My European Whirl

Based on Emily Dickson’s Experience
18 days, nine countries and 50 new found friends, this is Europe Contiki.
New to the travel industry, one of the first things I wanted to do was see Europe and ALL of it! I saved up my pennies, packed my bags and headed to Europe for the trip of a lifetime. Little did I know what I was in for…
London had always been on my bucket list so I wanted to make sure I saw it first. It was much larger than I could have imagined and the underground system was incredibly easy to use. Unlike Australia, you feel the long rich history down every street and alley. Seeing the classics – Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, and Trafalgar Square – was very surreal, having only seen them on TV and in the movies. Tasting the classics was even better – a Pint of Larger, Yorkshire pudding and Spotted Dick!
Everyone had told me how beautiful Belgium was and when I made it my next stop I sure wasn’t let down. Bruges was probably my favorite place and it had nothing to do with the famous beer or chocolate. It was a charming little town with impressive Gothic architecture and lovely canals.
I then made my way to Amsterdam where my Contiki adventure was set to begin. Everyone in the group was so happy and excited – it was contagious and I quickly made some new friends from all over world. The tour director was great; ready to answer any of our questions and help us on our way.
On tour we stayed in unique accommodation – not just another hotel. We stayed in an Austrian Gusthof, and a Swiss Chalet amongst many others. They also arranged for us to see a live cabaret show in Paris, a Gondola ride in Venice, and even white water rafting in Austria! In Venice they told us to go and get lost in all the little streets and canals; that’s where you see the real beauty the city has to offer.
Every night we had the opportunity to experience the night life of each city. BUT we had to be up and ready to go by 7am! Fortunately, there was usually some driving in the morning so we could catch up on those extra Zzzs and arrive at our destination energetic and ready to explore.
I never thought I would get to see and experience as much as I did in such a short time. To give you an idea of how much you can fit into a “Contiki Day”, this was my day in Rome:
– Breakfast
– Train into Rome
– Walking tour around city: visiting the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain & Piazza Venezia
– Free time: I decided to see Maria Concezione, the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona
– Vatican City walking tour: including Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel & St Peters Square.
– Free time: I decided to see St Peters Basilica, and went back to the Vatican Museum
– Train back to accommodation
– Dinner
– “I ♥ Roma” party!!
Contiki was a fantastic experience for me and a great way to see Europe. There was enough organised so I knew what I was doing each day, but enough free time to immerse myself in the culture. I left Europe feeling nostalgic. Saying goodbye to new friends and excited to go home to start planning the next adventure!
If you’ve got itchy feet and you’d like to head over to Europe and do a Contiki tour, or simply go it on your own, be sure to jump onto the Hello World website to find the closest store to you and let them do the hard work for you. Phone: 13 14 15