Buongiorno!

Next we were off to Florence. Italy felt the homiest to me. I loved every second of it! The coach ride to Florence was the longest of the trip. But the company always makes the ride go by fast.
Sidebar- the rest stops in Italy are wayyyyyy better than any fast food we have here! Toasted sandwiches, pizza, pasta, etc. on the go!

But when we arrived we checked into our hotel and got our new roommates. Mine was the ever-so-charming, Desiree LaVecchia. We had a pretty sweet room with an extra bed and a balcony. (Good thing about the bed too, right Christine?) Anyways, that night we got ready for a nice casual dinner at a local gem. We had the whole basement room to ourselves. And provided the bottomless bottles of wine its a good thing because we got a little loud by the end of dinner. Which, dinner was delicious- assorted meats, spaghetti as well as pasta shells with pesto (my favorite). The meal was topped off nicely with a shot of lemon cello provided by our much adored, Ryno.
After dinner we headed over to The Red Garter. It was a bar with a Karaoke Stage in the back. I never thought Karaoke was so fun before this trip. I personally didn't get up there, but some fellow travelers can definitely put on a good show. I really liked how it was set up too, there was an upstairs with tables that over looked the dance floor and the stage. Oh and our first drink was free- that was cool too. I didn't stay out late though, I caught the coach back to the hotel with a few other girls because I thought I had lost my passport, so I wanted to look for it good before I declared it lost forever. Another praise to Ryan though, I told him before dinner if it hadn't fallen out on the coach it might be lost. When it wasn't on the coach I got a little nervous, but Ryan (tour manager) was all over trying to get in contact with the last hotel to see if they had found it and thinking of what we needed to do the next day if worst came to worst. He was so great, he never made me feel like he forgot about my problem and he was so knowledgeable about how to solve it. Luckily- I found my passport when I got back to my room! I happen to put it in a weird pocket of my suitcase that I didn't realize was there. I don't remember putting it there, but regardless- I was so excited I ran to Ryno's room to tell him! We hugged and my almost tragedy was over! Shortly after, my roomie and others came back from the bar and we stayed up late just chatting and telling stories. We had an unexpected visit from a fellow traveler who was in his boxers too- but that's one for another time.

The next day we ventured into the heart of Florence. Everything was so beautiful. We went on a walking tour for the first hour, and learned about some statues and history. The tour was given by a local woman who really knew her stuff. See, Ryno couldn't give us the tour because in Florence they have such great pride for their city and its history, that it's actually illegal for any outside company to give a guided tour. I thought that was really cool, I personally have always taken pride in where I come from too. I think that kind of thing is important.

So after that, it was up to us to explore again! First things first- Gelato. Liz, Brittany, Christa and I all grabbed different flavors and tried each others. I got pineapple. Heavenly. Then for the rest of the afternoon we walked through the cobble stone streets checking out the shops. We also went to a leather demonstration. They told us the secrets about how to tell if something is real leather and showed us how they made these amazing leather jewelry boxes out of complete leather- no hinges or anything! I also bought a nomination bracelet there with all of the charms for the different countries that we were traveling too. Then we met back up with everyone and walked back to the coach.

One thing we were warned of was the drivers. Ryno: You have to look them in the eye before you cross the street, stare them down, that's the only way they'll stop. Carly was just too nice and got hit by a car! Well, it only managed to hit her arm and she was fine luckily! But still a lesson to be learned there I think.

That night in Florence we enjoyed a delicious meal at this pretty restaurant on a hill. We were in this large dinning hall and were joined by other Contiki travelers. There was also traditional Italian music being played while we ate. Oh and of course the chicken dance. See, in Europe when a place sees a bunch of Americans they think that all we want to do is dance the chicken dance. Not true Europe, sorry. By the end of the trip we couldn't help but find it funny and some of us always graciously danced for their enjoyment and maybe a bit of or own.

After dinner we all jumped on the coach and headed over to the much anticipated Space Electronic Discoteque!!! Then Ryno put on our Day song and the coach turned into a party bus! It was so exciting! Everyone just started dancing and singing along! Then we finally arrived at this great club with a bar and more karaoke on the first floor. We were also introduced to Gigi, the bartender, who if you slipped him five Euro would make you drinks a little stronger for the rest of the night. Then if you went to the second floor there was a huge dance floor, with florescent lights and video screens everywhere. Also if you went up the Cinderella staircase into the glass room over looking the dance floor that's where you could find us, in the VIP room! Kyle we love you. He rented the room for our tour and it made the night-as Frank might say- unbelievable. Ahhh life is a highway, I'm going to ride it all night long!

Yodel-a-hee-hoo

If I ever walked into a storybook fairytale it was when I got off the coach in Lucerne, Switzerland. I didn't know what to expect really so when we arrived in a quaint valley among massive Swiss Alps I was again bug-eyed. Liz and I got right down to business though, as many others did too, with buying swiss army knives and chocolate! Then we roamed the streets checking out the famous Chapel Bridge and taking lots of pictures. We also grabbed some raspberries, that just melted in your mouth at a local market and strolled around some more.

I loved the way the buildings looked. They really did remind me of a storybook fairytale, the horse and buggy helped. It was a nice change after Paris, it was much more relaxed and I really felt like I got a taste of the culture, especially that night at dinner. We headed out to dinner and a cultural show. It was really funny to see people actually yodeling, it was even funnier when John and Kyle went up to try. I loved that it was interactive. By the end of the night most of us were up dancing around the restaurant arm-in-arm with a man in a cow costume (no lie).


Then after dinner a local showed a large group of us to a bar to start the night right before heading over to probably my favorite club of the trip. (well its a tough choice.) But we headed over to The Beach Club, classic name-amazing place! As you can imagine the entire club floor was cover in sand. Dancing with sand between my toes was combining two of my favorite things! LOVED IT! Then after the club, back at the hotel a bunch of us made our way up to the roof where we cooled off and checked out the stars, a perfect ending.

The next morning we were up early and soon on our way up a mountain! Oh the view from the top! Rolling green hills scattered with cottages. Postcard anyone? Wish You Were Here.

City of Lights

Ahhh PARIS. I have heard so many things about Paris, but never traveled there before. But no body told me that everything there seems to glitter and shine. Maybe its just me. But Paris is BEAUTIFUL. There was so much to see and do there! When first arriving via Air France at 6:15am I was excited but a bit on the drowsy side, considering the time difference. I part of me would have appreciated a quick refreshing nap to prepare myself. But no, I was shortly transported directly into the city, which I am now very glad for. It was with my first sighting of the immaculate Eiffel Tower that my eyes immediately widened. I stepped off the bus and turned a simple 180 degrees only to face the Notre Dame itself. The Notre Dame- you've seen it I'm sure, maybe drawn out by Disney or in history books in french class... but like I have? That's the way to see some thing. So some fellow travelers and I ventured across the street for our first photo opp. We went in and glared at the glorious stained glass and architecture. We still had a few hours before meeting up with the rest of our Contiki family back at the hotel so we grabbed some lunch at the Le Petite Pont right by the river and enjoyed the local cuisine. Shortly after we made our way over to the hotel to meet our roommates and get settled. Mine was the lovely Miss Erika Starr. What a way to start a trip! I can't lie and say I wasn't a bit nervous about rooming with a total stranger, but after a simple introduction with Erika my nerves were soon settled.

We then freshened up and headed out for a night out! We jumped on our coach and headed out to eat and then the final destination: Tower de Eiffel. yeah.


Man that thing is TALL. I can't think of a time when I have felt so small. We arrived at the perfect time as we were able to watch the sun set just at we reached the top of the tower. I'm not even lying! It was quite romantic. Then as we began to make our way back down the tower the lights came on. The tourist in me could not be suppressed any longer at the sight of this. So I said it- "Oh my Gawdd" (damn RI accent) The way the lights were flashing made me feel like the Eiffel tower was taking pictures of us for a change. It was awe-striking. I did get made fun of for my tourist-y remark by, I assume, some locals. Meh- It was deserved, but the sight was really something.

After taking many pictures we jumped back on the coach for a brief driving tour through the city. Ryno, who I will take a second just to say is AMAZING, to say the least, was our highly esteemed tour manager. He pointed out the sights and included enjoyable commentary about everything from history to pop culture. This was extremely helpful also because we had the next day to ourselves to explore. I personally made a mental list of thinks I wanted to see the next day.

Bright and early the next day we were dropped off by the River Siene. A group of us headed toward the Louvre and Notre Dame. I jumped into a group heading toward the Louvre, luckily for us Ryno told us about the "secret entrance in the Louvre, so we pretty much walked in like we owned the place- no line, completely legal. That is where we saw the one and only Lisa. Mona Lisa. Not to mention the Venus de Milo, Madonna on the rocks and many more priceless art pieces. We could have walked around there for months! But there was so much more to see. Liz and I headed next to the Champs de Elysee for some crepes! Nutella crepes are heaven in my opinion. The day went on with an Arc and a thinker and a few other famous things, before heading back to hotel and getting ready for a dream come true for me.


That night we wine and dined at the Moulin Rouge. The show itself is beyond words and I can only tempt you with things like, pool of snakes, fancy costumes, boobs and miniature ponies. After two world wind days in the city of Lights, I couldn't wait for what was to come!

Where to begin...

So I have been home for a few days and all I have been thinking about is last two weeks. I have going through pictures and smiling a lot too. But two weeks have never flown by so fast, and yet have been so full of action. It's funny because while I was away I had done so much that I felt like I was gone for months, yet by the end of the trip I most definitely didn't want it to end. I never thought I'd miss that Contiki coach so much! I couldn't have dreamed a better trip. The sites, the adventures and the people made for a perfect travel experience. The world is so beautiful and I feel that I have only begun to explore. So where to start.... hmm what about Paris?