First of all...where was the time going? I realized what a strange sensation it was to have every day so full and seem to drag on forever, but to have the time passing at a rate much too quick for my liking. I woke up this morning and ate some more bread and jam. Mmm. We ate quickly, and when we were finished, we went to our respective rooms and packed up. I took the easy way down - the lift! There was no way I had the energy to drag my suitcase down the stairs, though I have to say, [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast in Engelberg. Can you really call bread, bread, more bread, cereal, some bread and coffee breakfast? Ha. Many of my tour mates were not their chipper selves this morning. Everyone looked to be in pretty rough shape, courtesy of Pom Pom's great P-party and the Spindle bar. I wasn't too bad, all things considered. A little slow, but overall okay. I was too excited to be hungover - today we were going up Mount Titlis! Yup. Titlis. It IS pronounced the way you think it is and we were totally juvenile and giggled at it over and over again. I [View Full Entry]

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I woke up this morning and sat at the window watching the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen (keep in mind I make a point never to watch the sunrise because I hate mornings, but things are always different on holiday). Anyway, I quickly did a re-pack of my suitcase and went down to breakfast. Cold cuts, cheese, bread and Nutella, and coffee. Not exactly the most impressive meal, but it got the job done. I'd forgotten how much I like Nutella. After breakfast I dragged my suitcase down the flight of stairs just outside of the dining hall and waited [View Full Entry]

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This morning I woke up and walked like a zombie down to breakfast - only half awake. 5 hours is NOT enough sleep. I piled my plate full of food, scarfed it down, drank copious amounts of coffee and hopped on the coach. It was at this point, when Pom Pom was trying desperately to get us all settled and ready to go, that Amanda realized that her camera charger was still in the room. She snuck out the back door of the coach and into the hotel. Damian pulled the coach over to the exit of the parking lot, waiting [View Full Entry]

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This was, officially, on the record, one of my favorite days of the entire tour. Waking up, I felt relatively good, all things considered. Breakfast was good - a mix of hot stuff, meats, cheeses and bread. I fell in love with the automated coffee machine though. I could have stuck the spout right into my veins. We ate fairly quickly, then hopped on the coach and drive for about 45 minutes to Edam, home of cheese! The town was sooo pretty. Very green and maintained. Very stereotypically Dutch. I loved it. We walked a little, Damian made a crack about [View Full Entry]

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Our Contiki tour has officially begun! I made my way over to the Royal National from the Imperial, checked in and had my bag weighed -way under the limit. Go me.- and dragged my suitcase out to the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by people who looked familiar from the meeting the night before. The driver, who hadn't yet introduced himself, told us to bring our bags around, so we did, he loaded them in and then we started piling into the coach. I had a window seat about 3 rows from the back. Rachel came and sat with me, and [View Full Entry]

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As the plane started its final descent, I started getting very excited. I don't know whether it was because I was slightly delirious or what, but I felt butterflies and started shifting around in my seat when we broke through the clouds and I thought I saw land. The plane kept going down closer and closer to the ground...and then we went right through it. I felt quite silly that I'd gotten so excited over...more clouds. In any case, eventually I saw the green of the grass and the cars driving on the opposite side of the road and I knew [View Full Entry]

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Day 1The big day :) When I woke up this morning I felt strangely apathetic about the whole idea of the trip, but as the hours ticked by the butterflies in my stomach grew decidedly more agitated. My family drove me out to the airport and sat with me for a few minutes before I made my way through security without hassle, and went upstairs to wait to board the flight. Now, I don't mind flying, but I was slightly annoyed at the fact that my nice direct flight had been cancelled and I had to fly all the way [View Full Entry]

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