.: 12 April 2003
The
rest of the trip back to London was uneventful. It still felt like we
were just going to another campsite, not the end of our tour. Dave
announced some awards he made up. Jaime got the ‘Always Smiling’ award.
Dan got something like the “Always Late’ award and was given a watch.
‘Sexiest Accent’ was given to Craig. Fiona got the ‘Keep the Boys In
Line’ award (in regards to Jon and Ben). And I think it was Anthony who
got the Quiet Achiever award. I didn’t really understand that, maybe
something to do with all the photo taking. I think there may have been
other awards but I’ve forgotten.
We pulled into the Royal
National and a few people said they had to leave straight away. That’s
when it hit home that you will probably never see these people again.
Most of us had organised to go to the London Pub that night for drinks
but some had to leave there and then. Chrissy’s parents were there to
pick her up so she had to leave straight away. Phillipa and Adam also
could not stay and were soon gone. Then a whole load of other people
just disappeared.
I was soon one of the few
people left, I had to make sure I said goodbye to everyone. (If I
didn’t, I’m sorry, byeeeeee!!!) I then went and checked in. Up at my
room I was greeted by my new room mate Kylie (made sure I remembered her
name), then I saw Patrice in the room as well which was cool. I chatted
to Kylie for awhile, she was Aussie but had been working in London as a
teacher. She wanted to know all about our tour as she was leaving to
start hers the following morning. Patrice and I then got ready and went
to meet everyone else. They were all waiting in a group downstairs in
the hotel foyer. In the middle were Adam and Phillipa!! But
unfortunately it was not good. Everyone knows this story so we won’t go
there again.
The mood soon got a bit
better at the pub as more people arrived. We had dinner, chicken kiev
again, have I mentioned how good it is? Heh. Then we got stuck into the
drinks and took photos etc. People started to leave one by one and soon
there was only a small group of us left.
The pub closed at 11pm (I
still can’t get over the fact that most pubs in London close at 11pm!!)
We were then introduced to the “Walk of Shame” where basically you are
forced to walk over to the Royal National Hotel Bar, ie Walk of Shame.
So Dave, GT, Narelle, Holly,
Claire, Emma, Anthony, Craig, Ben and I went over.
Anthony and Craig went
straight for the gambling machines. Holly, Claire and Emma went and got
a table and the rest of us stood at the bar surrounded by English
gentlemen and the like. We stood out like sore thumbs, sore loud psycho
thumbs.
GT was quite merry at this
stage and started giving us his thoughts of our tour. I won’t repeat
what he said but oh my god did I laugh a lot!!!
Meanwhile, Ben who had been
drinking constantly since the pub decided it was time for shooters.
After a few Jonnies he suddenly had this sick look on his face. He leant
under the bar and the shooters made a reappearance. Dave promptly took
him to the bathroom whilst a bar guy quietly cleaned the mess up.
Thankfully it seemed that Ben had not eaten much that day. He came back
refreshed and ready for more though we persuaded him out of that idea.
He eventually left and Emma escorted him safely back to his room.
So back at the bar it was
now down to GT, Dave, Narelle and I. The others had piked. Dave and I
went and sat with some Contiki Tour Manager trainees who had just come
back from a 46 day training tour. They were an interesting bunch and I
got a lot of insight into what goes on behind the scenes. They also
tried to persuade me into applying for a Tour Manager position. I said
“Noo, thank you! I may have thought about it before the tour but now
after seeing everything Dave does, I mean, what drugs are you on and can
I have some!? I just don’t have that kind of energy.” The trainees later
left and were replaced by GT and Narelle who had been at the bar. The
bar soon closed and they left soon after. So it was Dave and I left at
stumps. We had a talk about the tour and then just before 3am we called
it quits. We said our goodbyes and he said I should come down on Tuesday
morning to see his new tour group off. (I wish I did, but I slept in!! I
would have gone and grabbed the mic to tell them among other things how
lucky they were!)
I went back to my room and
had to wake up Patrice as they had taken the only key.
I went to sleep thinking of
everything.
Contiki tour over :(
.: 13 April 2003
Today I did crap all. I slept for a very
long time and then just sat around the hotel room. In the arvo Fiona
came up. She had some time to kill so we sat around and had a good ol’
gossip about the tour. She was having her birthday party in Soho that
Tuesday so she invited me along. After she left I went down to the
mini-mart around the corner. I had never tried falafels before but I
thought they looked nice so I got some and a tub of chicken pasta. On
the way back to my room I was called out to my Katie who was sitting
outside the pub with Shaughn and Munchie Matt. They were looking through
some of their digital camera photos. Matt left after awhile but he was
soon replaced by Narelle who had spent the day at a mates house doing
some washing. We arranged to have dinner at the pub again one last time,
well for them anyway, they were leaving for Ireland the following day.
We also got in touch with some of the other to meet us there as well.
I went back to the room to find a new
roommate. I’m pretty sure her name was Bec, she was Aussie anyway. I had
some of my chicken pasta and took a bite of the falafel. I’ve come to
the conclusion that falafels are made by the devil. They are sooooo bad.
I even tried dunking them in some chicken noodle soup but they are just
positively wrong! I now understand the title of the movie “He Died With
A Falafel In His Hand”.
Later I went down to dinner with the
others. I won’t tell you what I had because you should be able to figure
it out by now. Tom, Amy and Kate who were staying around the corner at
the Generator also came as did Claire and Holly.
After awhile Dave rocked up to meet some
more Contiki trainees who had also just come in. He spotted us through
the window with a gesture of “Do you live here, or something to that
effect”. He came and sat with us for a bit before joining the others. GT
also arrived later.
Katie, Shaughn and Narelle soon had to
leave and that was the last time I saw them. After their trip to Ireland
they popped down to the Greek Isles before Katie and Shaughn jetted
across to Japan and then met up with Narelle in Thailand.
As most of the other people were leaving
too we all went over to say goodbye to Dave and GT one last time. I
started talking to one of the new TM’s I had chatted to before. She had
just been assigned her first tour. It was either the 36 day tour of the
25 day Escapade tour. She was pretty pumped.
Claire, Holly and I decided we would
stick around for awhile for a few more drinks but they later decided to
go to bed instead. I was up for another big night but unfortunately no
one else was so I was forced to retire for the evening.
.: 14 April 2003
Today was another slow one. Patrice and I
went and finally did some washing at a Laundromat around the corner. By
this stage I had no clean clothes and was forced to wear a skirt,
singlet and my grey coat. We popped into Claire and Holly’s room first
to give them our key. They were going to drop their luggage off in our
room until they checked into the Generator that night.
So in my heels – well I couldn’t wear my
sneakers heh – I dragged my bag washing around to the Laundromat. While
we were waiting I dropped my Memory Card into the photo place next door
and then popped over to my local café across the road for a big English
breakfast. Hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, toast, baked
beans.
We back to the laundry, yeah I know
you’re supposed to keep an eye on your washing but who’s going to want
to lug heavy wet clothes around. We then chucked then in the big
industrial sized dryers. They would have come in handy in Florence! Then
finally took our CLEAN clothes back to the room. I later went down to
the Contiki basement to find Holly and Claire sitting at the tables
ringing up people regarding jobs from the TNT mag which had come out
that morning. They didn’t know what to do. They were offered some pretty
crap jobs but they had also put in an application for Contiki reps which
they were waiting to hear back from.
I got on one of the computers (No.3 to be
exact, my fave, I always asked for this one as it had MSN) and had a
look with Claire through the photos from the CD. They were pretty funny
especially the ones from Austria.
Some of the new TM’s came down and they
‘accidentally’ saw some of the photos. They also told me that Digger got
engaged!
Claire and Holly later met me back at my
room to pick up their bags. While they were there Holly got a call on
her mobile. It was Contiki and they wanted to interview her on
Wednesday. Claire then got a call on her mobile, she also got an
interview. I was so happy for them!
That night I went to my café and got a lamb kebab and chips. No partying tonight L
.: 15 April 2003
Today is my last full day in London. I
have to get my ass into gear and go down to Victoria Station to book my
train ticket from Sevilla to Barcelona. My travel agent had told me that
there is RENFE (Spanish train company) office down there. Then I will go
to Oxford St to do some shopping. Need new clothes desperately. Have
Fi’s bday party tonight and have planned to meet Claire and Holly down
at the pub before heading off to Soho.
I made my way to Victoria station which
happens to be one of the biggest in London. I tried, I really tried to
find the RENFE office. I asked everyone who looked like they’d know but
honestly I don’t think they would have even been able to point out their
office door. I later looked in the Yellow Pages back at the hotel to
find that it was in Berkley Square. I didn’t let it bother me though as
I figured I could just buy one from the train station in Seville.
Meanwhile it was shopping time! Oxford
Street and the general surrounding area are known for their good
shopping so I took the tube up to Oxford Circus. Across the road I
spotted a place called Topshop. I had heard about this place. Five
floors of fashion, shoes, clothes jewellery etc. In the end it all got
too much and I just bought a pair of Sunnies for £10. I decided to take
a walk to the right of the station but after about a km in that
direction I turned back. I then went to the left of Oxford Circus and to
Selfridges, another recommended place but the whole place just reeked of
snobbishness and I made a quick exit. Came across Marks & Spencers,
another well known department store which is kind of like an upmarket
Target. I bought a top in there for £30 – still not converting!!
Walked along a bit further, I had now
gone past 3 tube stations. Had a look in some unknown shops along the
way and bought a pair of embroidered jeans, and zip up jumper and an
oriental silk top (which is now in style in Australia heh). Still not
concentrating on the Aussie $ though! I was now up at Marble Arch and
running out of time so I made a dash for the tube to try and get back to
the hotel within ½ hour when I had to meet the others. Just as I was
coming out of Russell Square station they msg’d me to say that they
would be late as they were doing some washing so that gave me some time.
I quickly had a shower and got ready.
They msg’d me after awhile as I was running late. I rushed down to the
pub and we had a quick dinner (give you a guess what) then we walked
over to Soho on the way imitating the English accent.
I had checked the map before and figured
it wasn’t so far, maybe a bit in heels though. The place we were looking
for was in Dean St, called The Couch. In the end it wasn’t far at all,
just off Oxford Street. Inside were a small group of Fi’s friends. No
one that we knew but they turned out to be a good lot. I was drinking
some very expensive Vodka and cokes, £3.60 each. That’s about AU$10 a
drink!
Ben and his ‘friend’ came along and it
felt a bit like being back on tour except Ben behaved a bit differently
in front of his ‘friend’. Some censoring was called for when telling
stories.
After awhile Claire and Holly had to
leave as they had to get up early for their Contiki interviews the next
morning. Ben left soon after along with a few of Fi’s friends.
The bar shut at 11pm and I intended to
catch the last train back to the hotel, even though it was only 1 or 2
tube stops away I didn’t really want to walk home by myself.
I went to leave but the others insisted
that I continue on with them (I needed little persuading). We didn’t
really know where we were going or what we wanted to do but we were full
of grog and ready to dance! We ended up at a place called The O Bar.
There were not many people inside and no loud music to dance to. We saw
a sign saying there was a club upstairs. We thought “Ooh great,
dancing!” but alas it turned out to be more of a lounge. We quickly
turned around and headed back downstairs.
Stood around having a few more drinks
and they finally started playing some better music. Some of the guys
pulled out there digital cameras (no that’s not a connotation) and
started taking photos of everyone. I whipped mine out (you dirty minded
people) and took some back. I won, mine was the best
J
Fiona was pretty tipsy by this stage and we were dancing around like
idiots. She must have had a few and she soon decided to go home. Her
friend Martin went with her but the others stayed. I didn’t want to
leave but I had only just met these people. It worked out well though as
they turned out to be pretty cool people. I only had £9 on me and needed
that to get a cab home so I could not buy any more drinks. Jarrod and
Greg happily came to my rescue and bought me some drinks that Mel
introduced me to – Barcardi and Cranberry, very nice.
We continued our debauchery dancing
around like idiots to all the 70’s and 80’s songs. Men at Work – Land
Downunder came on and I found that we were the only Aussies in the place
as we all went completely stupid jumping around and singing along. No
one else did. Luckily the place had filled up a bit more and lots of
people were looking at us oddly. Mel and I started playing a game called
“Who’s Gay” where we would point out guys and give reasons as to why we
thought they were gay. Actually come to think of it a) camp music, b)
sissy cocktails and c) lots of guys around being really friendly. I
think we were in a Gay Bar!! Awesome!!! Haha. Well considering it was in
Soho I wouldn’t be surprised. Though there was one guy who was straight.
He had been staring at our group for quite awhile. We figured he thought
we were weird but after we slowed down a bit he motioned for Mel to go
sit with him. They soon hit it off. He was alright too. Reminded me of
some alternative model, tall, thin, hollow cheekbones, blonde. I
continued dancing with the other guys until Jarrod found himself a girl,
well she kind of fell on him but what better way to get acquainted with
someone, so he went off with her and her friend. Blurry time passed and
I soon got quite tired. I figured I had better leave considering I had a
flight to catch the next day. I said my goodbyes and promised to keep in
touch with Mel as she was coming to Perth in December.
I was hoping my £9 would be enough to get
home as I did not know the taxi rates but had heard they were expensive.
It was just after 2am by now and I could not see any cabs outside. A guy
approached me and asked if I needed a taxi. I said I did and he offered
to take me. I was a bit apprehensive and asked if he was a licensed
cabbie. He said there was a service run by the club and that it would
cost me £8 to get back to Russell Square. So I thought “eh what the
hell” and went with him. He had all the club gear on so I figured it was
all good. He hooned back to the hotel so fast, on the way I was
surprised at the amount of people still about, considering it was a
weeknight.
Back at the hotel I had to wake Patrice up again.
Oops.
.: 16 April 2003
Today I left
I
then picked my bags up and
lugged them to the tube station. They were so heavy that I had to stop
every so often so the circulation could return to my fingers.
Fortunately lunch had passed so there were not a lot of people on the
tube. I knew it would collect a few people on the way so I set my
luggage up at the end of the carriage in the corner taking advantage of
the bum rest and sat with all my luggage underneath me. Once we had
passed through the city there were less people so I took one of the
seats. Another good thing about the tube is that there are 2 stations
within
On
the way through the terminal
I made sure I got a photo of a promotional photo on the wall. The entire
hallway which had the travelators running through was covered in ads
promoting local knowledge when travelling. For example, there would be a
photo of 3 grasshoppers in a row, underneath it would say something like
U.S – pest,
