European Encounter

Classic kiwi- Contiki around Europe.

London ➳ Amsterdam ➳ Liechtenstein ➳ Rhine Valley ➳ Lucerne ➳ Innsbruck ➳ Venice ➳ Rome ➳ Florence ➳ Pisa ➳ Monaco ➳ Nice ➳ Avignon ➳ Lyon ➳ Paris ➳ London.

She was a long 16 days I tell you. Pretty sure that majority of the time was spent on the bus.

Before we even left London a few of us went down to Camden Markets. The massive iconic markets in London with massive sculptures chilling on the side of the stores. Made our way to this one store Cyberdog. We walked in and it was pumping with hardcore house/tronic music with stobe lights and even some dancers up in some balconies. All the store sold was crazy rave coloured clothes, stuff like old school Lady Gaga would wear. I felt like I would have been on acid just being in there. There were like 4 floors & we went down to the bottom floor which turned out to be a sex store. Was a massive laugh. Especially since our friend Brownie as innocent as they come.

First Contiki stop was Amsterdam. We went to the Anne Frank House, I Amsterdam sign, Heineken Brewery, followed by a sex show and a canal ride. Before heading into the Sex Show we were wandering around the red light district. Its definitely not as disgusting and dirty as people make out but some of those girls are gorgeous. It was rather weird seeing men going in after bargaining a price and service. *cringe*. We stopped off at a coffee store or AKA a store that sells dope- and a lot of it. Myself & the girls decided to try brownie. I ate one- nothing. I ate a second- nothing again. Was rather disappointed as you know, wanted to tell the old story of “this one time I was so high in Amsterdam”. The enxt night however was a different kettle of fish. The sex show itself was a whole other story. It is one of the strangest things watching that. I felt like I shouldn’t be watching and that it was taboo. It was hilarious though how they didn’t seem to enjoy it at all & what made it even funnier was we were walking around the next day and saw every single couple that performed. Awkward to say the least.

Overnight stop it the Rhine Valley in a small town Sankt Goar. We went into a Stein making store & I did not realize there were so many different types! I just thought it was a large cup because German’s are too lazy to go fill theirs up. That evening went down to a Wine cellar and had a wine tasting & OH MY GOD! I was in heaven! Had 6 different wines & some cheese and then tried some of Germanies finest Eiswine. I have never in my life tried something so good! So ofcourse I ended up drinking multiple other peoples shares as they didn’t appreciate the wine, as got a little more drunk than expected.

Switzerland was by far my favourite place on the contiki. Lucerne is surrounded by the Alps, next to a massive lake with lots of lush forests. Many castles scattered around the city and old bridges and monuments which made me almost feel like I was in a Disney movie, minus the singing & lovey dovey stuff. We went up the top of Mt Pilatus & that did not disappoint in the slightest. Covered in snow and of course us children started throwing snow balls at each other. It had the most breathe taking views I have even seen! I could have sat there for hours just admiring.

It was a quick stop in Innsbruck which was absolutely covered in snow and surrounded by mountains & a large river flowing through the city. The best part by far was the evening when we all went down into the hotel bar & did a taste selection of Schnapps (by tasting selection I mean just brought a lot of shots & got drunk). The apple & butterscotch were Perry & I’s go to. Due to it being Carnivale at that time of year, there were some local men dressed up in witch costumes, beer boys and some crazy feather thing playing the accordion with crazy masks and even weirder dance moves. They got everyone up dancing with them, doing shots of some very disgusting Schnapps and it was an absolute blast. The hangover from said Schnapps is however not a blast and is in fact the worst hangover I’ve ever had to date.

Off to Italy we went. I wasn’t the biggest fan out Venice. It is a stunning city with amazing buildings but the canals are smelly and dirty . The city itself is dirty. The masks that are in every store on every corner are gorgeous however! We went out for dinner and everyone thought it would be a laugh to all wear stripes & also get very intoxicated. Rome was a whole other kettle of fish. I loved it! The Colleseum, The Vatican, Old ruins and just generally walking around the streets just blew me away. Getting up at 5.45am to go to the Vatican for the Free SUnday (last) of every month, was well worth the wait. The Siste The food was amazing and the things I was saying were very inappropriate & I am definitely meeting up with Satan later. The likes of “Holy sh*t,” and “Oh My God!” The Trevi Fountain exceeded expectations – many people but still amazing. We went out to a dinner and managed to drink a massive bottle of red wine by myself at a Tuscan Dinner & dance around like absolute looneys. Florence was incredible! For me it was cleaner and just seemed a lot nicer. The monuments and streets were just full of relics & statues and has a lot more history than Rome, due to it being the “original” capital of Italy.

Monaco & Nice were stunning. The only downfall was driving in through the outskirts of the city and seeming how slum it is. A large portion of Nice is under-developed & slum like. Yet down by the beach where we stayed was beautiful! We got all dressed up and bused out to Monaco & touched shoulders with the rich and famous. Stopped into the Monte Carlo Casino & a Buddah Bar which I fell in love with. Spent absolutely no money which is surprising for me.

Quickly popped through Avignon at this AMAZING castle which was apparently where the Popes resided back in the day. We then stayed in Lyon for the night. The next day we went to this amazing little Perfumery. I was in my element with the science labs and lab coats & amazing smells. I ended up buying one called Belle De Nuit (girl of the night HAHA), which I’m using sparingly as you cant buy it online unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for it. Which funny enough I do not.

Last stop, Paris. City of love, which for me wasn’t being with someone you love but falling in love with the city itself. All the stories you here are all true. Notre Dam, The Louvre, Arc de triumph, Avenue de Champs-Elysees which is the most prestige shopping street in the world, The Eiffel tower, followed by Moulin Rouge & an amazing French dinner. I can say I have tried Snails, and LOVED IT! This is probably only because they were saturated in butter and garlic. But also French onion soup!? Whoever made that honestly deserves a medal because YUM! Managed to avoid most pastries as I knew I’d leave Paris 20kg heavier otherwise. The Eiffel tower was amazing. Going up the lift was not my favorite part at all, but seeing the entire city from so high was definitely something special. By the time we go back down it was dusk and the itself just lit up a million fairy lights. I felt like a child seeing Glow Worms for the first time and lost the plot I was so amazed.

After what felt like months-but was actually only 16 days, off we went back to the big smoke of London, where we all said our goodbyes & farewells.