First Stop - Paris, France
Since I missed the pre-meeting the night before we were to leave London for Paris, this was the day I had been waiting for! This was the day I was to meet my fellow travelers and embark on what I hoped would be the journey of a lifetime. This was the day I was to begin my thirty-six day European Adventurer tour with Contiki and start on my adventure through eighteen countries and the majority of Europe. I couldn't wait!
The morning of August 18th, I had to wake up god awfully early to shower, get dressed, pack up everything, say goodbye to my two roommates I had gotten pretty close with over the past two days in London, and head downstairs to meet my tour group and head off to Paris My entire tour group had to be downstairs at the Departure Lounge of the Royal National Hotel by 6 AM. So I headed downstairs, got my bags weighed to make sure they were below the 20 Kilo limit, loaded all my stuff onto the bus, and got to talking with some of the people from my tour.
First Ride Aboard The Party Boat
Once I got on-board, I met Jamie and ended up sitting next to him for the entire ride that day. He turned out to be a very funny and laid back guy which I really liked! And it was great to just break the ice with someone and start to casually chat and joke and get to know someone else on the trip. We rode to the coast of England and then took a ferry over to France. We got to see the White Cliffs of Dover, which we found out are only impressive once you're off in the distance from them. Because up close they just look like ordinary rock hillsides. But once we left the coast, you could see the really beauty of the White Cliffs because of how expansive and white they really are from the distance!
On-board the ferry I quickly started meeting and chatting with others from the group like Brett, Clinton, Bazza and Courtney (which I had actually met in London the night at the hotel), and Bree and a few of the other girls. It's so funny thinking about my first impressions of everyone, and how those changed so much over the next thirty-five days I spent with everyone traveling Europe. I remember when I first met Bree, I thought she was just gorgeous, so proper and what I had always thought of as typically English. (Just for the record that perception didn't change during the trip, she just became more human which is good!)
After crossing the ocean we began making our way to Paris, France where we would spend the first three days of our tour together. I remember looking out the window on the ride to Paris and thinking of how similar the view was to driving through the heart of the United States. The view is pretty much the same - open fields and expansive farm lands, the occasional small roadside stop, and generally nothing too exciting. But the view changed dramatically as we approached Paris. It became much more picturesque and urban as we approached the city of love and the city everyone longed to explore!
First Stop & Night Out
Finally we made it. Two continents, crossing the ocean by ferry, and driving our way to Paris all in less than six hours or so! It was an exciting day so far. And it would only get better as we arrived at our first stopover Camping Du Trembley in Champigny-Sur-Marne, France (just a little outside of Paris). There we got our first look at what we would be staying in over the rest of the trip and it wasn't bad at all. In Paris we stayed in small wooden cabins, four people roomed together in each cabin, two to each side of the cabin in separate rooms, and we all shared a bathroom and shower in the center of the cabin. It was a tight fit, and we all had to manage using one bathroom, but none of us intended on spending too much time in the room anyway!
The stopover itself was very nice, and would set the tone for the rest of the trip. Like the majority of our stopovers we ate in a large Contiki tent in the center of the campsite, and we had a bar and a general store all within the campsite. This would be the popular hang out place over the next few nights, and would be the spot of my hour or so long puking spell the next night when I tried drinking and then smoking three cigarettes (when I don't smoke at all back at home). Just a note, that's not a good idea if you've never really smoked before! I got so sick after it I spent the next hour puking over the fence outside the bar, and keeping my head down and my eyes shut to drown out the spinning that I felt whenever I lifted my head and opened up my eyes. What a way to start the trip off!
Dinner And The Cabaret Show
That night we all got dressed up and went out to dinner and the cabaret show La Nouvelle Eve. Since it was the first optional excursion dinner and show, everyone on the tour went and had an incredible time together! I sat at dinner with Brett, Emily and Ashley. And we chatted and had a great time all dinner long just getting to know each other. The food itself wasn't the best, but the atmosphere and the small old man that would jump in and play the accordion from time to time (without ever making eye contact with anyone :-) made it a dinner to remember.
After dinner we all went out to see La Nouvelle Eve cabaret show. It was a cabaret show just as you would expect one - complete with acrobatics, some comedy and boobies for the sake of boobies. And although it started out a little cheesy and cheap, the comic, incredible illusionist at the end of the show, and 58-year old acrobat saved the show. It was great fun!
On the way to the show I met Jessica and Courtney - two very cute and fun girls from Melbourne, Australia. I ended up sitting with both of them along with Clinton and the other Courtney during the cabaret show.
We all split three bottles of champagne during the show. And the three bottles got us all quite messy by the end of the show. But we had an an awesome time at the show! The champagne made it so much better! Now I know why give it away at these types of shows! :-)
The bus ride home was crazy! Everyone was quite messy and was up out of their seats, dancing, singing and moving around the bus generally having a great time. This is how many a bus ride back from the nights out would be, and I enjoyed them all so much!! It was a great time! And a great way to start off the trip.
- August 18th, 2006
- By Daniel Scrivner
