Contiki LA Scene started today. We met our tour guide in the morning to get all our documents completed and then boarded the coach for an LA tour. First was a Hollywood tour. Once we were in Hollywood we went on a walking tour. We each had headsets and walked around, the guide commentary playing on our headsets. The guide was quite funny. We pretty much just walked up and down the streets and he pointed out some of the stars, Kodak Theater, Chinese Theater, Egyptian Theater etc and took us to somewhere we could seethe Hollywood sign from a distance. Once the tour ended we had about another hour to explore Hollywood ourselves. It was not as good or big as i expected. After Hollywood it was on to Santa Monica which i loved. Nice ... read more

Today we left Vancouver. We woke James, said bye and left him with half a bottle of Vodka and let him check out of our room for us. Our flight to USA was 10.30am so we left Vancouver 7:45am. The flight was OK - not too long. It was not too hot when we landed. Not like the day we first landed. We got a shuttle to the hotel we would be staying at with Contiki and checked in. The room was ok. Ground floor. We didn't do anything much today. Not too much around. We asked reception if Taco Bell was anywhere and they told us to get a bus or taxi or it was a 30 - 45 minute walk. Cat and I decided to walk. That 30 - 45 minute walk was only ... read more

So today Contiki officially ended when we woke up. Devo. We went down to reception and were able to stay in our room the next 2 nights. Didnt have to change rooms from when Contiki accommodation ended and ours began so that was good. Some of us met at some pancake place on Granville for breaky and last goodbyes to some who flew out like Tessa and Chris. Sad to all be breaking up. Others left our Sandman accommodation for Samesun or Hi Hostel accommodation. Ben from home met up with us. He was in Vancouver the same time as us by chance on his own little Canada and London Trip. We wandered around Vancover and the shops for the remainder of the day. That night James, Cat, me, Brent, Aaron and some others who were ... read more

Today was a long drive day. From Ablerta back into British Columbia. The drive takes you through 3 of Canada's national parks, Yoho, Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke National Parks. Finally when someone yelled BEAR i Saw it. We stopped the bus and watched him for a few minutes. Surprisingly bears actually like the open flat spaces as opposed to trees etc. They generally walk along the train track which is what this one was doing so in a clear open view. Though my great camera of course failed and the big black bear was nothing but a black blur in my picture. Dinner was included tonight - Chinese Buffet all you can eat. I was loving it. However others felt pooly after. More about that tomorrow! The night in Vernon is generally known as a quiet ... read more

We started today with our optional gondola up Sulpher Mountain. It had some nice boardwalks at the top and an amazing view of banff. I think the Gondola took about 40 minutes to get up. I'm scared of heights but have so far been fine on the gondolas. This one scared me the most though. I was in with Shana Daniel and Leia who though shaking it was hilarious. LOL i had a moment of hate for them. But hey they were entertained by my desperate plea's no no no !!! When we were going back down I refused to get in with Daniel again, sending him down by himself. His photo taken by the gondalo people was proably him looking at us in shock for not getting in with him. We arrived in Calgary fairly ... read more