Pigeon Forge - Vegas for kids

Zorb Smokey Mountains is located in Pigeon Forge, TN. It's a place I had never heard of and it seems the NYC bubble was keeping an interesting place off my radar. Often people not from large cities think that the people in large cities are out of touch with what goes on in other places, sometimes it is true. I actually only know one person who knows what Pigeon Forge is, everyone else I know couldn't even figure out why you would go to Knoxville let a lone Pigeon Forge.

Pigeon Forge struck me as the type of place that people who live within a half days drive might go to for a family summer vacation. It's Vegas for kids! Driving down the main road in Pigeon Forge is like a miniature Las Vegas Blvd. The road is lined with chain restaurants, mini golf, souvenir shops, hotels, go-cart places, arcades and other random attractions for families. It's cheesy middle america and I loved it! There is also Dollywood and its water park. A family could spend a week here as long as they bring plenty of money. I overheard someone from my hotel say that he goes there every other month, I suspect that he's not unusual. There's a lot of fun things to do there and while it's not fancy, it's entertaining. Pigeon Forge also has a couple different outlet centers. I went to one small one but wasn't impressed with it, I didn't even get out of my car. I went to the Tanger Outlet and that had a much better selection of stores. I didn't have much room in my luggage, but I did get a couple things there.

5 miles south of Pigeon Forge is Gattlinburg. Gattlinburg is a nicer area, though similar to Pigeon Forge in some ways. It's more of a walking type of place, a smaller main road and a quainter feel. The road is lined with hotels (if I went back I would look to get a hotel on the river with a view of the river), restaurants and shops. There are also touristy activities - Rippleys Believe it or Not, a Wax museum, and you can take a chair lift to the top of a mountain. I didn't do too much when I was here as I had already spent quite a bit of money that day. I think Gattlinburg is a better place for older children and adults, but either way it's a nice spot to spend some time if you're in the area.

European Discovery Day 14 & 15

Day 14 (May 21): Paris and back to London

This morning your scheduled tour ends at your accommodation. Then back to London for my last night in Europe.

6:15 came way to quick this morning. At 7:45 we left Maya, Kenny, Vicky, Kreena and Alberto at the hotel as they were not returning to London. I didn't get to say goodbye to Alberto or Vicky. Bye guys! Then we dropped off Michael, Ryan, Mikki, Kamala, Mark, Simon and Anne at the airport since they were leaving later this morning from Paris. It was sad leaving all these people behind, I don't know if or when I'll see them again. After the airport we started back to London, it was a quiet ride. Our first stop would be the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge where the Canadians and Germans fought in WWI. It was a nicely set up memorial, you could walk through the trenches, it gave you an idea of how aweful it must have been to fight like that. Then we were back on the bus for another hour and a half to Calais and the ferry to Dover. We had lunch on the ferry and then another 2 hour drive to London, we got to the hotel at 3:30.

We didn't say too many goodbyes as we were all meeting at the Goose at 7:30. Nicola came back to my room with me since she was staying at a friend's in another part of London. I actually had a double room this time, my roommate was leaving on the European Magic the next morning. After checking in we headed to the Contiki Basement to check email, we ran into Lisa, Kristen, and Yolandi who were having issues with the Royal National since their travel agent had booked their hotel for the wrong night, they eventually found a place to stay. Then Nicola did a little last minute shopping and went for dinner.

At 7:30 we met up at the goose, where it all started, with Mike, Monica, Laurie, Garry, Yolandi, Lisa, Kristen, Catilin, Jenny, Cindy, Christine, Mike, Mel, Dane, Jen, Reuben, Hansie, Chris, Sophie, Jess, Narelle, Brian and Ali. We all got to meet Hans's girlfriend, Ronnie. Throughout the night people slowly left, and we said our goodbyes, it was sad. Finally Chris, Nicola and I decided to leave, leaving just Hans, Reuben, Ali, Jen and Dane behind. Chris and I got Nicola into a taxi and said our goodbye. Chris and I discussed maybe taking the underground to the airport together the next day.


Day 15 (May 22): London and flying back home

Today I have a little time in the morning to explore London before I head back home.

This morning my roommates 6am wake up call woke me up and I never really got back to sleep. I laid in bed for a while and finally got up, took a shower and headed out to the Contiki Basement to check in for my flight home. I ran into Jenny and Caitlin who were off to the London Eye. They inspired me, I abandoned my plan to take the underground to Heathrow with Chris after checkout, but I did call Chris and invite him to go on the Eye with me, but he declined. So off I went to the London Eye for a ride, with a quick stop in Trafalgar Square to buy a last minute gift. Being back in Trafalgar Square brought back memories of how I had been afraid when I got here two weeks ago. I'm so not intimidated by this city now! I started to hyperventalate just thinking of how much I had progressed as a traveler, and how scared I had been that first day.

I took my 11:00 flight on the London Eye, the view was great, but the ride was so long. Ok, the ride was only 30 minutes but it was so lonely doing it by myself, after 13 days with 47 people, being by myself sucked! After my ride I headed back to the Imperial Hotel to pick up my luggage and then left for the airport at 1:00. I took the wrong branch of the Piccadilly Line of the Underground, fortunately I realized before it was too late. I had lunch at the airport and tried to spend my last few pounds before heading home. It was tough saying goodbye to London as the plane took off, knowing it was the real end of my trip. I tried to watch Ray on the flight home, but found it too slow in the beginning and my ability to concentrate hampered by the lack of sleep over the past two weeks. In the end I watched the Incredibles which cheered me up a bit. The best news of the day was that my flight got in early, hey, if I'm not with my tour, I might as well be home!

The Amazing Race

I've recently started watching the Amazing Race, I watched a couple seasons this summer and am watching the new season on TV. This season the racers have gone to Vietnam and for some reason it's making me want to go to SE Asia.

TAR has been to SE Asia a couple times and it always seems really interesting, culturally. But this last season with the trip to Vietnam is pushing me toward making my big trip after getting my dental work to SE Asia. When I think of Australia and New Zealand I feel like, yea, they would be cool and great places to go, but I don't think the cultural differences will be enough to make it an adventure. Plus I think SE Asia is more likely to change and become westernized and Oz and NZ will probably not change as much if trips there had to wait a couple years. But 2 years of dental work might change my mind. Another place I am considering is Africa to go on a safari, but I think that is most likely to happen if my friend who also wants to do that will do it, I don't have much faith that that will happen.

European Discovery Day 13

Day 13 (May 20): Paris Sightseeing

On our city tour, see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Nôtre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre, shop on the Champs Elysées and stroll by the Seine. Tonight, why not experience a Parisian cabaret?


Another late morning, didn't have to get up till 7:15! It's a good thing since yesterday I started to get a cold and today I have a cold. At 8:45 the bus left for the Paris Opera House and the optional perfumery demo. I'm not really into perfume and I was congested so I skipped the perfumery. I headed to the Musee Louvre with Nicola, Alberto, Laurie, Garry, Chris, Lisa, and Ali. We quickly got in the Louvre using the back entrance that Hans had showed us the night before and our museum cards we bought. We even managed to find our way around in spite of the fact that they ran out of English maps.

Our first stop was Venus de Milo, pretty girl, too bad she doesn't have any arms. Then we headed through the grand gallery, from the Da Vinci Code, to the Mona Lisa. There was a line to see her, but you could take pictures, but they didn't come out well since she had glass or something covering her. After the Louvre we headed to Notre Dame, which was very nice. After that we all stopped for lunch at a little cafe by Notre Dame.

After lunch Alberto, Nicola and I separated from the rest of the group to go to see The Thinker at the Musee Rodin. We tried to take the Metro but I think we ended up in the wrong station and after examining the map for 20 minutes decided to just walk to the Musee Rodin. We passed the Musse d'Orsay along the way, but didn't go in. While walking Alberto started to drive me nuts. He was walking with his map completely open and every now and then he would tell me where we were, except he would off by 2 blocks. Nothing like doing stuff that screams "tourist" to everyone around. At the Musse Rodin the gardens were beautiful and The Thinker was cool. We took a minute to sit down and rest our tired feet and figure out the Metro. We managed to take the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe without getting lost.

When we got to the Arc de Trimophe it took us a few minutes but we finally found the walkway to the arc. Once in we climbed up a bazillion steps and finally were at the top. At the top we took some pictures and ran into Mike and Mel, we also sat down for a bit to rest our extremely tired feet. The view was really nice, but not as cool as the night view from the Eiffel Tower. On the way down we ran into Michael, Monica, Caitlin and some others. It's amazing how many people we could run into in a day in such a big city, we had run into Maya and some others in the Louvre and Simon and his group at Notre Dame. After the Arc we took a walk down the Champs Elysées for some shopping and delicious Sorbet that I would find. After a couple shops we ran into Maya, Anne, Roshni and Kreena. After that we all headed back to the hotel on the Metro.

After we got back I decided to take a walk to the internet cafe so I could send my "I'm in Paris" emails. When I got back I called mom, hung out with some tour mates in the lobby, and repacked a bit. So much for getting some rest before Moulin Rouge. Kamala, Mikki and I met up with Becca and Zeeni, but not until we were accosted by Frenchmen. We tried walking, but ended up taking the bus to Moulin Rouge, we found a nice little sidewalk cafe to have dinner at before the show. The waiter was very nice, especially considering Becca was the only one who spoke any French, and she didn't speak much. After dinner we finally went to see Moulin Rouge, it was a little weird, but a cool show. But I was so tiredd (should have taken a nap) that I was falling asleep at one point. At the end of the show we lost Becca and Zeeni so the 3 of us left together. Outside Kamala went across the street to take pictures while a bunch of Frenchmen decided they liked Mikki and I. I am not liking these Frenchmen! Anyway, we tried running across the street, yelling at them, but it took a few minutes to shake them, when we got to the bar to meet up with the rest of the group who had gone to the earlier show or had skipped the show all together.

By the time we got to the bar several people had already headed back to the hotel. But the rest of us had fun, I even danced. We left around 2:30 and we all decided it would be a good idea to walk back to the hotel. So Chris, Alberto, Simon, Kamala, Mark, Roshni, Kreena, Mikki, Vicky, Kenny, Michael, and some others walked. But our group got split up half way when someone got hungry and I didn't see the rest of them till morning. But we got to be the loud obnoxious people walking down the street, we didn't get back to the hotel till 3:10, I thought Hans said it was a 20 minute walk? Maybe if we were sober if would have been 20 minutes.

Tennessee Hotels

I stayed at 3 different hotels when I was in Tennessee, here are reviews of each.

First was the Knoxville Airport Hilton. It was conveniently located right next to the airport. It was a 2 minute walk from the terminal on a covered walkway. The hotel was nice, clean, the room was very large and had a flat screen TV. The bathroom was bit small compared to the rest of the room, but large enough. It's not the cheapest hotel in the area, but the extra cost is worth it for the convenience to the airport. If you're flying in late or flying out early I do recommend it. The free shampoo was really good too, I used that for my whole trip.

Comfort Inn, Pigeon Forge. Located at the south end of Pigeon Forge next to a Denny's the Comfort Inn was nice and a good value. The room was tastefully decorated, large, the bathroom was very large, the bed was comfortable, I had a balcony. Not as nice as the Hilton, but it certainly had all the amenities you would need. There was also an indoor pool with hot tub and access to an outdoor pool at the hotel next door. My only complaint was that there was not enough seating at the breakfast area, though the breakfast spread was very good for an included hotel breakfast.

Hotel St. Oliver located in the Market Square area of Knoxville, the location was great. The hotel had a lot of character; however, it was worn out. This is a budget hotel I found listed in the Moon Guide to Tennessee. For the price it was a good hotel, but it's not the type of place I would recommend to my Mom. The rugs and curtains were stained, and the wallpaper peeling, but the room seemed to have been cleaned. The mattress was comfortable, but it really needed to be replaced. Actually, the housekeeper took my towel, it was a cheap white one I had gotten zorbing and I didn't intend to take it home with me, but since I left it on a counter I thought it was odd that he would take it. I decided that was his tip. One nice touch is that I was actually shown the room before I had to commit to it, maybe I should have looked a little closer at the room. This hotel is good for a budget traveler who likes a more unique hotel instead of the standard chain hotel. But if you're a chain hotel kind of person, this is not the place for you.

European Discovery Day 12

Day 12 (May 19): Lucerne to Paris

Through the French countryside to the romance of Paris. Enjoy a first view of the sights of this spectacular city of light.



Today we got a little later of a start since we were going to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn, so I got to sleep till 6:30, wahoo! We took an 8:10am train up to the gondola that would get us to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn. What a phenomenal view! And, because it was still cloudy this morning, it was actually warmer at the top then in town. We got a nice chance to walk around before coming down so the bus could leave at 9:30 for Paris.

Today I decided to be a flowerbox, I sat in the front row of the bus with Chris. Our first stop was after 3 hours for lunch. I found the French to actually be pretty friendly, but I was a little overwhelmed by the trying to pick out food, I ended up with quiche. Actually, the most stressful part of the whole trip would be the first rest stop in each country, trying to order food in a new culture. After lunch it was a 2 and a half hour ride on the bus, the highlight of this part of the drive would be playing Horse. This is as easy game that anyone can play, see a horse and be the first to call it. One point for real horses, two points for pictures of horses. At this next rest stop the woman was rude, so being an annoying American, I kept going back to her.

Back on the bus Hans gave us a history lesson on France, something about Napoleon. At 7:30pm we finally got to Paris, we had 30 minutes to check in before dinner and our evening tour of Paris. The hotel was nice, but the rooms were smaller than a shoebox for sandals. We had a pretty good dinner at the hotel, Chicken, rice and salad.

At 9:00 we headed out to the Eiffel Tower and the city tour. The first stop was the Eiffel Tower, with a drive through the Arc de Triomphe on the way. We had a bit of a line to get into the Eiffel Tower, but we made the best of our time by starting the wave. The view from the Eiffel Tower was amazing, especially with the late dusk sky. I give credit to those who were afraid of hights, but still went up as I know it wasn't easy for them. Good job gals! Anyway, back to me. I bought myself a giraffe Eiffel Tower and a blinking Eiffel Tower. But the funniest thing was when Mike bought multiple blinking Eiffel Towers and then tried to sell one to one of the peddlers. Mike offered 5 euros, but the guy would only pay 4 and Mike didn't have change for him. Then Michael tried to buy one from him for 2 euros, telling him they were made in China and the cost was really low. Amazingly the guy stuck around quite a while for all the torture we would inflict on him.

After that we did our drive around Paris, we saw a lot of things... The Paris Opera House, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee Rodin, Hotel de Ville, and a bunch of other stuff. We got back to the hotel around midnight and got to bed a little after 1:00am.

European Discovery Day 11

Day 11 (May 18): Florence to Lucerne

A spectacular Alpine drive as we pass Lake Como and head for Switzerland. Lucerne awaits with its cobbled streets, and our orientation tour takes in the beautiful wooden Chapel Bridge. This afternoon, there’s also a chance to visit Mt. Stanserhorn.


I was up again at 6:15 for breakfast, and the bus left at 7:30. This morning I got to sit with Lisa, from Australia. We had our first stop at 11am for lunch, I've found that after 3 hours on the bus I start going crazy, thankfully we usually stop by the time we hit 3 hours. After lunch we were back on the bus, we passed Lake Como, which was very beautiful, apparently also expensive. We got into Lucerne around 1:30 - 2:00. We skipped the ride to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn because it was too cloudy to see anything. Hans took us up to the Dying Lion Monument which was carved in honor of the Swiss Guards killed in 1792.

After that Hans took us over the famous Chapel Bridge to a watch and Swiss army knife store. I bought a Swiss army watch and a really cool Swiss army knife for myself and some other souvenirs for family and friends. After I went off with Chris and Alberto looking for a store for Alberto to buy a pen and a cafe to warm up in. We found a store and Alberto bought a very nice Mont Blanc pen for his Dad. Then we searched and searched for a cafe, we ended up in a McDonalds. At either 4:00 or 5:00most of us met up for a boat cruise through Lake Lucerne, which had cheap drinks. The views were very nice, it's a very nice city but unfortunately it was so cloudy you couldn't see much.

After checking into the hotel, finally a decent hotel, we had dinner at the hotel. The party then moved to the hotel bar where people tried to burn off their last Swiss Francs, if they could afford to buy a drink. The bartender was crazy and sold Simon a drink for 20 Swiss Francs that had 17 shots in it. I did try some, and it was pretty good, but due to an aversion to Peach Schnapps I didn't have too much. But Lisa had a good time with the bartender...

Adventures in Pigeon Forge, TN

I thought I would try a different way of posting. I thought I would tell everyone what I did in one big post, then do reviews on particular things in later posts.

I flew out of NY on Sunday evening and after a stopover in DC landed in Knoxville around 9:45 at night. I stayed at the Airport Hilton, which was a good move since the airport and probably the city was dead at that hour of night. I don't even know if I would have been able to get a rental car.

Monday morning I picked up my rental car around 8:00 and drove to Pigeon Forge. I decided since this was going to be the only day when the weather was supposed to be nice that I would Zorb and go to Dollywood. First, I Zorbed, which was tons of fun, then I went to Dollywood. The timing worked out well since Zorb opened at 9am and Dollywood at 10am. I stayed at Dollywood until 4:30-5:00 and went back to Zorb since the guy forgot to give me my CD with the pictures on it. After that I checked into my hotel, Comfort Inn. I rested for a while since I was exhausted from all the fun I had been having. I decided then to go for a drive to Gattlinburg, a nice little town 5 miles south of Pigeon Forge. I didn't do much more then just walk around and check out a couple shops, but it felt good to be out and about and seeing things.

After that I decided it was time for some shopping in Pigeon Forge, I tried one of the outlet centers, but it was lame so I went to the Christmas shops. I did get myself and ornament for my Christmas tree. Back at the hotel I opted for a quick dinner at Denny's. It was actually one of the better Denny's I've been to, and then took a dip in the hot tub, ahhhhhh.

The following morning I was heading to Knoxville but decided to take one more roll down the Zorbing hill. And what kind of trip would it have been if I didn't go to the outlets? I stopped at the Tanger outlets and they were very good, a nice selection of stores. I was also able to get myself a belt and a new pair of sunglasses, both things I had forgotten to bring on the trip. I did buy myself a new wallet too, I was at the outlets so obviously I needed to buy something that was just a good deal. At this point I noticed one of the benefits of only using a carry-on, I couldn't buy much. If I had a full size suitcase I probably would have bought more stuff, but since I had limited space I found myself being very careful as to what I bought, this probably saved me a bunch of money.

What does the future hold in blog posts? Reviews of Pigeon Forge, Gattlinburg, Hotel reviews, My experience Zorbing and at Dollywood.

European Discovery Day 10

Day 10 (May 17): Rome to Florence

We drive to Florence where our local expert guide takes us on a walking tour of the Duomo, Giotto’s Belltower, Piazza della Signoria and the Basilica of Santa Croce. Enjoy a demonstration of Florentine leathercraft. Tonight join the locals at a restaurant or club.

Today I was up at 6:15, again. We were off to Florence at 7:30am. We arrived in Florence around 12 or 1 in the afternoon and Hans took us to a leather demonstration. I decided everything I was interested in was more than I was willing to spend so I was quickly off to explore. Anne, Nicola, and I took a slow shopping walk up to the academia to see the David. Lucky for us it was cultural week in Italy so we didn't have to pay to get in, I like free stuff! While on line we ran into Mike who was also going to see the David. The David was quite impressive, the detail was amazing (I never saw a statue with veins before), no artwork I would see after could compare to this one.

After that we walked back to the meeting place while doing some shopping and stopping at a church, I believe the Cathedral - Baptistery. At 4:00 we met up with the group in Piazza Santa Croce to get the bus to the hotel. While walking to the bus it started to rain.

After we checked into the hotel we had until 6:30 to be ready for dinner, giving everyone ample time to make themselves pretty. At the optional dinner, which was quite nice and a lot of fun, I sat with Roshni, Kreena, Nicola, Kamala, Mikki, Yolandi, Lisa, Kristen, Anne, Kenny and Vicky. I wasn't overly impressed with the anti-pasta, but the pasta, lasagna and steak were all very good. We had a wonderful opera singer for entertainment, and some dancing music, I even did the Chicken Dance. Yes, I had some wine with my dinner too. I also dragged Simon onto the dance floor to dance and got to dance with Alberto.

At 10:30 we were rounded up to leave, as tonight was the nice for Space. I decided not to go, opting to have drinks at the bar with a bunch of other people who didn't want to go to space. Unfortunately, the bar in the hotel was closed, so ended up just hanging out in the room with Nicola talking till 12:15.

European Discovery Day 9

Day 9 (May 16): Rome Sightseeing

Today why not discover the ancient ruins of Rome with a local guide and in your free time leisurely discover the secrets of the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel.

This morning was an early morning so we could get into the Vatican early, and out of the Vatican early. I was up at 5:45, breakfast was at 6:30 and the bus left at 7, ughhh! We took the overland train again, OMG it was crowded!!!! It was so crowded that you didn't have to worry about falling over since your body couldn't move. And it wasn't just the section by the door, it was the aisle too! People here at home would whine and cry if they had to take a train like this. Then it was back on the Metro, which seemed empty compared to the last train. When we got off we had to practically run, well it felt like it after spending the last 7 days on a bus, to the Vatican to get on line. The first people to get on line got our spot and then everyone trickled in after, not much we could do about trickling in since we had to walk single file past the line. Well, the tour guide who had the group behind us had a fit that we were cutting the line, I hear she threatened to call the police. Apparently Mondays are busy, they were expecting 15,000 people.

After waiting an hour we finally got in and had a guided tour. The tour was ok, I didn't love it. First, the ear pieces were painful after about 5 minutes. The tour guide was a little too detailed about the art, I was also tired and had trouble concentrating on what she was saying. She did give us some good info, but the tour was probably best for people who are into art work, which I'm not. When we finished the tour I made a quick stop at a store to buy some souvenirs. I didn't get a chance to go to the top of the Vatican or mail postcards, such is life.

I headed out with Nicola, Anne, and Alberto for some sightseeing, we finally got on the bus, where we ran into Monica and Michael. We got off at the Wedding Cake and walked up to the Pantheon for lunch. I ate lunch across from the Pantheon, how cool is that?! After that Anne went off by herself to sight see and the rest of us went to an internet cafe to update friends and family about our travels. Then we took a slow walk, while shopping, to the Spanish Steps for our 4pm meeting time. We didn't see much today, but it really was a nice day, not too much running around and I felt like I got a little more of a feel for Rome then if we had run around. Although it would have been nice to see more I have no regrets.

After meeting we took the Metro to the overland train and the bus took us back to the hotel by 5:00. I took a quick nap and shower as all the walking and heat left me exhausted. As much of a dump as the hotel was, the dinner was pretty decent. I took a walk out back with Michael (from Canada) where we saw the nicer part of the hotel, the outside. We ran into Steven, Anne and Maya out there too. Then it was back inside to the hotel bar, which had the worst bartender I have have ever met. Lets put it this way, I had to settle for my 4th choice of drink, a Sprite. But we had a good time hanging out. It was an early night, got to bed at 10:30.

European Discovery Day 8

Day 8 (May 15): Venice to Rome

Southwards as we climb through the Appennine Mountains passing medieval hillside villages and travel to the Eternal City, Rome. Tonight a walking tour of this ancient city will include the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon.

Today I was up at 6:15 for a 7:00 breakfast, and hit the road for Rome at 7:30. At our lunch stop the line had gotten very long and some "Antiki's" tried to cut the line, well actually they succeeded, but they didn't cut me. Hans underestimates these Antiki people! We got to our hotel around 2:30 and had an hour to get ready before leaving for Rome. Our hotel looked really nice from the outside, but in fact was a dump! The only good thing was that we had a triple room, so I had an extra bed to put my stuff on.

At 3:30 we took the bus to the overland train to the Valle Aurillias stop, and transferred to the metro. We took the Metro to Termini and transferred trains to get to Colosseo. In general the metro was pretty crowded, covered in graffiti and kinda dirty. Oh, and some kids ear touched my hand, it was so gross! I miss the NYC Subway!

When we got off the Metro, and out of the station we got a view of the Coliseum, how cool! Hans gave us a few minutes to take pictures, I took them and then bought myself a cheesy coliseum replica. Hans walked us up Via Del Fori Imperial where we passed the Foro Romano and some other ruins. Then up to Piazza Venezia and to the Pantheon. Inside was quite cool, too bad Donatello's tomb was covered for cleaning. Then we headed over to Piazza Navona for dinner, on our own. I had some yummy lasagna with Anne, Nicola, and Alberto, then had Gelati for desert. After dinner Hans took us past Piazza Colona, the Russell Crowe monument, through some mall over to the Trevi Fountain. I thought the Trevi Fountain was cool, I made my wishes and yelled at some guy who tried to sell me a flower. He did this by trying to stick it in my hand, I screamed at him. He went away. Then we headed past the Spanish Steps on our way to the tram. On our way we went by Police Anniversary thing, where they were giving away free stuff. We stopped to enjoy some Italian mayhem, I got a hat. The tram was packed, as in, packed like sardines, but we had a lot of laughs about it. Finally we got off the tram and had to take a much less crowded bus which dropped us off at the hotel. We got back around 10:30, finally called mom tonight, then crawled to bed at 11:30. Rome is very cool, but I was tired, and tomorrow would be an early morning.

Back to the cars and planes...

So my flights to Knoxville and Pittsburgh were relatively uneventful. My first pair of flights was NY to DC, DC to Knoxville. I did figure out that Reagan Airport (DCA) is not the best place to have to spend a layover, not much shopping or food there. Knoxville's airport was cute - 10 gates and the place was totally shut down (even the security lines) when my flight got in around 9pm. As in the area was gated off for the night. I didn't know airports shut down at night, it was kinda weird.

Then I flew from Knoxville to Charlotte to Pittsburgh. Charlotte is a much more interesting place to spend a layover; however, it's a dangerous place. My flight came in at terminal E and my next flight was from terminal C. There are tons of food places and shopping places, though I didn't partake in too much of that since it took so long to get between terminals, that was exercise enough! To top it off it's like a slalom course trying to avoid the golf carts for the handicapped people. What is going on in Charlotte? There were more people being driven around on carts then there were walking around. The theory I came up with is that there were always a higher number of handicapped people there and then they built the airport and started running people over with the carts creating a larger number of handicapped people. These are the theories you come up with when you spend too much time in an airport...

These flights to Pittsburgh were the more interesting pair. First we got NO service flying to Charlotte, I got service in Egypt on a 30 minute flight, US Airways Express is a bunch of weenies. I finally learned why it is that on some flights you can gate check a larger carry-on and why on others you don't. I flew US Airways - US Airways does not do gate checking, if you're on a smaller plane either it fits or it goes as checked baggage. On US Airways Express the planes are smaller so they will gate check larger carry-on. Finally, a mystery solved! I still didn't figure out how come the smaller plane that US Airways uses, which held a similar number of people as the US Airways Express plane, had so much more room in the overhead bins and why the seats seemed roomier too. But I did meet a nice girl on the flight into Pittsburgh, we talked the whole trip which made us not notice that our flight got in a little late.

Flying home from Pittsburgh was with Jetblue. I love Jetblue - I've only had one delayed flight with them, the staff is nice, you actually get a snack and you have a TV. When I got in the airport I had to check to see if my carry-on was still carry-on size. My friend in Pittsburgh had a large present for me and I had to expand my carry-on. It turned out to be too big for the smaller plane, though they did offer to let me try to take it on as a carry-on since there weren't a lot of people on the flight. I decided since it was free to check my bag and I didn't feel like dragging the thing around if I was going to end up checking it that I would just check it there. That worked out fine since the suitcase made it to NY. Also my flight got in 40 minutes early and I had to wait for my ride anyway, why not wait the extra 2 minutes to get the suitcase. Which reminds me, they had our suitcases at baggage claim super quick, I don't ever remember getting my bag that quick before!

My rental car... I rented from Thrifty at Knoxville for 3 days. I rented an economy car since it's just me and I don't need more then that. The girl kept trying to up-sell me a bigger car, saying the mountains down by Pigeon Forge were so big I might need more power. I didn't take her offer. I got a Toyota Camry, which is the first rental car I've had that I actually liked, and it had plenty of power for what I was doing. They probably ran out of economy cars and wanted to get me to pay for the upgrade. When I dropped it off, Thrifty was closed so I just dropped the keys in a box, I haven't heard anything since so I'm assuming everything was fine. One thing I didn't like about Thrifty at the Knoxville Airport is that their cars were parked the furthest away from the terminal. But then the airport was so small that it wasn't that big of a deal.

Planes, Cars and Children

Ahhh, I'm finally getting around to something about my trip... I thought I would start with the obvious - traveling by plane, car and children. I'll start with kids.

I complained recently about lap children (those under 2 who do not have a seat), while I understand there are people who can not afford to pay the inflated price of a seat, I think some parents are just irresponsible about it. If you're going on a vacation and you can't afford that seat, then maybe you can't afford the vacation??? But if you're visiting grandma and grandpa then I'm feeling a bit more generous to your struggle.

But, what I saw on my flight home from Pittsburgh was disturbing. A child, who had to be close to 2 years old, traveling with her father. Originally Dad sat in a seat next to another person (this was a smaller plane with 2 seats on each side of the isle.) Since the plane was fairly empty he moved up a couple rows, giving me a birds eye view of him and the daughter. The daughter never sat during the flight, she was climbing on the father during take off and landing in such a way that he could not sit straight in his seat. This was a child that should never have been a lap child, she should have had her own seat and had a car seat.

If you're child cannot sit down during take off and landing and turbulence, then you're child needs to be restrained in a car seat. I know it's a pain in the butt, but this is the safety of your child. I found this child's behavior disturbing, and I don't even have children of my own. The worst part is that the flight was $60, I think the highest I saw it advertised for was $80. Then the guy has this wacky contraption with a giant seat that straps to his back that the kid sat in when he went around the airport. I tried to find it on the internet, but couldn't. It was like a big canvass chair with metal tubing to make the shape of it. Then it harnessed on the father like a backpack, the child is seated facing the fathers head. Of all the wacky things they make that you could use to carry your child in while going away, he came up with THAT! But didn't get his child a seat on the plane, which is one thing if he figured the plane might be empty and he could get two seats. But how about the car seat???

I'm too worked up now to write about my flights and my car rental, I'll do that tomorrow, sorry.

European Discovery Day 7

Day 7 (May 14): Austrian Tyrol to Venice

Spectacular scenery as we head south to Venice. Enjoy a complimentary motor boat trip to see St Mark’s Square, the Doges’ Palace, the Bridge of Sighs and treat yourself to a gondola ride.

Got up at 6:00am, and the bus left at 7:30 for Venice. The first sight this morning was Reuben's home in Hofpgartten. We started with a 3 hour drive till our first stop in Italy. Despite the dire warnings from Hans on how chaotic it would be, it wasn't too bad. I even managed to get lunch and go to the bathroom. After lunch we had another 3 hour drive, during which a bug took up residence on my windowsill. Since I was afraid of this bug I asked Alberto to save me, all he did was taunt the bug, which didn't move. And I thought he was a man! So I closed the curtain until Mike, Maya, and Anne saved me, Thanks Guys!!!! This horrifying incident was on top of my Pringles container opening and half the Pringles falling out into the bag it was in. I tried to get as many back into the container, but had to eat half because I couldn't fit them in. While eating them, one got caught in my throat so I grabbed my bottle of water. To my surprise I had accidentally bought carbonated water, which is VILE, even worse when choking on Pringles. Oh, and did I mention that in the middle of the night I got up to go to the bathroom and bashed my leg on the bed, leaving a huge bruise. No, today wasn't going well.

It had been raining all morning, but when we arrived in Venice around 2:00pm it had cleared up. Our first stop was glass blowing, again a brief interesting demonstration. The glass was too expensive for me though, so off we went exploring. Anne, Garry, Laurie, Nicola, Maya and I headed to the water bus for a ride to San Rialto, and met Mike on the boat. The bus was very crowded and we seemed to end up in the way whenever people were getting on and off. When we got off in San Rialto we got our first gelaties, they were yummy. We wandered around for a while in the general direction of San Marco Square stopping in shops. In Venice it doesn't help to use a map, you just wander around and get lost. There are signs all over the place that will point you in the right direction, and I know they worked because we ended up in San Marco. When we got there we went to find a bathroom, here I had the pleasure of paying 50 euro cents to use a skuzzy co-ed bathroom, but at least there were toilet seats. Italy doesn't have the best bathrooms...

So while waiting for Hans to meet us for our Gondolas rides it started to rain, and when it rains, it pours! Most bailed on the gondola ride, but 10 of us braved it in the rain. My boat had Me, Mike, Maya, Laurie and Garry. The other boat had Kristen, Yolandi, Lisa, Caitlin and Jenny. The gondola gave a different view of Venice, you got to see just how much Venice had sunk down and how rundown it had become from the salt water. It's actually pretty sad because you could tell how nice it must have been in its day, but was looking kinda sad now. Oh, and no the Gondolier didn't sing to us, but he wasn't on his phone the whole time like I had heard some other people complain about.

After the Gondola ride Hans got Maya and I spots at the optional dinner. We hadn't planned on going, but with the rain screwing things up we decided that was the best thing to do. The dinner really wasn't much to write home about. The food was ok, the vegetarians didn't like it at all. The entertainment was ok too, not terribly impressed by the guy not knowing the words to Thats Amore. Anyway, when we first arrived at the restaurant I noticed that the charm on my necklace was missing, I looked around the floor by me, but didn't find it. The problem was that the last time I remembered having it was before the Gondola ride, obviously it was gone forever. But as luck would have it, at the end of dinner Steven found my charm on the floor, it's a small miracle since I had only told one person, not Steven, that I had lost it.

After dinner Maya and I decided to take a little walk around before it was time to go back to the hotel. About 2 canals later I realized I had left my purse in the restaurant, what is up with me today??? Will nothing go right? So I ran back, and everyone was still there, as was my purse. Then I had to run back to meet Maya, you wouldn't believe how far apart these canals were! I ran into other people from the tour who said Maya had left without me, but she had asked them to wait for me. Kamala and Mikki got the biggest, gaudiest, bags. Mikki's was a Louie Vuitton, don't remember who supposedly made Kamala's, but they paid 20 euros. These bags were almost the size of my suitcase, they were hysterical!

After that we headed back to the hotel, I think we got there around 9:30. I had to drag my suitcase up a flight of stairs, that was nice. I tried to call home from here, but had trouble with the Contiki e-kit card. I ended up having to get pissy with Customer Service and they put my call through, of course when no one answered at my Mother's office I realized it was Saturday and she wasn't at work. duhhhh!

European Discovery Day 6

Day 6 (May 13): Munich to Austrian Tyrol

A scenic drive through the Bavarian Alps takes us into the heart of the Austrian Tyrol. En route, perhaps a chance to try White Water Rafting. Later relax in this picture postcard paradise.

This morning we were lucky enough to get an extra hour of sleep so I didn't have to get up till 7am, yea! Today's first stop will be Dachau Concentration Camp, since their was not enough interest in White Water Rafting. Actually, most people decided they would rather go to Dachau over rafting. The Concentration Camp was a very good experience, interesting to see. Apparently, in Germany students must go to a Concentration Camp by the age of 12, I think one of those school trips were there, as their was a group of kids, two of which thought it was a jungle gym. I would have killed them if they were my children.

Around 2:00 we got to Innsbruck, a quiet little city surrounded by gorgeous mountains, and home to the 1964 and 1976 Olympics. We first saw the Golden Roof, then headed to Swarovski where I bought some gifts for Mom, Heidi and Kelly. I grabbed lunch at a little bakery across the way with Cindy, Christine, Caitlyn and Jenny, it was a nice lunch and cheap too. At this point I decided that I wanted to move to Austria.

At 4:15 we were off to meet the bus and drive to the hotel we were staying at in Itter. Itter is a quaint little town where the neighbor milks his cows and walks them up the street to a grassy field, I was NOT in NY anymore! In Itter there is a castle and great views of the mountains, since we were part way up the mountain. Our room had a balcony, but it was hard to get the doors here to stay closed, the latches worked funny. We had a chance to take a walk or hang out for a while before dinner. Then after dinner we had more time to hang out and walk again. I took a walk down to the castle, but didn't get further then the sign warning of a dog. On our way back we saw Laurie and Garry walking down to the castle, they came back a little while later, but now they were engaged. Garry proposed to Laurie by the castle, it was very sweet and a great setting. They are just the two nicest people, and a perfect couple, everyone was very happy for them. After that everyone hung around outside drinking until Hans sent everyone in so we didn't keep the neighbors up. But he was nice enough to let Michael and I stay outside for a while since we were having a nice quiet chat. After a while we went in with the rest of the group. Mike carried me to the dance floor at some point, I danced with him till I got an opportunity to run away. Sorry Mike, I hadn't had enough to drink. I also finally got to talk to Lynette and Steven, they're very cool! Just before midnight Nicola and I headed up to bed, the bar must have closed at midnight because a few minutes later we heard people going to their rooms and trying to close their doors, remember they didn't close right. The next morning I found out some never did get their doors shut.

European Discovery Day 5

Day 5 (May 12): Rhine Valley to Munich:

We follow the Rhine on our way to Bavaria and its capital, Munich (Hansie Heaven). Our orientation tour includes the Marienplatz, with the famous Glockenspiel. Tonight, experience a typical Bavarian beer hall.


This morning I got up at 6:15, after 7 heavenly hours of sleep. So far this hotel has been pretty good. It reminds me a bit of the bed and breakfasts in New England, just bigger. My feelings would soon change... The shower was cold, not just not warm, but COLD, and the shower head had a life of its own. It may have been the worst shower I've ever had in my life. The breakfast was ok, bland cereal and good tea.

Off we went to a presentation on steins; interesting and brief, just the way I like these demonstrations. I went across the street and bought teddy bears for Max and Luke, my nephews. While waiting to get on the bus I found out what happened to all the hot water, Simon took a shower at 5am and used all the hot water! grrrrrrrr. So that's how I met Simon, but he's so lovable that I got over it. Ok, I might never get over it, but I can forgive him. After finally getting on the bus, I had to run off so I could see the worlds largest coo coo clock come to life, I think it made some noise and little dancers went around in a circle a couple times. Thank god I didn't miss that!

At 8:30 we headed out for Munich. Our first stop was around 11:30 for lunch it was a bit nerve racking as I had to try and order German food in Germany. I think I ended up getting Chicken, but I'm not positive. Then I had to pay to use the bathroom, but at least this one cleaned itself, the toilet seat spun around and had a cleaning thing in the back, pretty cool. At least I got a clean toilet for 50 euro cents.

We finally got to the Holiday Inn in Munich around 3:30 and had 45 minutes to get ready to head into the city. I got to see Munich's Olympic Stadium, it had a cool web design. The Holiday Inn was sooooo nice, I wanted to stay there all night, but in the end I did decide to go out. The hotel was clean, we had a balcony, and a menu for what type of pillow we wanted, I opted to stick with the one on the bed. The funny thing was that other people mentioned that when they walked into their rooms, they felt the same way, lets just stay here tonight. But everyone went out.

Off we went on the Metro to Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel, or Glock Rock as Hans called it. Lets just say this was a step up from the worlds largest coo coo clock, but not a big step. After that the group was off to the Hofbrauhaus. After getting seats I went off with Nicola, Laurie, Monica, and Mel for a little shopping. I bought myself some sandals and some of the other girls got shirts. Then a couple of us broke off to head back for dinner and beer. I had some yummy goulash and a Rodun (half beer and half lemonade). I chatted a bit with Ryan for the first time, and got a good laugh at everyone getting drunk. Most people seemed to have between 2 and 4 liters of beer. I think it was sheer luck that got some people home that night.

At 10:00 Hans and Reuben rounded us up to go back to the hotel. Thankfully Reuben took us to the metro, a couple of us got on the wrong train and he had to save us. Who knows where we would have ended up. We got to be the loud obnoxious group in the train station. Some guy looked so mad at us, his face was bright red and he was holding his ears. On the train there was some poor guy surrounded by us who looked very unhappy. Kamala started talking to him in German, eventually he moved over and made a seat for her. Then he told her that he could speak English, he he.

Back at the hotel I had a nice little chat with Reuben about skiing and snowboarding. At his home in Austria he can sometimes ski or board from the mountain right to his door. How nice is that! After finding out he's a bit nutty on skies and boards I got to check my email. Who wouldn't want to get an email from Munich??? While emailing I found Michael's (Canada) camera on the table and rescued it. I got to bed at 12:30.

European Discovery Day 4

Day 4 (May 11): Amsterdam to the Rhine Valley

An orientation tour and a visit to a diamond cutting exhibition. Then to St. Goar on the banks of the Rhine.

I woke up at 2:30am and thought someone was stabbing me in the head, turned out to just be a hangover. I didn't sleep much the rest of the night and finally got out of bed to take a shower. This I thought would be interesting as the shower did not have a shower curtain, but I actually didn't flood the bathroom. After my shower I would give Nicola a report on the shower, a tradition I would continue throughout the trip. Then it was off to breakfast where I had some bread with a butter like substance and Jelly with bad tea, mmmmm.


Our first stop was demonstrations on cheese making and clog making. They were both fairly interesting and brief. At clog making we were told how men were supposed to make special clogs for the woman they wanted to marry, sorry guys but I would rather get a ring. Cheese making isn't the best activity to do when you're hung over, in case you were considering it. Then we headed off to Amsterdam. I went off with Roshni, Kreena, Anne, Alberto, Maya, Nicola to Anne Franks Haus and waited on line. It was a very nice and well setup. By the time we left my hunger had kicked in and I had to threaten Alberto who wanted to go to some museum, all I wanted was lunch. We ended up at Burger King, so much for "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." We did some shopping after that, I got my red Amsterdam sweatshirt I had been eying since the night before.

At 12:30 we met the bus for the drive to St. Goar, Germany. After driving through the extremely flat country of Holland, Germany would bring us beautiful hills lined in grapes for wine production. On this drive Hans announced our Day song, Times Like These by the Foo Fighters the words go like this:


I'm a one way motorway
I'm the one that drives away then follows you back home
I am a street light shining
I'm a wild light blinding bright burning off alone

It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again

I'm a new day rising
I'm a brand new sky to hang your stars upon tonight
I'm a little divided
do I stay or run away and leave it all behind

It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again


I would like to thank Jen (the not always sober one) for looking up the words, THANKS! After we listened to our song we all got a chance to introduce ourselves, announce our favorite superhero and help Hans with a study he was doing on what people do more often, fold or scrunch their toilet paper. I believe the results were inconclusive.

We arrived in St. Goar at 6:00 and found the weather to be improving. St. Goar was the first warmish place we had been to, and it was 6 at night. St. Goar is a sleepy little town on the Rhine River. Not much going on here, but it was quaint. I got to check my email at the hotel, which was nice. Then I headed out for a little walk around, took some pictures and tried to call home on my Contiki E-Kit card. I ended up spending a euro or two and only checked my voicemail. Sorry Mom and Dad.

At 7:30 we had dinner at the hotel; pork, spetzel, peas, and carrots. It was ok, nothing to write home about. At 8:45 we went to wine tasting. Earlier in the day I had sworn off alcohol, but since I promised Mike, my brother in law, to get him wine from Germany, I had to go. The wines were pretty good, but the company was great. I sat with Monica, Mel, Narelle, Alberto and had frequent visits by Mike (with the camera), and Michael (from Australia). I got some wine for my Mom, Mike and me. Back at the hotel was "Family Night." I had a nice chat with Sophie (who I renamed Pam, since Sophie and Pam both have P's in them), and Jess. I also had a nice chat with Hansie. I headed up to bed a little before 11, I picked the right night to get to bed early as this was the best bed the whole trip!!!!

European Discovery Day 3

Day 3 (May10): London to Amsterdam

A warm welcome from your Contiki crew as we head for the White Cliffs of Dover and our ferry crossing to France. We continue through Belgium to Holland and its capital, Amsterdam for the evening.


I had set my alarm for 5:45, but hadn't slept much since I was so excited. All of us from the Imperial Hotel met the bus at the bus stop by the hotel and Reuben took us over to the Royal National to start the tour. Around 7:30 we headed out, on this first leg of the journey I sat with Laurie from Canada. She seemed like a really nice girl, and she was. The English countryside was quite lovely, with lush green grass and yellow flowers. Hans gave us an introductory speech. I actually don't remember too much about it, except that we shouldn't use the bathroom unless it was an emergency. I don't think anyone ever did. Hans had us talk to the people behind us, Christine and Cindy who both seemed pretty cool. We took a 10:30 ferry from Dover to Calais. On the ferry we had a chance to check out the White Cliffs of Dover and have breakfast. I also finally met Kamala, who I had met online before the trip, and her friends.

When we were finally in France we had a 3 hour drive until our first rest stop, I sat with Noriko. Noriko was from Japan, but was living in Canada studying English. At our first rest stop we had an opportunity to have McDonalds, pay for ketchup, and pay to use the bathroom. We finally arrived at the hotel at 6:30, where I met my roommate, Nicola from New Zealand.

At 7:00 I had dinner with Laurie, Garry, Chris, Bryan and Alana. I wished I had eaten a little more at McDonalds since the dinner wasn't that great. Luckily the dinners got a getter from here. But they did have good ice cream for dessert. After that we headed out to Amsterdam for our Canal Cruise, featuring free beer and wine. I sat with and had a good chat with Christine, Cindy, Caitlin, and Jenny, sorry to say we didn't hear much about Amsterdam as we were usually talking when the guide was. The best part of the boat though was the bathroom, the toilet was raised as high as a bar stool. After the Canal Cruise Hans took those who were interested on "Hansie's Dodgy Walking Tour of the Red Light District." The window shopping in Amsterdam is not like at home! At the end of the walking tour some went off to the smoke shops, and about 15 of us went to the optional Dutch Cultural Show. It's a bit of Contiki tradition to not talk to much about the Dutch Cultural Show, you'll have to learn about that somewhere else.

European Discovery Days 1&2

I meant to post this for while I was on vacation, but forgot. Since it will take me a couple days to get myself together I thought I would start posting my travelogue about my European Discovery trip. Once I get my stuff from this past trip together I will post about it. But all went well, had lots of fun.

Here is day 1 and 2...

Day 1 (May 8): New York to London

I got up at 4am and took an 8:20 flight out of NY (Newark Liberty Airport) to London Heathrow. I flew Virgin Atlantic, one of the best airlines. The only complaint I would have about them was that the boarding was disorganized, but I got on the plane so it obviously wasn't a big deal. The plane had a pretty cool entertainment system, you could watch movies or TV shows, play games, track the flight, and get info on destinations. I watched Meet the Fockers, it was ok, the commercials looked better. I also watched Bridget Jones Diary, the sequel, not that great, the first one was better. The food was ok.

My plane landed at 8pm local time. When I got off the plane I made myself quickly through customs and easily followed the signs to the Underground. I took the Piccadilly Line about an hour to the Russell Square Station. I was impressed with the London Underground, the trains were nice and quiet unlike the NYC subway. After dragging my bag up a half flight of stairs and taking an elevator the rest of the way up I was finally really in London. What was the first thing I would see? A bum, I had to come all the way to London to see a bum! So I made a left turn out of the station like I had previously been advised, and then decided that it didn't seem right (perfectly logical since I had never been to London before) and turned around. After walking 2 blocks I learned the error of my ways and turned back and walked past the bum for the third time. I found it a little difficult to get around since I couldn't find a street sign anywhere, I thought I had seen one, but in retrospect I think it was a sign for something else.

Eventually I made my way to the Imperial Hotel and checked in, it was now 10pm. I was given a single room, #452, even though I had paid for a double, but I didn't complain as it would be nice to have some privacy. I room was pretty small, and a little lonely by myself so I went for a walk. I found the Contiki Basement, which was closed, and a little store where I bought some water and apples. I also called home to let the family know I had gotten in ok. I got to bed around midnight and tried not to think about how early it would be if I was at home.

Day 2 (May 9): London

Today is a free day to explore London...

I woke up at 7:30 so I would have an opportunity to see as much as possible in London. I didn't sleep well, and ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep, ughh! It wouldn't be quite so bad, but I hadn't slept well the 2 previous nights. After showering and getting dressed I made my way to the Contiki basement, but the internet wasn't working so I headed out sightseeing. I took the Big Bus Company bus tour, it was one of those hop on and off tours. I was feeling a little intimidated by London after having gone the wrong way the first night when I got out of the Tube. I changed buses at Trafalgar Square and two stops later got off because I decided that I was feeling brave enough to do the Royal Walking Tour. I just hadn't really worked out my times well and ended up wasting a bit of time this morning. But, I did have an opportunity to take a walk around Trafalgar Square, where they were cleaning up from the VE Day celebration the previous evening, and I found a cute little market.

So off I went on the Royal Walking Tour. First we went by the Gentelmans Clubs (not that kind, the British Royalty kind) on Pall Mall. Then it took us to St. James Palace, and down The Mall to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the Guard. It was cool, but what a waste or time and money for the British Government! After that we took a little walk around the Palace and ended the tour. I grabbed a quick lunch at a little cafe type restaurant.

After lunch I got back on the bus and headed to the Tower of London, passing the London Eye and London Bridge along the way. William the Conqueror built the initial White Tower here, and it grew from their. Apparently they killed a lot of people at the Tower of London, the records indicate the number is in the 300's, but they found the remains of over a 1,000. Hmmmm. I missed a bit of the guided tour as it had started to rain and I didn't have my umbrella. It was a shame really, aside from being cold, the weather had been nice the rest of the day. I should have known, I was in London. While I was here I got to see the Crown Jewels, quite impressive, but not really my taste.

After the Tower of London I headed back to the hotel so I could rest a bit before the Pre-tour meeting. At the Pre-tour meeting I met Hans, our Tour Manager, and Reuben, our driver. I also met Ali, Lisa, Anne, Maya, Alberto, Mike, Michael and Monica, Roshni, and Kreena. After the meeting a bunch of us went to The Goose, as was recommended by Mike. I think his exact words were, "we're goin to The Goose." At the Goose Mike pushed wine on Maya, making me think he would be a total pain in the ass the whole trip. He ended up pissing off a couple people that night. In the end though Mike really was a sweetheart who was always willing to help everyone, he would just take a couple dozen pictures in the meantime. After a bit I headed out with Kreena and Roshni for dinner at the restaurant at the Imperial Hotel, as I hadn't had dinner and was starving. I tried to get to bed a bit early so I could be well rested for the trip.