THE SUMMER TRIP OF A LIFETIME: Prologue
I never imagined that by the end of my summer vacation I would have traveled with 19 other college students through 6 countries in Europe in just 12 days. But here I am, back at school, having had the most unforgettable experience of my life.
It was my first time in Europe and my very first “Contiki.” What had originally been just a company name to me became a word that would encompass the fun and excitement I experienced through the duration of my trip. Contiki.
My Contiki started in the classic city of London, where I met my fellow travelers and got to explore the city. Then, a quick ferry ride took us to France where we were marveled by the most notable monument in the City of Light - the Eiffel Tower. A day in Paris was followed by a short stopover in Switzerland for some sightseeing and shopping. Our next stop was Italy. We sampled some authentic Italian cuisine and wine, got a taste of the night life in Florence, and took a gondola ride down the canals of Venice. After a week of good, old-fashioned sightseeing, it was time for a little bit of an adventure - white water rafting and mountain biking in Austria. Our last stop was Germany, where we visited the home of the Oktoberfest, Munich, and cruised down the Rhine River in St. Goar.
But my journey begins at home, here in San Francisco, in the wee hours of the morning on August 1. At 2:00 in the morning I was still trying to pack all my clothes into my suitcase. And I had to be up at 6:30 to beat the rush hour traffic and get to the airport. I only got about four hours of sleep, but I figured I’d be sleeping on the plane anyways.
I arranged to meet two of my traveling buddies at SFO - Cindy from San Jose, and Stephanie from Berkeley. We didn’t know it, but were standing right behind each other in line to check in our luggage. We sat around at this café for a little before we headed to our terminal.
Our first flight took us to Cincinnati. It left half an hour late, so our original 45-minute stopover became a short, 15 minute one. That left us just enough time to make a quick bathroom stop before running (literally) to our next flight which would take us to London’s Gatwick Airport. Our flight to London was a little longer than our first flight - about 9 hours. But I was so tired, I just slept the whole ride there.
Before I knew it, we were touching down in London.
NEXT WEEK: London & Paris!!