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     Or so I thought …

     With a cost of $2300 for thirteen days, including airfare, the thought of the bus tour was hard to ignore. After reading the free brochure I obtained from the tour’s website, I realized I would never see as many places in a short amount of time for the cost of the trip that was offered – and so off we went – me, my friend, and my friend’s friend. In thirteen days I explored the Colosseum in Rome, the Duomo in Florence, the Leaning Tower in Pisa, the small walkways of San Gimignano, the canals of Venice, the ruins of Pompeii, the waters of the Isles of Capri, and countless other sights.

     What I envisioned from a bus tour is what everyone generally envisions: crying children, elderly folks who would cause us to slow down from our normal pace, and people in general I did not care to know - let alone sit next to on a bus for two weeks. What I actually experienced were adults - all eighteen to thirty-five years of age who were fun, outgoing, funny, and ready to explore all day long and party all night. I even made a friend along the way.

     One of the girls on the bus, Quinton, had gone on the tour alone. She paired up with us for some sightseeing along with her assigned roommate. On the third or so day, Quinton and I were talking like we had been friends for many years, and even after the tour we kept in touch through email. A year later, Quinton and I paired up for another two-week tour - my second bus tour; her third. We traveled from Amsterdam to Barcelona, seeing Paris, Lucerne, Chamonix, Nice, and Monaco.

     There are many options to choose from for your ideal bus tour. You may choose to see several cities in one country, such as my first tour of Italy, or you may choose to see several cities in several countries, such as my tour from Amsterdam to Barcelona. There are also options for the duration of each tour, ranging from seven days to a full month. Whatever tour you choose, your tour bus, with assigned bus driver, will drive you to each city - while you are napping or reading, I might add.

     Each tour is assigned a tour manager who travels with you. The tour manager is loaded with information, and will distribute detailed maps of each city you visit along with metro information. Your tour manager will also tell you where you can find the best places to eat, give you directions and suggestions on the best places to see, and will also give you mini language lessons to greet the locals accordingly. We were told that in France you will have a phone line to your hotel room, but you must call the front desk and have them activate it to place a call – a helpful fact I would not have known on my own.

     The time in each city is usually just one or two days. In some cases you may have three days in one city, but this is generally the city you fly into and out of. The one-night stops are mostly small towns, such as Lucerne in Switzerland, or Chamonix in France, which can be explored satisfactorily in a few hours. About half the time allotted in each city is alone time for you, and those you have met on the bus, to explore and see the sites. This is when your map of the city with its metro stops will come in handy - try getting around Paris on foot! But with only one full day in each city, you’ll need to prioritize your wish list of sites and visit those at the top of the list. And even with having only a small amount of time, you can be sure you’ll leave feeling enriched with culture, sites, and pictures that will last a lifetime.

     Be warned, there can be some drawbacks if you don’t like who is on tour with you, such as the Teeny Boppers. The Teeny Boppers, as we un-affectionately called them on my second tour, were a group of five girls ages seventeen and eighteen. On the first day during orientation, the girls were giggling uncontrollably. It was apparent they had participated in some of the “activities” Amsterdam has to offer. I looked at Quinton and said, “This is gonna be a long two weeks.” Each day on the bus was filled with their incessant giggling, and obnoxious and sarcastic questions to our tour manager. During a lunch stop in Italy the entire bus voted to leave them behind. Fortunately for them, our tour manager was kinder than we were. A few nights later we heard yelling from their rooms. The Teeny Boppers had a major blowout; they stopped talking to one another – and the rest of us had peace and quiet for the remainder of the trip.

     At the end of my Amsterdam to Barcelona tour, we each signed a sheet with our email addresses and contact information. As our tour guide collected the sheet from the last person, she said, “Keep in touch with each other. Many people have taken these trips, but nobody has experienced this trip in the way you all have together.” She was absolutely right - Quinton and I have kept in touch for the past two years - and we still talk about our amazing trips. We’ve gone on new trips too - to see each other - from Florida to Canada.