After much debate and changing of plans I finally settled on the August
23rd departure. I wanted to go earlier but man those trips fill up
fast!



So I guess the real question is whos in on this trip? I suppose the
next logical question is whos buying the first round. hahaha just
kidding. but seriously come on out and lets get pumped for this trip!

Common people I can't be the only one.



Man thats gonna be one roomy bus!

Finally!



As far as I know its one of the few thats left.

Just checked and the only two trips that are left are the 10th and 23rd
so you better hurry and book! I dont know if there are any after that.

I hope you get in before it fills up!



I'm Rob/21/Male/Ontario

I'm coming! I'm 24 and live in New York.  We better have some fun because I am blowing my life savings on this!

Looks like we're not the only ones Ashley


lol Jennifer I know what you mean about the life savings but no need to worry this trips gonna be awesome!







I haven't heard one bad review yet and since we're going later in the
season it wont be as touristy and certian things will cost a bit less.
Plus I heard a bottle of wine can be as cheap as 5 euros.







So yea, it looks like its gonna be a 23 day party! I am so excited, the 23rd couldn't feel farther away!

So, anybody else commin on the trip? Common theres gotta be more then the three of us!

Greetings all, assuming this tour actually commences on Aug25th I held my place this week.  I am from Gisborne, New Zealand - we are exactly on the opposite side of the earth from London.........long way to travel huh?  lol   My best friend Tracy is coming with me and a friend of mine from the USA might be coming as well.  At this stage we are all doing the optional greek island hopping with the tour.  Is anyone going to be staying at the Royal National Hotel before you start this tour?  We are hoping to arrive in London on Aug21 (we are all travelling standby) - I will probably sleep off my jetlag the first day though.  But if anyone else is staying there - you might be surprised coz I might shout the first round   lmao
Ally 

Hey Allison! You and your friend Tracy will be the first New Zealanders on this trip. Well at least the first that I know of.

Yeah the 23rd tour for us starts on the 25th. The first two days are just to arrive in London so you can expect to see me there on the 23rd. So if we all want to meet up for a drink I'm definitely in! I wish I could go on the optional Island hopping tour but that would be stretching my budget a little thin.

Cool so are you staying at the Royal National Hotel as well?  I think that perhaps we should all have a massive get-together before the tour starts.  Maybe even do a little sightseeing as well as drinking?  Maybe we should all wear something crazy so that we can identify each other......now that could be funny  lol
When I went to the travel agent to hold our seats, they reckon that the bus was already more than half full.  Contiki reckons that this tour will probably fill up fast as it is the latest tour left now.  It has also been pointed out that when buses are full, people tend to get sick (through constant climate changes) and spread it around.  Just a bit of advice; everyone should get their flu jabs or take some buccaline tablets.  I also went to the chemist and got 1 months worth of immune-builders to take before the tour commences.  Nothing would be worse than going away on a trip this cool and feeling as crook as a dog.  Just a thought eh?
Well people we can almost start the countdown.  It's just 2 and a half months away!!!

I will be staying at the Royal National, and I'm definitely
down for some sightseeing and drinks! I've asked the agent if I can check in a
day early because apparently check in for us isn't until 2pm on the 24th. Or maybe I'll just crash in your room for
the extra night lol! But we'll see what happens, hopefully she gets back to me
on that soon.



Ugh. Its good that its filling up but getting sick on this trip would suck!
Good idea! I'll definitely be looking into those shots, and immune builders.



2 and a half months is too far away! I see all these people talking about
leaving tomorrow and next week, I wish it was me. But then again if it was I
wouldn't be traveling with all you awesome people! We'll have the best group
anyways, lol.

I say we start it anyways!
Countdown: 74 days, 22 hours, 27 minutes

Geez Rob you crack me up.  Last time I went away it was me that snuck into another hotel room.  There ended up being too many of us which was'nt allowed - so I was sneaking around with my suitcase at 2am so we would'nt get busted.  Well if you get in a situation just give us a yell; we won't make you sleep on a parkbench......I will at least give you a cardboard box   lol.  But seriously, let us know how that turns out.  Well Jen and Ashley, where are you both staying?  So far it is my friend Tracy,  Rob and I that will be hitting the turps and sightseeing - are you both keen to do the same?  The more the merrier.

Also, you should all tell us a little about yourselves and where you are from.  It would be interesting to know what sort of group that we have.  My friend Tracy is a hell raiser and heaps of fun.  She is also an Insurance Broker and one of the most loyal and down-to-earth people that you will ever meet.  She currently lives in Rotorua in New Zealand.  The city smells like sulphur as it has boiling mud pools everywhere, the whole area is geothermal.  I'm a Passenger Services Agent for Air New Zealand and I have only travelled short-haul.  This is actually my first long-haul trip.  I think that this trip is going to blow my mind because my city only has a population of 40,000!  Gisborne is a beautiful seaside city and is surrounded by ranges/gorges, this makes us geographically isolated from other cities.  The largest city that I have been to is Sydney in Australia.  I'm probably going to feel like a country bumpkin  lol 

I'm getting excited now because I just paid for my tour and accommodation.  I just ordered my first credit card and just have to pay for my flights and insurance now (you guys are lucky, one of our New Zealand dollars only gives us 34 Great British Pound.......crybaby eh?)  I don't have a calendar in front of me - so I am going to guess that our countdown is now 73 days, 4hours and 25minutes

A little about myself huh?

Alright, well for starters I live in Georgetown Ontario. A little farming town outside of Toronto with just over 40 000 people. The closest thing we have to a club here is a bar called Nashville North. Its an all country music bar and yes, if you were
wondering, we line dance. So Allison don't worry about feeling like a country
bumpkin, cause I actually am one!

I just graduated college and I currently work merchandising at Chapters (which
is a huge bookstore chain here in Canada).


I'm the funny one, at least that?s what my friends say. I never turn down a
good party and apparently I love to make a fool of myself on the dance floor. (As
long as I?ve had enough to drink it usually doesn?t bother me much since I
can't remember it anyways!) I'm big on friends, its important to have a group
where everyone watches everyones back and no one is left out (unless for some
strange reason they want to be)

This will be my first time to Europe and I couldn?t be more excited! In fact I
already have my "I'm big in Europe" t-shirt...
let's see how long that one lasts. I love a good adventure too! (I hear they have bungee jumping in Greece somewhere along the way to Athens, if we stop I'll be first in line!)

Well that about sums me up. Who's next?



Update: My agent got back to me and it'll only be an extra $64 for the
additional night. So looks like I won't need that cardboard box after all. Too
bad, I was really looking forward to it! lol



Countdown: 73 days (cut off the hours
and minutes cause of the time zone difference)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sportacus,