Contiki - Paris

Day 1 – July 24th, 2007
Paris, France

We finally made it to Paris! It was exciting to meet everyone that I will be spending these next few weeks with. Its crazy déjà vu being on the Contiki bus again, but I can’t wait to see what this trip has in store! We met our tour manager and tour driver today and they are two awesome guys. Our tour manager, Ryan, is from New Zealand, and everyone calls him a “Kiwi”. I am yet to figure out why this is, but once things get going I will bring it up. Our tour driver Andy is Australian and is the nicest guy ever. Once we arrived in Paris we got a couple of hours to hang out around the Notre Dam. It was beautiful! A couple of the other girls and I decided to go in and check out the inside as well. Then its back to the hotel to finally meet up with the whole group. There are 45 amazing people on this trip and I know we will make some memories that will last a lifetime! Tonight we went out to a buffet dinner in Paris, before we headed up to the top of the Eifel Tower. Although the Eifel Tower is one of the main attractions in Paris, we are still yet to see it. On the way to dinner, we were driving in the coach and Ryan gave us a challenge. He offered a free bottle of wine to the person who could spot the word “NAPS” (for Napoleon) shot with bullets into the side of a building. He had us all looking very hard at the building to our left because we all wanted that gift! When all of the sudden he goes, “Gotcha guys, look to your right at the Eifel Tower!!!” The sight sent chills up and down my spine. It was an absolutely breathtaking view. Andy the tour driver said he knew what he was going to do all along, but still fell for it, and STILL got the shivers when he saw the Eifel Tower at its best. After dinner we went up to the top of the Eifel Tower to see the beautiful city of Paris at night. The view from up there was spectacular, and it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Right when I reached the bottom, the entire Eifel Tower lit up with white sparkling lights. This is a sight I’ve never seen before, and it really put the finishing touch on an amazing first day in Paris.

Day 2 – July 25th, 2007
Paris, France

After a typical European breakfast consisting of bread and more bread, we headed off for the day to explore Paris. The coach dropped us off by the Arc de Triumph, at the top of the Champs Elysses. Our tour manager Ryan gave us each a little something he calls “Ryno in Ur Pocket”. It’s a guide that he created with each hot spot to see in the current city where in, as well as some secret entrances, and basic words in the local language to help us get around. Today I explored the city with two of my new friends on the trip Bri and Bethany. We did some shopping down the Champs Elysses and stopped for a French baguette around lunch time. Then we made our way down to the Louvre, where we went in the secret entrance, which had NO line! Ryan our Tour Manager told us about this secret entrance and without him we probably would have been waiting in line for up to 3 hours just to get in! So the first thing we headed to was the Mona Lisa. There were signs everywhere pointing us to the paining. It was crazy to see this famous piece of history right there in front of my eyes. Once we made our way out of the Louvre, after getting a little distracted we walked down to Rio de Rivioli, which is a cute shopping area with some cheap authentic souvenirs. My “Ryno in Ur Pocket” actually spent most of the day in my hand because I used it for everything and got to see all of the hot spots!! Thanks Ryan! After some more wandering and exploring we met back up with the group to go back to the hotel and change for dinner and the Moulin Rouge!! The Moulin Rouge was amazing and a lot of fun to be at with the whole group. There was actually another Contiki group there as well, so it was fun to meet them. Some people decided to go out tonight after the show, but I went home with a group that decided just to hang out and relax. That’s the best part about Contiki; you really do get to decide what you want to do. I am so absolutely excited for Switzerland tomorrow morning!!