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EIffel
Eiffel tower at night. I woke up sad this morning. It was my last day on foreign soil. I woke up, called a cab, grabbed a quick breakfast, then said goodbye to the hotel. James and I shared a quick cab ride, then met a bus that took us directly to the airport. We sat and reminisced about the trip, and laughed until we got to the airport. He, like many others on the trip, is extending his holiday. Nick, Phil, Lyn, George, Rios, and the Italian boys are going to the Greek Islands. There are others on the trip who are going to be gone for months more! I wish I could travel longer!
I don’t really miss much about home. Sure I miss my family, a few friends, and my dog. But, nothing much beyond that. When I get home, my summer is over. I have three days and then volleyball begins. I am so depressed! I can honestly say that I’ve never been so sad to leave somewhere.
DeGualle is just a nightmare of an airport! I think back to how easy Heathrow was to navigate and the two are night and day. Heathrow was very well laid out, plenty
Docking
Docking the gondolas. of signs (in English), and tons of friendly people who could point you in the right direction. Here, people were rude, signs were few and far between (and in French, mind you), and the “pod” system was unlike anything I have ever seen before! Uggh! Luckily, I had arrived at the airport in plenty of time. Checking in for my flight was not an issue, but the rest of the airport was insane. I managed to make it through the airport to my pod and as I was going through the check, they took the perfume I purchased out and said I couldn’t take it on the plane. They told me my only option was to go back to the main desk and check it through as another piece of luggage. Seriously?! Like I had time for that! I ended up running into Ashleigh and Emily and warned them that this would happen. They both tried to get through, but were turned away like I was because of liquids in their bags. They had enough time to go back and check their stuff, so I gave Emily my perfume and she is going to send it to me.
Once
Cathedral
Inside one of the many cathedrals. I got to my gate, I didn’t have much time. I relaxed for about fifteen minutes then boarded my plane. As soon as I sat down I fell asleep! Of course, once we started moving I woke up again, but I fell asleep again briefly. The flight was amazingly smooth - almost no turbulence the entire way. I had tears in my eyes as the wheels of the plane hit the ground. I really didn’t want to be back. I can honestly never remember feeling so depressed to be back.
Customs were quick and easy. It took me a while to get my bag, but other than that, it was easy sailing through O’Hare. When I finally made it out, Collins was there waiting…with my cell phone!
Parting Thoughts - A trip of a lifetime:
This trip was absolutely amazing - the best of my life. A lot of people thought it was strange to go alone, but I can’t imagine it any other way. I can’t imagine the trip being any better. I met so many amazing people. I did so many amazing things. I saw so many amazing sites. I had my mini-romance. I met
London
The London Eye and the surrounding area. some people I probably will not get to see ever again, but we are all bonded because of this. I met other people who I hope to travel with, or to at least see again.
We really had a great group of people for a trip like this. People were fun, on time, and were really out to enjoy the time on Contiki. We were all really fun and embraced everything Europe had to offer! Of course there were hook ups and pass outs, but for the most part it was all good! There weren’t any major fights…We had Ash and Emily fighting like sisters, Rios and George fought like girls, and Phil and Nick picked on each other all the time! Nothing really bad happened outside of Josh getting mugged in Nice, Rios having pink eye, and Mel having “the plague.” I was amazed that I stayed healthy the entire trip! Usually, drinking every night and staying busy all day is the recipe for disaster! I really think that sleeping on the coach almost every day saved me!
You think about who you were when you first arrived and the person you’ve become in such a short
Rocky
The rocky river near Mt. Titlus. period of time. You think about all of the things that you’ve experienced and how much it has and will change your life. Places you’ve only seen on TV or read about in books now have such a different, more personal meaning. You see something and there is an automatic flashback.
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