We first met our tour guide the night before we left on our tour, we all gathered in the lobby for a quick meeting to fill in all the important forms. I was very excited and apprehensive about the 11 days ahead of me. The fact that I would have to learn 50 names in the short amount of time daunted me, but I quickly got over that uncial fear.
When we arrived on the bus the bus driver introduced himself. 'Hey Im Ed' he shouted in his New York accent. 'I have something to say to you guys, here are some rules. On this trip 1.You are going to have fun 2.You are going to make friends 3.Some of you are going yo get messed up.'
What an opening to the trip, I knew it was going to be a trip to remember! Andy was our tour guide, his job wasn't to be the 'responsible adult' as we were all 18-35. But to make sure that we were in the right place, when we need to be there, and to give us some kind of guidance to the places we would visit! He also gave us historical history of the places, I have no idea how he remembered all the information, it was awesome!
We visited many monuments on our bus tour around Washington, It was great, many I had seen before, but was nice to experience during the night. As we were walking from the Martin Luther King memorial it started to pour down buckets of rain! So we fled for cover until it died out. At least it cooled us down from the sweltering humidity and heat..
At Pittsburgh we went to the Pirates baseball match, with 'all you can eat' seats! Go bucks!
We had scheduled free days, so that we could discover the city's on our own.
We took the boat called the Maid in the Mist, a trip everyone should experience when in Niagara Falls! We wore bright blue ponchos, and would be soaked by the massive falls as we got closer.
We spent the night at a restaurant on the edge of the falls which was breathtaking.
Toronto was a lovely city, we went on a Pub Crawl, I have to say I had a blast. After we had food together we traveled from bar to pub in a school Bus! We went to an Irish pub, a rooftop bar, a night club, and to Crocodile Rock which was a mix of all three! It was so much fun, and a great experience to share with the Contiki group.
My room mate Jordanne and I on the school bus! We had a great time getting to know each other, and the great thing was we could give each other banter, just like I would with my best friends back home! She also understood quite quickly that if you take the mic out of me, I just take it. Im looking forward to going to Australia on my next traveling trip! I've even started to talk like an Australian, 'Dude, I'm stoked about my thongs' (meaning Flip Flops!) I loved teaching some welsh words and sayings to the Aussey's! Especially the longest place name in the world. 'Llanfair PG...'
I apologize if you hear me say 'ahh Yeahh..' the catchphrase caught on during the trip.
Ottawa and Montreal were our next stops! I tried my best to speak French as I ordered in cafes and restaurants, but only knew enough for that exact
sentence! So as they carried on with the conversation I would often just have a blank face in confusion.. Typical. We stopped at The big apple pie Factory on our way to Montreal, we had a two person pie eating competition on the bus. It was hilarious, James the Kiwi won and Laura (pictured to the right) came a close second.
We also stopped at Ben and Jerry's factory! I loved it, as I had been looking forward to it the whole trip. Its a tiny factory! But it was still awesome, and I tried flavors that we don't have back in the UK. Delicious.
Boston was a nice city, we took the old Town trolley that took us all around the city. We all were very hungry by the end of the tour as we hadn't eaten since very early that morning! Jordanne, Hannah and I visited the quincy market, and I took a boat trip in the sun, around the city for the rest of the afternoon!
That night we went to a seafood restaurant called 'No Name' we ate traditional 'Chawda' a must while we were in Boston. We spent the last night all together at the bowling alley/ batting cage just next door to the hotel. I came last in both games, I seriously suck at bowling!
We traveled the long road back to Ny, it was very sad to leave the company of each other. But it was an un forgettable trip, and I have some new friends from all over the world.
I was the one that lost things on the trip, I lost my Gorlan hoody, travel pillow and other things. When we left Niagara Falls I had left my stick at the reception at the hotel. When I realized, I quietly told Andy at the front of the bus. He said we could probably fed-ex it on to the next hotel, I agreed. Then after Andy had told Ed, soon enough we were headed back to the hotel 10 minutes down the road back to fetch it. What a legend..
Sorry for the longwinded blog, cariad mawr Luned X
What an opening to the trip, I knew it was going to be a trip to remember! Andy was our tour guide, his job wasn't to be the 'responsible adult' as we were all 18-35. But to make sure that we were in the right place, when we need to be there, and to give us some kind of guidance to the places we would visit! He also gave us historical history of the places, I have no idea how he remembered all the information, it was awesome!
As so much happened during the trip I wont bore you with all the minor details, and try to give an overview of the trip! We traveled from New York, to; Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Washington (D.C), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Niagara Falls (Ontario) Canada, Toronto (Ontario), Ottawa (Ontario),
Montreal (Quebec), Boston (Massachusetts).
This is the Amish village we visited on the way to Washington, it was how a traditional village would look like. There were amish living and working in the community, and it was a chance to take a look at their culture and simple way of living. I met a young boy called Nathaniel selling painted horse shoes, and the school reminded me of how schools looked in the 19th C back in wales!
At Pittsburgh we went to the Pirates baseball match, with 'all you can eat' seats! Go bucks!
We had scheduled free days, so that we could discover the city's on our own.
We spent the night at a restaurant on the edge of the falls which was breathtaking.
Toronto was a lovely city, we went on a Pub Crawl, I have to say I had a blast. After we had food together we traveled from bar to pub in a school Bus! We went to an Irish pub, a rooftop bar, a night club, and to Crocodile Rock which was a mix of all three! It was so much fun, and a great experience to share with the Contiki group.
I apologize if you hear me say 'ahh Yeahh..' the catchphrase caught on during the trip.
Ottawa and Montreal were our next stops! I tried my best to speak French as I ordered in cafes and restaurants, but only knew enough for that exact
sentence! So as they carried on with the conversation I would often just have a blank face in confusion.. Typical. We stopped at The big apple pie Factory on our way to Montreal, we had a two person pie eating competition on the bus. It was hilarious, James the Kiwi won and Laura (pictured to the right) came a close second.
We also stopped at Ben and Jerry's factory! I loved it, as I had been looking forward to it the whole trip. Its a tiny factory! But it was still awesome, and I tried flavors that we don't have back in the UK. Delicious.
That night we went to a seafood restaurant called 'No Name' we ate traditional 'Chawda' a must while we were in Boston. We spent the last night all together at the bowling alley/ batting cage just next door to the hotel. I came last in both games, I seriously suck at bowling!
We traveled the long road back to Ny, it was very sad to leave the company of each other. But it was an un forgettable trip, and I have some new friends from all over the world.
I was the one that lost things on the trip, I lost my Gorlan hoody, travel pillow and other things. When we left Niagara Falls I had left my stick at the reception at the hotel. When I realized, I quietly told Andy at the front of the bus. He said we could probably fed-ex it on to the next hotel, I agreed. Then after Andy had told Ed, soon enough we were headed back to the hotel 10 minutes down the road back to fetch it. What a legend..
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