful there. I went on a cruise and visited two islands; I went swimming, the water was a clear teal and also very warm. My hotel was a five star resort on the beach; it couldn't get any better than that. My next stop was Zadar, Croatia. We stayed in a youth hostel while we were there. There was not much to do there, so we mostly sat around and had drinks, and also played cards and Would you Rather? My next stop is Solvenia, can't wait!

Birthday in Rome

Going to be in Rome for my birthday, how exciting! I was in Rome for my birthday; it was the best birthday of my life. I got to see the Coliseum, which was so amazing. Later most of my travel buddies went to the same restaurant for dinner, the pasta and wine was delicious. There was a man playing the saxophone and he played Happy Birthday to me. I was very glad to be there for my birthday.
After two days in Rome we traveled on an over night ferry to Mykonos, Greece. It was a lot of fun being on that ferry, everyone that I traveled with was out on the deck sun tanning and just relaxing. It was extremely hot, it being August. Once I got to the Island I headed straight to the beach, it was so peaceful just lying on the beach chairs listening to the sound of waves hitting the beach and the sound of distant chatter. The water was clear and warm. How I wish I was there right now! Life was great in Mykonos!

Paris

Paris, here I come! Paris was a great experience; I saw so many cool things which included: Nortre Dame, the Efeill Tower, the famous picture of Mona Lisa, and the most dangerous round-a-bout in the world. I remember two guys from my tour running across the round-a-bout, and got across fine, so Clare, one of my other travel buddies and I tried to run across, but then we got busted by the police. You are suppose to cross under ground and if you were caught crossing above, you would get some huge fine(that's what I was told afterwards).
I shared a hotel room with Clare, my first roomie of the trip. I stayed in Paris for three days, it was great! After Paris, I travelled to Bordeneux, which was so beautiful. For two days I went swimming, hiking to the top of a hill that over looked all of Bordeneax and the vineyards, and I just relaxed. The Chateau had a bar called, The Cave; it was the smallest bar and was filled with so many people. It was so such fun!

Night Before London

Remembering late at night just before bed, approximately 1am, I was thinking to myself, "I don't want to go on this trip!" I was contemplating whether or not to call my Mom and tell her I had changed my mind, but decide against it. I fell asleep shortly after the thought of, "I can not believe I am finally going on this trip!"
My flight to London went well, no screaming babies, which I was very grateful for. I arrived at Gatwick airport at 9:20am. I went through customs and got my first stamp in my passport. I had a vague idea of where to go from reading the information from Contiki. I got on the express train to Victoria station and from there I took a taxi to the hotel. The taxis are amazing and so different from North America. I checked in with the Contiki staff, and then took off to go on a tour of London. I had a change to go see Buckingham's Place, St. Paul's Cathedral, and I also had the change to see Big Ben. The sky quickly turned an evil gray, and instantly beginning poring, so I decide to head back to the hotel since I had been awake for more than 30 hours, and was extremely jet lagged.

Three Years

It had been three years that I had been waiting to go to Europe. After two years I finally said to myself that I was going to make this trip happen, so I started working two jobs in order to help save for my new journey. On April 19, 2007 I booked my trip to Europe with Contiki, I decided to go on the 39 day excursion which included traveling to 15 countries. I decided to go with Contiki because firstly it was difficult to find somebody I knew to travel with, and traveling with people I didn't know was going to be scary but at the same time I knew it was going to be a great deal of fun. I was going to be able to make some new friendships with people from different parts of the world. I had never traveled by myself, never mind to the other side of the world, I felt that this was going to be a great adventure. Away I went to London on July 25, 2007.