The perfect way to augment my trip!
So, I’m thinking I want to do a tour when I arrive in London on the 26th! After a quick search online, I found a Contiki Tour called the “European Discovery” that begins on Christmas Day (denoted by Day 1 below) — PERFECT! Ya, except, the tour company is near capacity for this date/tour, and have put me in a holding pattern for up to 2 days before I know if I got in. I’m INSTANT GRATIFICATION girl! I wanted to jump up and down in my office during lunch today, squealing with glee. Instead, I have to wait. This is painful. I really hope they can fit me in…
Just imagine… NEW YEAR’S EVE, in VENICE!!!!!! I’m trembling with anticipation. Here’s the itinerary:
December 25: Depart for Europe.
December 26: Arrive London. After checking into the Imperial Hotel, the day is yours to experience London at your leisure.
[Imperial Hotel- London, England
]
December 27: 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 the Netherlands and its capital Amsterdam for the evening. (D)
[Hotel Nieuw Slotania- Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
December 28: Amsterdam to Rhine Valley. An orientation tour and a visit to a diamond centre. Then to St Goar on the banks of the Rhine. (B,D)
[Hotel Montag- Rhine Valley, Germany]
December 29: Rhine Valley to Munich. We follow the Rhine on our way to Bavaria and its capital, Munich. Our orientation tour includes the Marienplatz, with the famous Glockenspiel. Tonight, experience a typical Bavarian beer hall. (B)
[Hotel Seidlhof Landhotel- Munich, Germany ]
December 30: Munich to Innsbruck. A scenic drive through the Bavarian Alps takes us to the capital of Tyrolean Austria. Our sightseeing tour includes the Golden Roof. (B,D)
[Hotel Dollinger- Innsbruck, Austria]
December 31: Innsbruck 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. Why not treat yourself to a gondola ride and join us for dinner? (B)
[Hotel Vienna- Venice, Italy]
January 1: Venice to Rome. Southwards as we climb through the Apennine 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. (B)
[Aurelia Antica Hotel- Rome, Italy]
January 2: Rome Sightseeing. Today why not discover the secrets of the Vatican City and Sistine Chapel with a local guide? In your free time wander the ancient ruins of Rome (B,D)
[Aurelia Antica Hotel- Rome, Italy]
January 3: 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. (B)
[Viva Hotel Fleming- Florence, Italy]
January 4: 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. An opportunity to shop for Swiss watches and chocolate. (B,D)
[Motel Pilatusblick- Lucerne, Switzerland]
January 5: Lucerne to Paris. Through the French countryside to the romance of Paris. Enjoy a first view of the sights of this spectacular city of lights. (B,D)
[Hotel Ibis Porte De Clichy- Paris, France]
January 6: Paris Sightseeing. We begin the day with a visit to a French perfume house. Later, an opportunity to discover the Opera district or one of the many attractions that Paris has to offer. This evening why not experience a Parisien cabaret? (B)
[Hotel Ibis Porte De Clichy- Paris, France]
January 7: Paris to London. We visit the Canadian War Memorial situated near the Valley of the Somme. Then to Calais and our cross-channel ferry. We arrive in London early evening. I continue to explore Paris for one more day on my own, and leave on the 8th for the South of France. (B)
[Hotel Ibis Porte De Clichy- Paris, France]
…The (B) and (D) means that they provide food for breakfast or dinner. The only change I’d make is at the end of the tour, where everyone else continues on to London on Day 14, I’d be staying in Paris for the day, and then traveling down to Southern France to stay with Andrea and Chris for five days, before heading up to Sweden for the last few days of my vacation.
I’m so excited, I can barely contain myself. I really hope I get this!
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Holy crap, Netchick! That’s quite the marathon trip! Sounds like fun, but I myself wold add a bit more leisure time, such as visiting a spa or two, massage, etc.
I hope you get it, too, so I can read about it when you get back!!!
Maui wowy! That sounds like a good time. You sit back with a bottle of wine and let someone else do the driving…brilliant. Well, I guess you’d start with beer on the first leg of your trip. I,m laughing because I’m imagining you jumping around your office with anticipitory excitement. Hopefully it will happen at lunch today.
Thanks so much for sharing your Europe Journal, Dawn! I’m looking forward to reading it all, and hopefully getting some ideas from your experiences. It does look like I’ll be on a very similar adventure, but a week shorter on the bus.
I did a similar type trip through Trafalgar. You can see my trip notes & pics at this link:
http://untraveled.net/europejournal/
A trip like this is good for finding out where you will want to go back and visit in-depth. But for the most part, if I had it to do over again, I would not. Too much time on the bus, and having to be on someone else’s schedule were bummers.
[...] these past few weeks), and, if you would like a reminder of my first two weeks’ itinerary, just click here. I’ll miss you guys! Comments (0)
This sounds like a FABULOUS Trip!! Hope it all came through, as wanted!
Have a fantastic time…and look forward to hearing ALL about it!
Hi
Thank you for your website, we have been trying to find out where we are staying on this trip, we are about to go on it in March 2006
So looking forward to it
Joh
Australia
Hi Joh! You’ll have a fab time! You should look at my recent posts for my trip overview — Check late January and early February for the low-down!
Cheers,
Tanya aka NetChick