I came so close to being the— say it with me: the ONLY living PERSON on your Instagram timeline to NOT go to Europe this summer. Gasp! What! NOoooOO! UNFORTUNATE! — you shriek as you read this.
The background: When the travel company Contiki asked if I wanted to go on one of their group trips, I let the email simmer in my inbox.
I let this one bake a little longer than usual. I was hesitant. Sure, the very gracious offer was coming at the perfect time. Would I love an opportunity to Eat, Pray, Love an increasingly confusing summer situationship away by traipsing around Europe in my ONE and ONLY singular sundress???? Hello, ya duh! I’m HUMAN!!!
You see— I didn’t know much about Contiki other than it seemed like something to do when you’re 20 and wanna party with a group of equally hot strangers in a foreign country. Which is truly like, fun if that's the life chapter you're on. But me?
I had convinced myself I was too old and boring to take Contiki up on their trip offer. But THENNNN they followed up and mentioned they also had a ~Pride Trip~ available that ended in Amsterdam for Pride. Admittedly—that got me, a Certified Gay Person™, real GOOD gal!
So I sucked up my fear of people born after the year 2000, packed my bags, and headed on a very 🌈 10 day trip to London, Paris and Amsterdam.
If you (like me), aren't sure if these kinds of group trips are for you— here's a list of all the other things that surprised me too:
1. Okay, first thing's first: FINE, not everyone is 20 years old.
2. The planned group excursions aren't super touristy.
Instead, our Miss Ungermeyer was tour manager Scott, who joined us on some pretty unique experiences— ones that I wouldn't have thought to do myself if I was on my own solo trip. Like this pastry tour in Paris (led by a local) that obvs changed my life:
Or drag brunch at Mrs. Riot in London:
3. And because the experiences were so unique, I actually ended up learning a ton— and seeing sides of the cities completely differently.
One of ours was visiting activist and speaker Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir at The Common Press Bookshop— a queer and intersectional bookstore in East London.
Another was heading down the canals of Amsterdam for a tour of the city led by refugees.
4. There's a perfect amount of free time to hit spots on your own travel to-do list— which means you can make your trip completely your own.
5. You can say no to things!
6. You actually do in fact, make friends.
7. It's actually really nice to not have to think about how to get from place to place.
8. Travel snafus are NOT your problem to deal with.
