Hi guys
Continuing my story when I was at Vancouver airport...
I had 3 connecting flights to get to New Orleans to start my Southern Adventure Contiki tour. But because of the crazy winter weather, my flight was continually delayed for 3 hours, and then it was cancelled. It was my first time ever travelling by myself so I was stressing out and calling my parents who tried to calm me down. Air Canada put me up in a hotel for the night, which had a huge comfy bed. It was awesome! I skyped Mum and Dad while I was on the phone with the airline trying to work out new flights for about an hour and a half! It ended up working out best to stay an extra night in Vancouver and fly to Memphis and meet up with my Contiki tour there. So I missed the first two days of Contiki, but it worked out for the best.
I arrived at the hotel in Memphis the night of the 21st. The Contiki group had gone out to a basketball and later that night my roommate, Adriana from Brazil, arrived. She was really nice.
My Southern Adventure Contiki tour started in New Orleans and ended in Los Angeles. My tour actually joined up with the Grand Southern tour which started in New York City, so the majority of people on my bus had already been travelling for two weeks! Pretty much the whole tour group was Aussie. There were a few from New Zealand, one from Brazil, and one from South Africa. There was 53 of us in total! On my first day I found out that my tour manager, Ryan, doesn't care about luggage weight. Biggest relief!!
We all got on the bus and went to Graceland, Elvis Presley's home. We had an audio tour. It was really cool being able to see most of the rooms in his house. Compared to what mansions are today, it was more like a big house. The interior decorating was so interesting and different in each room. We also got to see his costumes, awards, and his grave.
Adriana, Brittany, Hannah and I had our photo taken.
We then went to a 50s diner and I had french fries and a strawberry milkshake.
We all got back on the bus and went to the National Civil Rights Museum. The actual museum was closed but it was being built around the Lorraine Motel, which we got to see. This was where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. We saw the exact spot where he died. We also got to see the window in the hotel across the street where the shooter was.
We then went to Sun Studios, where Elvis and Johnny Cash recorded songs back in the day. We didn't get to actually see the studios.
We then had a free afternoon so we got dropped off downtown. Brittany told Adriana and I that everyone on the tour is dressing up for Christmas Day, and we needed some Christmasy costumes, so we went on an adventure with Hannah to find some. We walked along Beale St, but that is mainly for nightlife.
Then we walked along Main St to get to our hotel, but it was so quiet. No one was around so it was like a ghost town! We got a taxi at our hotel and went to a costume store just outside of downtown. Our taxi guide was a really nice local and pointed out things along the way like a tour guide. The costume store turned out to be rental only, and we needed to buy as we'd be spending Christmas in Texas. We had lunch at Applebee's nearby then our taxi guy picked us up and took us to another costume store called Party City. They didn't have much, but I got some santa socks and a santa robe.
That night we all went to dinner at the Kooky Canuck restaurant, which was included in the price of our tour. Our appetizer was deep fried pickles with honey mustard sauce. They looked pretty gross but when in the South, you have to try these things! They weren't too bad. For dessert we got to make s'mores right at the table. It was awesome and they were so delicious :)
We came back to the hotel and I got to skype Kurtis for the first time. It was so fun and so good to see him, but it was hard not being able to reach out and touch him.
The next day we packed, got on the bus and started our journey to Dallas! On long bus days we got to have short bathroom and snack breaks which was good. On this trip we stopped at Little Rock, Arkansas. We got to see the Capitol Building and statues of the Little Rock Nine.
We watched the movie 'The Help' on the bus, and then stopped at a town called Texarkana for lunch, which is on the state line between Texas and Arkansas.
Back on the bus we played introduction games. I had to stand at the front of the bus and speak into the microphone introducing myself, the best place in the world, my relationship status (now taken!), my most embarrassing story, and answer a random question someone wrote which was "Would you rather be respected and not loved, or loved and not respected?"
We arrived in Dallas and got off to take some photos of longhorn statues.
We walked through the city of Dallas to go to dinner at a restaurant called Gators for all you can eat fajitas, and I got to meet some more people on the tour. Dallas is a much more metropolitan city than I was expecting!
We then went to a haunted house! I went through with Adriana and Lachlan from New Zealand. I was in the middle and holding onto them so tightly and screaming heaps haha. I think the Dunbar Haunted House that I went to in Vancouver was a lot better though! We went back to Gators afterwards, because it had a bar, and a few people did karaoke. It was only my second full day on Contiki and I already caught the dreaded Contiki cough and was so sick with a cold :(
On Christmas Eve we had a free morning in Dallas. Adriana and I walked through the city to go to a store that sells authentic Western wear because I wanted to buy some cowboy boots! But when we got there it was closed for the holidays. We found a really cool souvenir store called Wild Wild West and I went a bit crazy in there. I got a hoodie, 2 t-shirts, a cowboy boot ornament, and a t-shirt for Dad. I also found cowboy boots!! They're tan leather and have the cool embroidery on them. We walked back to the hotel to drop off our shopping then had lunch at Subway. We got to see the exact spot on the road where JFK was shot, and the grassy knoll.
We met up with the Contiki group at the 6th Floor Museum which is on the 6th floor of the Old Texas Boook Depository, which is supposedly where Lee Harvey Oswald was when he assassinated JFK. We had an audio tour of the museum which told you all about JFK's life and his time as president, and all about his assassination. It was so interesting to actually see everything after learning about all of this back in Year 11 Modern History! I wish we could have stayed in there longer so I could have read everything, but we were short on time.
We then got on a bus to go to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium for a tour. This is their American football team. The stadium is huge and so impressive. It cost $1.2 billion to make and has $40 million gigantic TV screens suspended above the field. We got to go out on the field and take photos. We also saw the after game interview room, the press room, a suite, the Cowboys locker room, and the cheerleaders locker room. I got to try on a jersey with the protective pads and I looked hilarious haha!
We then went to Fort Worth Stockyards. Because it was Christmas Eve, most of the stores were closed, but we got to look in a few souvenir stores, and I didn't buy anything! Shocking, I know.
We went to dinner at Riscky's Barbecue for real Texan beef ribs. There was so much of it, and I was so full afterwards.
It was Christmas Day in Australia so that night I tried to skype my family while they were having the big family lunch, but the internet connection was terrible so it failed :(
Christmas Day was spent leaving Dallas and heading to Amarillo, Texas. It wasn't a great day for me. I felt really alone and homesick being away from my family on my favourite holiday! Before leaving UBC, members of my family had sent over little Christmas presents that I had to take travelling with me and I wasn't allowed to open until Christmas Day. Clara gave me a little one too. They were really great presents, and made me feel closer to them. Thank you guys :) Mum and Dad gave me a voucher for a return flight to anywhere in the world, so that's why I'm going to Spain and Canada in July.
Along the bus ride at our first quick stop it was really windy and snowing. That's right, my very first white Christmas!! There was also a sign to watch out for rattlesnakes.
Once in Amarillo, we checked into our hotel rooms which were totally Western themed. It was awesome!! They even had swing doors going into the bathroom!
Right across from the hotel was the Big Texan Steak Ranch restaurant. We went across and checked it out. It was absolutely freezing outside.
We changed into our Christmas costumes and went to the restaurant for Christmas dinner. The food was so good. I had salad, steak, stuffing, bread, a baked potato, and pecan pie.
I was so full, but definitely not as full as the 4 guys from Contiki who took on the 72 ounce steak challenge. They get a 72 ounce steak (which is 2.04kg), all of the sides that we all had, and they have to eat all of it within one hour, otherwise you have to pay $72. None of the guys finished it, but one of them had 60 ounces of steak (1.7kg)!! The record of all time is 8 minutes and 52 seconds. The oldest to complete the challenge was a 69 year old grandmother and the youngest was an 11 year old boy. Ryan, our tour manager, did it in 2011 in 56 minutes.
We then all exchanged secret santa presents. The guy that I had apparently really liked snickers, so I gave him a huge bag of mini snickers. I ended up getting another Texas cowboy boot ornament, very similar to the one I bought myself haha. We then had a costume contest. My costume was pretty lame compared to others so I obviously didn't win.
There's much more to blog about Contiki so I'll be back with more soon!!
Love,
Emily
I arrived at the hotel in Memphis the night of the 21st. The Contiki group had gone out to a basketball and later that night my roommate, Adriana from Brazil, arrived. She was really nice.
My Southern Adventure Contiki tour started in New Orleans and ended in Los Angeles. My tour actually joined up with the Grand Southern tour which started in New York City, so the majority of people on my bus had already been travelling for two weeks! Pretty much the whole tour group was Aussie. There were a few from New Zealand, one from Brazil, and one from South Africa. There was 53 of us in total! On my first day I found out that my tour manager, Ryan, doesn't care about luggage weight. Biggest relief!!
We all got on the bus and went to Graceland, Elvis Presley's home. We had an audio tour. It was really cool being able to see most of the rooms in his house. Compared to what mansions are today, it was more like a big house. The interior decorating was so interesting and different in each room. We also got to see his costumes, awards, and his grave.
Adriana, Brittany, Hannah and I had our photo taken.
We then went to a 50s diner and I had french fries and a strawberry milkshake.
We all got back on the bus and went to the National Civil Rights Museum. The actual museum was closed but it was being built around the Lorraine Motel, which we got to see. This was where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. We saw the exact spot where he died. We also got to see the window in the hotel across the street where the shooter was.
We then went to Sun Studios, where Elvis and Johnny Cash recorded songs back in the day. We didn't get to actually see the studios.
We then had a free afternoon so we got dropped off downtown. Brittany told Adriana and I that everyone on the tour is dressing up for Christmas Day, and we needed some Christmasy costumes, so we went on an adventure with Hannah to find some. We walked along Beale St, but that is mainly for nightlife.
Then we walked along Main St to get to our hotel, but it was so quiet. No one was around so it was like a ghost town! We got a taxi at our hotel and went to a costume store just outside of downtown. Our taxi guide was a really nice local and pointed out things along the way like a tour guide. The costume store turned out to be rental only, and we needed to buy as we'd be spending Christmas in Texas. We had lunch at Applebee's nearby then our taxi guy picked us up and took us to another costume store called Party City. They didn't have much, but I got some santa socks and a santa robe.
That night we all went to dinner at the Kooky Canuck restaurant, which was included in the price of our tour. Our appetizer was deep fried pickles with honey mustard sauce. They looked pretty gross but when in the South, you have to try these things! They weren't too bad. For dessert we got to make s'mores right at the table. It was awesome and they were so delicious :)
We came back to the hotel and I got to skype Kurtis for the first time. It was so fun and so good to see him, but it was hard not being able to reach out and touch him.
The next day we packed, got on the bus and started our journey to Dallas! On long bus days we got to have short bathroom and snack breaks which was good. On this trip we stopped at Little Rock, Arkansas. We got to see the Capitol Building and statues of the Little Rock Nine.
We watched the movie 'The Help' on the bus, and then stopped at a town called Texarkana for lunch, which is on the state line between Texas and Arkansas.
Back on the bus we played introduction games. I had to stand at the front of the bus and speak into the microphone introducing myself, the best place in the world, my relationship status (now taken!), my most embarrassing story, and answer a random question someone wrote which was "Would you rather be respected and not loved, or loved and not respected?"
We arrived in Dallas and got off to take some photos of longhorn statues.
We then went to a haunted house! I went through with Adriana and Lachlan from New Zealand. I was in the middle and holding onto them so tightly and screaming heaps haha. I think the Dunbar Haunted House that I went to in Vancouver was a lot better though! We went back to Gators afterwards, because it had a bar, and a few people did karaoke. It was only my second full day on Contiki and I already caught the dreaded Contiki cough and was so sick with a cold :(
On Christmas Eve we had a free morning in Dallas. Adriana and I walked through the city to go to a store that sells authentic Western wear because I wanted to buy some cowboy boots! But when we got there it was closed for the holidays. We found a really cool souvenir store called Wild Wild West and I went a bit crazy in there. I got a hoodie, 2 t-shirts, a cowboy boot ornament, and a t-shirt for Dad. I also found cowboy boots!! They're tan leather and have the cool embroidery on them. We walked back to the hotel to drop off our shopping then had lunch at Subway. We got to see the exact spot on the road where JFK was shot, and the grassy knoll.
We met up with the Contiki group at the 6th Floor Museum which is on the 6th floor of the Old Texas Boook Depository, which is supposedly where Lee Harvey Oswald was when he assassinated JFK. We had an audio tour of the museum which told you all about JFK's life and his time as president, and all about his assassination. It was so interesting to actually see everything after learning about all of this back in Year 11 Modern History! I wish we could have stayed in there longer so I could have read everything, but we were short on time.
We then got on a bus to go to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium for a tour. This is their American football team. The stadium is huge and so impressive. It cost $1.2 billion to make and has $40 million gigantic TV screens suspended above the field. We got to go out on the field and take photos. We also saw the after game interview room, the press room, a suite, the Cowboys locker room, and the cheerleaders locker room. I got to try on a jersey with the protective pads and I looked hilarious haha!
We then went to Fort Worth Stockyards. Because it was Christmas Eve, most of the stores were closed, but we got to look in a few souvenir stores, and I didn't buy anything! Shocking, I know.
We went to dinner at Riscky's Barbecue for real Texan beef ribs. There was so much of it, and I was so full afterwards.
It was Christmas Day in Australia so that night I tried to skype my family while they were having the big family lunch, but the internet connection was terrible so it failed :(
Christmas Day was spent leaving Dallas and heading to Amarillo, Texas. It wasn't a great day for me. I felt really alone and homesick being away from my family on my favourite holiday! Before leaving UBC, members of my family had sent over little Christmas presents that I had to take travelling with me and I wasn't allowed to open until Christmas Day. Clara gave me a little one too. They were really great presents, and made me feel closer to them. Thank you guys :) Mum and Dad gave me a voucher for a return flight to anywhere in the world, so that's why I'm going to Spain and Canada in July.
Along the bus ride at our first quick stop it was really windy and snowing. That's right, my very first white Christmas!! There was also a sign to watch out for rattlesnakes.
Once in Amarillo, we checked into our hotel rooms which were totally Western themed. It was awesome!! They even had swing doors going into the bathroom!
Right across from the hotel was the Big Texan Steak Ranch restaurant. We went across and checked it out. It was absolutely freezing outside.
We changed into our Christmas costumes and went to the restaurant for Christmas dinner. The food was so good. I had salad, steak, stuffing, bread, a baked potato, and pecan pie.
I was so full, but definitely not as full as the 4 guys from Contiki who took on the 72 ounce steak challenge. They get a 72 ounce steak (which is 2.04kg), all of the sides that we all had, and they have to eat all of it within one hour, otherwise you have to pay $72. None of the guys finished it, but one of them had 60 ounces of steak (1.7kg)!! The record of all time is 8 minutes and 52 seconds. The oldest to complete the challenge was a 69 year old grandmother and the youngest was an 11 year old boy. Ryan, our tour manager, did it in 2011 in 56 minutes.
We then all exchanged secret santa presents. The guy that I had apparently really liked snickers, so I gave him a huge bag of mini snickers. I ended up getting another Texas cowboy boot ornament, very similar to the one I bought myself haha. We then had a costume contest. My costume was pretty lame compared to others so I obviously didn't win.
There's much more to blog about Contiki so I'll be back with more soon!!
Love,
Emily
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