Contiki Takes Me to Europe! #EuniceAnnabelTravels {PART 2}

(Part 2)

MAGICAL - That's a word I'll use if I had to choose one word to describe the second half of my Europe trip. Venice and Paris were always cities on my must-visit bucket list, I knew I'll get there some day, I just didn't think it would happen this quick! So thank you Contiki for helping me attain that, and for making the trip a lot more enjoyable by taking care of all the boring logistics and transportation costs. For more information on how Contiki works, read part one here ---->

http://euniceannabel.blogspot.sg/2016/05/contiki-takes-me-to-europe.html or head over to http://www.contiki.com/.

To be honest, I was a little reluctant to take videos on this trip. I didn't want to focus too much on getting enough footages, and end up forgetting to relax and enjoy my time. I mean I was in Europe! I wanted it to be a wholesome experience without much distraction. I wanted to interact with my fellow travel buddies instead of running off alone to take pictures and videos of the cities. But I thought I'll do it anyway since the idea of a vlog sounded nice, I could share my experience better with you guys. So here it is, please do not expect much, but enjoy :)

Visiting Venice felt like a dream. I still can't believe I went there! I've heard so much about her from friends and history books in secondary school, it truly felt surreal being there personally. Since our hotel was quite a distance away from Venice, we had to get up and leave pretty early that day. It was quite a journey since the trip to Venice required us to catch a train and a boat. I wasn't complaining initially until it started pouring heavily and we didn't have any umbrellas or ponchos with us, hence we ended up drenched and shivering in the cold. That may not sound so bad, but just think about how it must have felt like if you're soaked and it's 13 degree celsius outside. 

It was quite an unpleasant experience but Contiki managed to make it better by leading us to a nearby H&M to change into dry clothes. That wouldn't have been possible if we went there on our own, because we'll have no idea where the nearby store with affordable clothes was. The sky cleared up about an hour or two later, and we set off on a walking tour around Venice.

I love the gothic facades of these buildings.

This is the beautiful Catedrale Basilica San Marco aka Saint Mark's Basilica.

If I could turn back time, I would have taken the opportunity to enter the church. So if ever visit Venice, please head inside and tell me how it goes!:)

The bell tower that my roomie and I "climbed" to get a birds-eye view of the city. Apparently this isn't the original building. The real one was torn down due to a fire, so this new one was built to take its place, hence it came with a lift, so we didn't have to climb all the way up. hehehe.

I can't say this enough, but there's something different about Venice that makes her so beautiful. Being there physically felt like walking on set of a huge Hollywood blockbuster film, she was perfect in every way, regardless of the vast amount of tourists. You have to visit Venice if you ever get the chance, and don't worry too much about planning your route around her. Venice is a playground so the best way to enjoy your time there is to get lost on purpose. Every corner you turn, and every alley you choose to take, surprises you with  different sceneries.

A flight of spiral stairs that reflect the beautiful facades of Italy.

Venice is known for their gorgeous masks, so I bought a bunch home as souvenirs and gifts.

The best part of my time in Venice was being able to roam around freely for the entire day with my roomie, Karmen. By this time, we've already travelled to about 3-4 cities, but we only truly bonded during our time in Venice. When everyone else opted to indulge in an expensive Venetian dinner, Karmen and I chose to dine at an affordable but authentic Italian restaurant instead. We had the best pasta and pizza, drank iconic Italian cocktails - Bellini and Limoncello - and finished it off with Sicily Cannolis and Tiramisus. 

We both agreed that that was the most memorable part of the trip for both of us. And I guess that's what makes Contiki trips so special - the fact that you get to make great friends with someone from a totally different background from another country. I enjoyed Karmen's company and I sure do miss her now as I'm typing this :(

BEST CARBONARA EVER!!!

Before the sun went down, we went on a Gondola ride! One does not leave Venice without taking one of those rides. If you don't mind spending a little more money, get a boat that comes with a singer for maximum Italian experience.

It may not look like it, but I was FREEZINGGGGGG!

The view from the bell tower.

I have nothing but good words to say about Venice, and I will DEFINITELY be back for more next time. It's the best place to go to for a honeymoon ;) You can say it was my favourite city out of all the cities we visited on this Contiki trip. I LOVEEEEEE ITALY.

The trip only got better when we arrived in Paris. The city everyone wants to visit some day, and I cannot believe I've already been there. I will be forever grateful to Contiki for making it happen.  It was a pretty long drive from Italy to Paris, with a couple of stops along the highway, so we got there close to evening and only had time to visit the Eiffel Tower.  It was freezing though, if I can recall, I think it was about 1 degree celsius. 

Quick dinner before we headed to the Eiffel Tower!

Can't help but think of Ratatouille the movie, when I saw this! hehehe.

And there she was, the magnificent Effiel Tower! Up till now, I still can't believe I got to see her up close, and climb all 3 floors (324 metres). The experience was amazing, if I had a choice, I'd love to share the moment with my loved ones.

I also wished I had warmer clothes on. hehehe. When you're that high up, the wind is hasher and temperatures drop lower than you can expect. My nose was as red as Rudolph's and I literally couldn't feel my hands anymore. I took just ONE selfie and ran back in for warmth. hahaha.

The tower sparkles every hour, so be sure to catch that! It's gorgeous.

The next day, we were free to roam around Paris on our own. We only had one day to visit all of the attraction sites so we had to ensure that we were taking the right route. With the help of our Contiki tour manager, we managed to visit all the places in time without much difficulty with navigation.

Found the Luxor Obelisk at the centre of Place de la Concorde.

It was a beautiful day, the sky was so blue and clear which made touring around the city such a great experience.

Karmen and I <3

The Lourve Museum! Made famous by the movie The Da Vinci Code, we had to visit it for ourselves. It's probably the biggest art museum around, housing thousands and thousands of paintings and sculptures, including the iconic Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. We were told that it would take months to view every single gallery.

Just look at how massive the painting by Leonardo da Vinci is! Every single one of them was beautiful, I wish I had more time to admire them at my own pace. Totally worth visiting if you're an art and history freak like me. hehehe.

Behold, the 1517 Mona Lisa painting. Large crowds were gathered to snap pictures of it, so I only managed to get ONE proper photo before someone else shovelled me aside. It was way smaller than I expected though.

French onion soup for lunch!

Little stores all around the city where you can purchase art pieces, books and souvenirs. How lovely!

Next, we visited the Notre Dame Cathedral which felt super surreal because of the cartoon I watched when I little - The Hunchback of Notre Dame! I could imaging Quasimodo lingering among the pillars of the church as we walked in. It was really dark inside, just as how the cartoon depicted it. I didn't take any photos inside since it is still a church after all, people were praying so I tried to be a little more respectful.

We found a bridge with all these padlocks on it. I'm not sure if it's the original Love Lock Bridge since I heard that it collapsed due to the weight of all the locks, but it was still amazing to see it. 

The next day we had to bid goodbye to one another and fly home :( My European Magic trip ends here but the memories made will always stay with me. This wouldn't have been possible without Contiki! Once again, thank you so much for sending me to Europe to experience an unforgettable trip. I've not only checked a ton of things off my bucket list, but I've also made new friends from around the world. Will I do it again? Sure! This time I'll make sure to bring my friends and loved ones along with me.

Thinking of going on a Contiki adventure already? Read below for an extra perk ;)

Quote my name: Eunice Annabel to enjoy $50SGD off all trips! Simply call +65 6337 8166 or email contact@contiki.com to enjoy :)

For more information or to learn more about the countries they cover and the trips they offer, head over to http://www.contiki.com/

Life’s an adventure – make it count with absolutely #NOREGRETS.

Contiki Takes Me to Europe! #EuniceAnnabelTravels

(Part 1)

A few blog posts back, I mentioned something about taking risks and travelling on your own. I feel that there is so much to learn from being in a completely different environment and experiencing new cultures or languages, especially when you're doing it all by yourself.  I'm certain many would agree that travelling helps you grow so much as a person. It forces you to be independent to take care of yourself, and it allows you to view the world in a different perspective, and for some of us, it gives us the ability to appreciate our own country as well. 

There is a saying that goes something like "You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place. Like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and place because you'll never be this way ever again." I strongly believe that one should never settle for a routine and mundane life. As cliché as this may sound, I urge you to always take the path less travelled and do what you really want, no matter how huge the risk may be.

This is why my collaboration with Contiki is so awesome! It is because we share similar, if not the same, views about life. They're all about living with no excuses and traveling with #NoRegrets, and I couldn't agree more. You see, travelling alone is great but it can be quite scary if it's your first time doing it, especially if the destination is miles away from home, and you're afraid of any hiccups along the way. However, if you travel solo with Contiki, the problem is solved and you don't have to worry about anything.

Following images from http://www.contiki.com/

Contiki is basically a travel group company that offers group travels for people aged between 18 to 35 years old. The group is kept small with up to only 25 travellers from all around the world, thus giving you great opportunities to make new like-minded friends from other countries. Even though you'll be brought around as a group, there will be lots of time for you to explore on your own as well! 

The best part of it all? Contiki takes care of all the boring logistics like booking hotels and transportation, which is a huge bonus for me because I'm not one that enjoys giving my attention to little details. I like to make full use of my time overseas enjoying the country's best offerings, not spending a quarter of the day fussing over how much a taxi ride would cost or finding the best route to my hotel etc. 

 Everyone enjoys different things and we all like to do them differently as well. That's why there are about 8 types of trips offered by Contiki ranging from high energy ones to short stays or in depth travelling. Thus giving you the option of choosing a trip of your preference depending on how and what you'd like to experience. 

Personally, I like to experience things fast, get over them and move on to something new almost immediately. That's why the trip that I was brought on felt perfect for me. 

It's called European Magic where we were brought around Europe, namely Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Rhine Valley (Germany), Munich (Germany), Innsbruck (Austria), Venice (Italy), Lucerne (Switzerland) and Paris (France), over a span of 9 days. It was without a doubt a fast paced trip but I enjoyed waking up in a different city every day. 

All right, I'm going to write a little lesser and let the pictures do the talking ;)

The flight from Singapore to Amsterdam was about 15 to 16 hours, with a little stop over in the middle. I slept almost throughout the flight and arrived in Amsterdam before I even knew it. I met everyone else about 3 to 4 hours later in the hotel lobby and made good friends with my roommate immediately. After the provided dinner, we were brought out to explore Amsterdam in the evening via a canal cruise tour.

The highlight of the tour includes passing by the historical Anne Frank's house. How I wish I could visit it but apparently you have to book tickets weeks in advance due to popular demand.

Everyone mingling and getting to know each other better on the cruise.

Got to try Flugel - a little alcoholic drink that the dutch would apparently consume to mark the start of a party or gathering. It's a symbol of friendship and adds fun to a party.

After the cruise, we were brought around the infamous red light districts of Amsterdam. I presume that we're all adults here so I don't think I'll have to explain what it's about yea? It's a rule that you can't take pictures of the windows and the girls there so I'm sorry boys, I don't have any footages to show you. hehe. A portion of the group went on to watch a live sex show, which I obviously opted out from, so I went off with 3 other girls to get waffles. 

I guess that's what I love most about Amsterdam, that the locals are perfectly fine with discussing about sex and other things that I guess I shouldn't mention here. I enjoy their openness even though it was a little bit of a culture shock in the beginning.

The next day was well spent visiting museums and roaming around the streets of Amsterdam finding the best freshly made Stroopwaffes recommended by our tour manager. We were also given the option of renting a bike and cycling around the city like the locals, but I opted out because I didn't want to be a nuisance to the locals since they're pretty fierce bike riders. I mean they're so used to it, they do it everyday, I was afraid that I'd get in their way.

My touristy shot at the iconic I amsterdam sign. Apparently, the sign is usually crowded with tourists trying to get a shot of them with it. However we got there really early, which explains why there was almost nobody there.

Highlight of the day was finding freshly made Stroopwafles!!! You can get Stroopwafles in ready-made packets in supermarkets but you have to try the freshly made ones to really enjoy them. They're basically thin layers of baked dough with a caramel-syrup like filling in the centre. We only managed to find freshly made ones with the help of our Contiki tour manager who knew almost everything about Amsterdam and all the other countries we visited. 

That's another perk of travelling with Contiki right there! Their trip managers will fill you up with insight knowledge about the destinations which you will have difficulty attaining if you travel on your own.

I can't remember what day it was then but the shops were mostly closed so we were recommended to use the time wisely with visiting museums instead. Amsterdam has a wide array of museums and I was ecstatic to find out that they have an art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh, my favourite painter if you didn't know.

That's Karmen, my roommate from South Africa! I spent almost every minute with her on the trip and learnt so much from her. We're now good friends and have to thank Contiki enormously for that.

By evening, we were back on the coach and made our way out of The Netherlands and into Germany! First stop in Germany was the Rhine Valley. It is known famously for its wine villages and old-time German atmosphere. It was a good break away from Amsterdam, which is pretty much as over crowded as Singapore is. You can say the Rhine Valley is a little more rustic and the view along the river was stunning.

I mean all I could see were valleys, hills, acres of land and agriculture but I found it to be so beautiful because we don't get sights like that in Singapore at all.

We spent a night at the Rhine Valley learning how beer steins are made. What's interesting was that they were selling beer steins with a fragment of the Berlin wall attached to them. What is Berlin wall right? Well, I was pretty much lost at the start. I am not a history student so I went on this trip with almost zero knowledge about Europe and the wars, but I came back with so much information and newfound interest in history. And I have to thank my Contiki tour manager for sparking this curiosity in me, because she was so knowledgeable and I just wanna know as much as she does. So I've been reading and watching videos nonstop about Europe's history ever since I came back. You see! Contiki trips aren't just about having fun, it's educational too! I came back a different person. hahaha.

We spent a small fraction of our time travelling together to another city via a coach. This took a heavy weight off our shoulders, as we didn't have to think too much about how to get from one location to another. Contiki makes travelling way easier and without a doubt, much cheaper too ;)

By afternoon the next day, we arrived in Munich and managed to see the iconic Marienplatz. It is basically the city's main square since 1158, and it houses the Mariensäule. I won't go into too much details regarding that for fear that I may bore you guys. hahaha. However, what caught my interest was the building's gothic facade that was inspired by the Black Death. That's the amazing thing about Europe. It is so rich in history and culture, and that is reflected in almost everything around.

A few moments later, we went on a bike tour around Munich. I agreed to ride a bike in a foreign land this time because Munich's much less crowded than Amsterdam and it was the best way to view the city in a short span of time anyway, plus everyone was doing it and I didn't want to be left out. If you're in Munich, I suggest you sign up for one of these tours via https://www.mikesbiketours.com/munich/ too! You'll see and learn so much more than you would from just walking.

Inside St. Michael's church. 

We cycled through the Englischer Garten, one of Europe's largest urban public parks, and found some surfer dudes catching waves in the garden's river! It was freezing out there and they had nothing but their body suits on and were surfing out in the open without a care in the world. That was one of the more memorable things that happened while we were in Munich, and I guess that's another reason why it's great to travel with Contiki. They make sure that you don't miss out on iconic gotta-sees or local secrets.

By evening, we had dinner and some beers at Hofbräuhaus - Munich's traditional and popular destination to enjoy beer.

Bought a huge pretzel from one of the girls walking around in German's customary dirndls.

Had the opportunity to sit back, relax and learn more about my other travel mates.

As night fell, we went back to our hotel for a good night sleep and prepared for a long bus ride to Venice the next day! Before our arrival at the enchanting Venice, we made a quick stop in Innsbruck, Austria where we could enjoy the stunning sceneries of the Bavarian Alps.

Wouldn't it be nice to live in such a environment?

Innsbruck is a chill little town in Austria where you can enjoy the best strudels. Out of all the cities we visited, it also had the best weather. So you could get a strudel, sit by the river with a friend and enjoy the scenery together. Which reminds me, you can actually travel on a Contiki trip as a couple or with a bunch of friends! It makes everything more fun because you'll get to enjoy moments and share memories with your loved ones too! Oh yeah, you could save some money if you book a trip with your friends. Head over to http://www.contiki.com/deals to find out more!

We left Innsbruck about 4 to 5 hours later and continued on our long drive to Venice. Now I know that may sound boring but I assure you the bus rides are nothing but fun too! In fact, I really enjoyed them because that's when our trip manager fills us in with more information about the history of the next destination we're visiting or she'll tell us what to look out for when we get there so we'll be more prepared. We also played games and watched videos on the rides so we never got bored.

I'm going to stop here and blog about my experience in Venice, Lucerne and Paris in the next post alright? Do check that out because it'll come with a vlog as well ;)

If you're already feeling hyped up and are thinking of going on a Contiki adventure, you may want to read about this!

Contiki is offering my followers an exclusive $50SGD off all trips! Simply call +65 6337 8166  or email contact@contiki.com and quote my name: 

Eunice Annabel. 

For more information or to learn more about the countries they cover and the trips they offer, head over to http://www.contiki.com/

Life’s an adventure – make it count with absolutely #NOREGRETS.