Return to London

"Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen."  ~ Benjamin Disraeli

A bitter sweet day as those who were left boarded the bus in Amsterdam for London to complete the tour.  It was an early start 6:30 AM bags out and 7:15 AM on the coach.  The ride this morning was quite quiet and somewhat somber.  We drove for a while and stopped in Ghent, Belgium where we took a picture of ourselves outside the stop (not that you could tell it was Belgium mind you – you’ll just have to trust us that we were there).  Previously we passed Antwerp, Belgium which is known as the diamond capital of the world (glad we didn’t stop there because it could have been an expensive visit).  I couldn’t even buy a hat from Belgium – because the place we stopped didn’t have any.  Toilets were free because just as we arrived the pay machine seemed to have broken – so they opened the gate and just let people in.  This was one thing we had to get used to – paying for washrooms in Europe was very common – unless you patronized the location – then they were free.

Piero (our driver), Kassie (the magnificent), Laureen & I [Oh, and the coach too]

Our next stop was the Calais Ferry Terminal where we went through English Border Control.  As we drove in, it was possible to see the refugee camp that we passed earlier on the trip.  Here we said goodbye to Piero, who was staying in Calais for a few days before his next trip.  Kassie came with us to England all the way to our final destinations – we just hopped on a new coach when we arrived in the UK.  She has about 10 days off (and probably needs it after dealing with our group for the past month).

The Refugee Camp near Calais

Unfortunately for us, we arrived just a little too late to get on the ferry that we wanted, so we ended up waiting for about an hour and 20 minutes before the next one came.  Once on the ferry we grabbed a spot to sit (made the mistake of leaving our spot last time and we had difficulty finding a place after that), and camped there for the duration of the ferry ride – which lasted about an hour and a half.

The White Cliffs of Dover as we arrive in the UK

The ride to the Trafalgar Welcome Center was our first stop where all but 10 of us got off.  We said goodbyes and then were on our way to the Euston, Thistle Hotel.  We drove right by the place where a knife wielding attacker killed a person and injured 6 others the night before.  There were camera crews all over the scene.  Once we arrived at the hotel, we got a hug from the remaining folks and said goodbye to Kassie.  She really did an amazing job on this tour.  You can tell she loves what she does.

Turns out Alf and Di were heading out for dinner the same time we were – so we got one last chance to reminisce about the trip, talk about our favorite places and hint at plans to visit each other’s countries.

Early start tomorrow – bags out at 6:30 AM (this time we have to do it ourselves), breaky at 6:30 and then off to the airport for the flight to Dublin in the morning.

Curt & Laureen in London, England.