TopDeck Spirit of Europe 2006
In and around Europe
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Jeff, Ting and I decided we wanted to go to Europe this summer. For convenience, we opted to go with a group bus tour rather than sort out our travel plans ourselves...hey, we're lazy and disorganized! We chose TopDeck and their 25 day "Spirit of Europe" tour as it hit almost all of the highlights of Europe:
http://www.topdecktours.co.uk/content.asp?Document_ID=1391
Given that we all work in the same office, our bosses weren't overly happy about all of us ditching for 4 weeks, but they allowed it, and away we went!
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Berry
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Day 1: Edmonton to London
And we’re off! My parents are out of town for the weekend, so Jeff and his parents pick me up in the morning, and we head to his place for some bre... Continue reading »
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Day 2 : London
Getting out of Heathrow turns out to be a breeze, and we arrive at the Globetrotter hostel via the “Underground” before 2. We check into our 4-shar... Continue reading »
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Day 3: London to Paris
I wake up and immediately panic as it’s fairly bright out. We must have slept in! But I check my watch and discover that no, it’s not quite 5:30 ye... Continue reading »
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Day 4: Paris
The alarm wakes us up at 7, and we all shuffle through the shower to get down for breakfast at 8. Jeff is really not feeling well…he takes some Tum... Continue reading »
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Day 5: Paris to Lauterbrunnen
We’re up at 6, and all 4 of us shower and get downstairs with our bags by 7. Breakfast is the same, although Jeff says it’s much more appetizing to... Continue reading »
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Day 6: Lauterbrunnen
The alarm goes off at 6:30 and we promptly ignore it for a while, but make it over to the cook tent for 7:30 and enjoy a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon... Continue reading » -
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Day 7: Lauterbrunnen to Avignon
The alarm goes off at 6, and I take my ½ Franc shower…although apparently one of the showers was giving away free hot water…damn. A basic breakfast of... Continue reading » -
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Day 8: Avignon to Nice via Cannes
We’re up at 6, with a cereal & toast breakfast at 7. The room was extremely hot the night before with 8 people in there, and most, inclu... Continue reading »
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Day 9: Nice and Monaco
Jeff and I wake up at 8:45 and go down to the front desk. The morning guy has no problem locating the master key and lets us in to our real room. We r... Continue reading » -
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Day 10: Nice to Florence via Pisa
We’re up at 7, and head down for the hotel breakfast we skipped yesterday. It’s pretty unimpressive, with bread, croissants, and cereal, but ther... Continue reading »
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Day 11: Florence
Ting’s phone makes sure we get up in time for breakfast at 8 – eggs and sausage, yum. Just what one needs on those hangover mornings. By 8:30, we... Continue reading »
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Day 12: Florence to Rome via Orvietto
As negotiated, breakfast is at 8 – the usual stuff. We’re off by 8:30, and the normal quiet bus ride ensues. Before everyone nods off, the donkey o... Continue reading »
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Day 13: Rome and Vatican City
Breakfast is nice and early at 7, as the bus is leaving at 7:30. They want to get us to the Vatican early, so we can "beat the crowd". Ha! Pants ar... Continue reading »
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Day 14: Pompeii
Breakfast @ 7:30...we get omellettes, smily-face potato thingies, beans, and leftover lasagna - awesome! We're on the road at 8:30 to head to Pompei... Continue reading » -
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Day 15: Rome to Venice via Verona
We leave Rome at about 8, listen to the trip song, and then people drift off to sleep. I'm actually not that tired, and catch up on my journal wr... Continue reading »
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Day 16: Venice
Breakfast is at 8...it's French toast and some sort of potato and ham mixture. Gossip quickly spreads and people try to spot Wellsy and Darren's... Continue reading »
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Day 17: Venice to St. Johann
It's raining in the morning, so we attempt to stay under shelter as we eat breakfast, and we're on the road by 8. Jill is awarded the donkey of the... Continue reading »
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Day 18: St. Johann
Jeff and I aren't paragliding until 11, so we sleep in until 9:15, just in time to make it down for breakfast, but it's pretty picked over by then.... Continue reading » -
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Day 19: St. Johann to Vienna via Salzburg
We get up for the hotel breakfast at 7:30, which is decent, and get going shortly after. It's raining as we leave St. Johann on our way to Salzbu... Continue reading »
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Day 20: Vienna
Breakfast is at 8 and it's a pretty good one - eggs w/ hollondaise sauce and tomatoes. I end up with pot wash (boo - seems like I've had a lot compa... Continue reading » -
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Day 21: Vienna to Prague
We have our usual basic breakfast at 7, and leave a bit earlier than usual (we're actually on the ball today?) It's still drizzling out...where d... Continue reading »
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Day 22: Prague
The alarm is very unwelcome at 8:30, and I seriously contemplate ignoring it. Eventually though, I roll out of bed and into the shower, and then... Continue reading »
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Day 23: Prague to Berlin via Dresden
I sleep in a bit, and don't make it to the shower before we get on the road for Germany. We reach Dresden at about 10:45 and Tori shows us the im... Continue reading »
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Day 24: Berlin
The hostel breakfast is decent, but not particularly inspiring - hard boiled eggs, bread, meat, cheese and cereal. We head out at 830 to meet our... Continue reading »
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Day 25: Berlin to Amsterdam
Woke up to the alarm about 6:30, feeling a bit fuzzy. I have a quick shower and notice someone has been doing some puking in one of the showers…... Continue reading »
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Day 26: Amsterdam
Those of us doing the bike tour (in our room, Bruce, Darren, Jeff and I) start getting up around 7:30 and take turns in our wonderful shower. We... Continue reading »
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Day 27: Amsterdam to London via Bruges
A quite unpleasant wake up at 6:30. A short sleep plus a beer and hash hangover leaves me with a small amount of brain function. I manage to get my... Continue reading » -
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Day 28: London To Edmonton
We get up at the alarm and use a public shower for hopefully that last time in a while. Our roommate came in at about 4 AM so he is solidly passe... Continue reading »
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