Day 16: Goodbye My Friends, I Can Still Feel You Here. It's Not The End ........

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Final day and I was sad to know 2 weeks had already past and it was time for our group to part ways. I went down for breakfast and I was so sad I only drank some juice. I talked a bit with the rest of the table and it was good to know that we had all survived our time in Amsterdamage.

We left 6 people behind in Amsterdam Gillon, Ken, Patrina, Zakiyya, Sherri and Nardine. I made sure I hugged all of them either the night before or that morning. It was really early in the morning and everyone was hungover from the night before. Everyone got their hugs in with the people we were leaving behind and we loaded the coach. It was a quiet ride to Brugge, Belgium which would be our stop for the day. I had the seat to myself and that would help for sleeping later on. I took the opportunity while everyone was past out on the bus to grab hangover pictures of everyone. I didn't post them anywhere just for my own amusement. Some of them are really funny as well 😊.

Slept for a good chunk of the ride to Belgium and I woke before we reached it. We pulled up in the main square in town and we left the coach to follow Kate into the city. Christine left us at this point to get a ride to the train station. Everyone had already went ahead by the time I realized this and I wanted to call everyone over to hug her goodbye but decided against it because I knew she would hate that. So I gave her a hug goodbye and promised to keep in touch.

I finally found my umbrella on the bus and Shannon, MJ and I huddled under it for the for the walk in. We got to some kind of market and Kate released us to shop and eat. I ate with Stephen, MJ, and Kelly. I had Omelets and fries and it was really big and really filling even after skipping breakfast. We went chocolate shopping after that and I grabbed more gifts for people. I broke off at that point and went to buy Belgian waffles for a friend who specifically requested it.

When we got back to the coach we said goodbye to 2 more friends Haylee and Megan Campbell. Coach was now strangely empty as we left Brugge and reached Calais. We were retracing our steps as we boarded the Pride of Burgundy for the ride back across the channel. I gave Kate a gift for being such a great tour leader. A bottle of Maple Syrup in the shape of a Canadian Maple Leaf. I wandered around the boat before sitting down with Hilori and Stephen and we chatted about the trip and I learned a bit about candy crush.

We had left Mike behind because the coaches are based in the Netherlands so he had to drive back alone 😞. He got a bear as a gift and it is now the bus' mascot. You can see it in the picture of the bus.

We boarded a different coach for the ride into London and my last seatmate of the trip was Megan Compston. We chatted a bit about the trip and I found out she still had months of travelling to go. It was a nice chat and I am glad she was the last person who I sat next to because she is quite a nice and friendly person.

Too soon we reached London and I saw the Carpenter's Bar where I had first had drinks with Kelly, Romy, Rachael and Amanda. I remember thinking after that if everyone on this bus was as nice as these 4 ladies it would be a good trip. I am happy to say it did turn out that way.

It was a sad time when we all exited for the last time and I got my luggage. Some people were staying at the Clink so could hang out a bit longer and I would meetup with other Topdeck people over the next few days but for most of us this would be goodbye. I hugged and said goodbye with as many people as I could and told everyone to keep in touch. The Facebook Topdeck Group I made should make it easy to keep in touch. Finally it was time to leave and I walked with Kelly to Kings Cross Station. She was heading to her train back to Northern England so I gave her one last hug and we waved goodbye as our paths diverged.

I rode the Victoria line south and I was alone for the first time in 2 weeks and had time to reflect. This was the best trip I ever took and I wanted to say Topdeck is a great tour company. They have great people working for them and I was sad to hear this would be Kate's last year on tour. To Mike our driver I can't possibly rate your driving any higher.

In 2 weeks I was in 9 countries, I had some lows and a lot of highs 😉. I am terrified of heights and yet I went paragliding. I am shy person and I went on stage at a SEX SHOW. Most of the time I had no idea what day of the week it was and I honestly did not care and that is the mark of a great time and it was mostly due to the 49 great people I travelled with. So I would like to thank the following people for such a wonderful time and may our paths cross again someday.

Jemma, Emma
Ashleigh, Bron
Jamie, Danielle,
Meghan Campbell, Haylee
Greg, Megan Schuller
Jon, Jacqueline
Paul, Alana
Darcy, Jordan
Emileen, Katie, Madelyn
Emily, Chiara
Angelica, Andrea
Sherri, Nardine
Kelly
Ken
Shannon
Brooke
Rachael
Kelsey
Christine
Romy
Hilori
Aileen
Debbie
Amanda
Gillon
Andrew
MJ
Zakiyya
Patrina
Stephen
Megan Compston
Sam
Caitlin
David
Kate (Tour Leader) and Mike (Driver)

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Photos

Group Photo
39 Great Ladies and 11 Awesome Guys

Hangover Pictures
Posted with their permission

Belgian Waffles
For a friend back home. Hope you appreciate this Danielle

Topdeck Bus
In the windshield you can see the bear that will be its new mascot.