Advertisement
Contiki begins, what better than a 4:30am wake up...
Just a quick run down of what Contiki is, a tour company advertised for 18-35 year olds that go not only to Europe but most countries around the world. Ranging from 3 day tours to 50 day tours, there is definitely at least one suited to everybody. Contiki are generally good value for money, providing breakfast daily, dinner every second night (roughly) and the transport around from county to country!
From the reception of The Royal National Hotel where Contiki begins their tours from we boarded the coach and were on our way to Dover where we would then board a ferry to Calais, France. Everyone was feeling a little nervous and somewhat slightly apprehensive on that first coach ride with not too much conversing happening. Weird to think that by the end of the next 29 days that we have ahead of us we would know everyone pretty well, including all their bad habits! Here our tour manager, Katie and coach driver, Mark gave themselves a general spiel about themselves and how Contiki was going to work for us over the course of the next month.
So as
we were approaching the Port, the White Cliffs of Dover were clear out the coach window. What's interesting about these cliffs is that they face towards the mainland of Europe across the narrowest part of the English Channel, the cliffs have acted as a guard protecting England from invasions.
So through our first border control, we had no hassles and got through smoothly, PLUS got my first European stamp on the passport! On foot we made our way on to the ferry, only a short 90 minute ride until it docks into Calais. Really lovely ride, the sun was shining and was a pleasant 25 degrees. Bought ourselves a coffee on board (the final time we would be using Pounds Sterling) and got mingling with the other Contikigoers.
We arrived in France at around midday, my first time to a different European country so this was pretty exciting! Boarded back on the Contiki coach ready for another 200km journey to our accommodation for the next two nights, PARIS! We stayed in a Hotel Etap, a rather large hotel company in Europe. A short 15minute ride on the metro would take you to the centre of the city, so
location was pretty sweet. Dinner wasn't long after, conveniently dining just next door to the hotel.
After dinner we boarded the coach for the final time that day, and the Contiki crew took us for a night sight-seeing drive around Paris. Seeing all the French icons from the coach window; Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, a drive down the Champs Elysees, the Notre Dame Cathedral and of course the Eiffel Tower! Katie gave us the history lesson about these historical sights too. The drive ended at a little French restaurant, we were all feeling a little confused as to why we would finish up there especially because we had already eaten. But this was our time to get really into the French cuisine, this was our opportunity to taste Escargot, otherwise known as SNAILS. No, they aren't the typical garden snail found outside crawling up the fence! As not all snails are safe to eat, the French use a type of land snail, during preparation they remove the snail from the shell, cook it generally in a garlic and butter sauce then they return it back to the shell ready to be served! The taste I found really delicious,
the texture was the horrible part - was very chewy, and extremely hard to swallow! But I did enjoy it nonetheless!
We then got the option of staying in town finding our own way back to the hotel when we wanted or catch the coach back then. So I stayed in the city with a few of the others, we opted in to see the best night view of Paris, and by that I mean we climbed the Eiffel Tower!
This was incredible, well apart from the guys swarming around us persuading us to buy tacky, illegal merchandise of the Eiffel tower, the experience though was great!
Our second day here in Paris was a free day for us to roam, and see some of the legendary icons France has on offer. Buying tickets for metro underground was difficult; we all bought incorrect tickets that never made the barrier gates open so this was an effort to get off at each station. What made it worse is that the lady at the ticket booth told us that the tickets take 8 minutes to activate after purchasing them, seems a little ludicrous especially if you are running for
a train?
First stop was at the beginning of The Champs Elysees which was only a short walk from the Arc de Triomphe, this icon is situated in the middle of a roundabout - not like any other, in terms of that there are no lanes marked and all drivers just push their way through. It is virtually impossible to find a break in the traffic, so visitors to the Arc are encouraged to take one of the underpasses below.
Next stop, we made our way to Les Invalides, originally built as a retirement home for war veterans but now serves a tourist site home to museums and famous monuments. A significant monument housed inside is the burial tomb of Napoleon!
The Louvre was unfortunately closed today, so we then ventured on towards The Notre Dam. With of coarse a brief lunch stop on the way. Dined at the Latin Quarter, with plenty of choices for food, we had a 3 course meal including a typical French onion soup! The Notre Dam was spectacular, considered as one of the finest examples of French gothic architecture, was definitely a must-see if heading to Paris. We saw the inside
of the cathedral, however didn't have enough time to go to the top.
Ended up going for what we thought was a short walk, a couple of hours later we realised what time it really was so we had to hot foot it back to where the coach was meeting us.
Back to the hotel to spruce up, getting our Parisian on tonight with a 3 course meal (why did I eat one of these at lunch again?)! On our way walking from the coach to the restaurant we walked up the famous steps on the lead up to Sacre Coeur, well worth it with an impressive view of Paris when we eventually got to the top. The meal was fantastic, sitting at tables of 6-8 people, a lovely way to get to know some of the other Contiki travelers. Again, I think I'm starting a craze, I ate French onion soup!
So to end a great time in Paris, we headed to the red-light district! In hope of seeing a show at the Moulin Rouge, but to find it wasn't open as the season hadn't started yet. Instead we got our drink on at a bar
right next door to the famous cabaret!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.153s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 14; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0318s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb