Profile
Company: Contiki
Tour: London to Athens
Age: 19
Dates: 28th April 2016 (2 Days in London solo)
1st May 2016 Started Tour
22nd May 2016 Ended Tour

Day 3: Paris
All aboard to France! I got up nice and early (5am UK time) to meet the group for breakfast at 5:50am, to board the bus at 6am. Once at our bus, our luggage was weighed and we checked ourselves off the list and found a seat. It took a few hours and a few servo stops (they also have tolls?!)  to finally arrive in Paris. Our driver Joao took us for a little drive around the heart of the city, where I laid eyes on the famous Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the love locks on Pont des Arts bridge. We are staying at the Ibis Hotel which is in a pretty dodgy area. The room was so small, it was one of my first cultural shocks of the trip (ps. I got over it). Tonight, we had our first dinner as a group at the La Sultan, just down the road from our Hotel. We tried escargot (not the worst), with chicken and salad (nothing special, at all) with some champagne. Afterwards we jumped on the bus again to see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal. It was dark by this stage, so it was lit up beautifully. I went up to the 2nd floor, had a hot chocolate, then made my way down to ground level. The illegal street vendors were so. god. damn. annoying. which kinda dampened my experience of this gorgeous architecture. Our bus driver had left us by this stage, so groups of us took the metro back to our hotel to get ready for bed.

Day 4: Paris
Bonjour! Today is jam packed. After an early breakfast, we all went to the Louvre to see some artwork. It was a public holiday therefore the crowds were INSANE. I managed (after an hour) to get the front of the ‘mosh pit’ of tourists, to see the Mona Lisa (tick off the bucket list) and eventually made it out the other side of the museum alive and well. A small group of us girls had a quick lunch stop to McDonalds (still at the Louvre) (which was also tasted really interesting) before making our way to Disneyland Paris! We had a free day to explore the city, but we asked our manager if we could go off the beaten track and see EuroDisneyland (which he said was fine). It was about a 2 hour train ride there and it cost €75 for an entry ticket (not bad). I bought some candid Mickey Mouse ears, and strolled my way through the park with tears in my eyes. The Disney Castle was so beautiful, I just couldn’t believe my eyes (childhood dreams came true). We went on a couple of rides (Haunted house, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear) before seeing the Disney Parade (ugly crying). We were all pretty knackered by 5pm so we headed back to the train station, and met the rest of our group back at the Eiffel Tower for a champagne picnic underneath it. It was so nice and a lovely way to top off the day.

Day 5: Paris
Today we had breakfast at 9am then took the bus for a day out to see Versailles. Now, before this trip, I had 0 knowledge about anything, anywhere so every place we visited was a new discovery for me. Our tour manager Joel, was so so informative and explained history in a way that actually made me want to listen (shock, horror). Anywho, Versailles. Just beautiful. The line to get inside the Palace was literally back to Australia, so we just bought tickets to see inside the gardens which was €8 (plus a buggy). Unfortunately, only persons over the age of 24 could drive the buggy and only 4 passengers at a time was allowed (inc. driver). We had a group of 10 people and only 2 people after 24 years of age, so we broke the rules and added extra people onto the buggy…. but had a great time seeing the gardens! After seeing versailles, we went back to Paris city and had crepes on the main street for a late lunch. We then went back to our rooms to get ready for the ‘Parisian dinner’ and cabaret show that Contiki had planned. There was soup/snails for entree, meat variety for mains, a mousse cake for dessert and plenty of Rose wine (can i get a hell yes!). After dinner we went past Moulin Rouge (candid selfie) before lining up for our cabaret show, Nouvelle Eve. The show itself was a little boring (not my thing) but the comedy skits were hilarious (crying with laughter at some points). When the show was finished, we went to a club called O’Sullivan’s which had good live music and vibe. It was a good night!