Joe losing a tooth

Popularity of Grandpa Randy from Eston

The phrase of “when in Rome”

The landscape of Turkey is lush.

Being on the beach with the sun setting

The drive to Delphi was so beautiful. Delphi was amazing with the best guide of the trip

The group from Eston. We completely merged with them – kids and parents. It was one complete EF group and not two separate ones like it usually is.

Our tour director Laertes. Very efficient and matter of fact.

We learned that we can travel with carry on luggage only on the way there. Some people are still using just carry on on the way home, while some travellers have picked up a few extra treasures that we couldn’t just leave behind.

The inclusiveness on the cruise, everyone there was so kind and there was always something for people to do while we were cruising

Our tour director, Larry, singing Back Street Boys at karaoke. He was such a good sport even though he had never heard the song before.

Once again I am in awe of the courage of our travellers. Each and everyone one of them impressed me with their maturity, humour and flexibility.

Joe was our youngest traveller ever in YG Travellers. He did great! He had questions, would have interesting conversations and could make us laugh. He even lost a tooth! He was also a hit on the dance floor! ❤️

Nathan was our strong, silent young man on tour. He never complained, was never late, and knew what his comfort boundaries were. He also proved he can really kick a soccer ball! ❤️

Layne was my special buddy, especially going through security. We were a little nervous at the beginning about the security stations and having to explain his medical needs. Sometimes the language barrier made for some charades, but every place we went to understood our situation. By the end, he was totally comfortable going on his own. He is brave, mature and so respectful! ❤️

Allie was our tough prairie girl! She got sideswiped by a person running down the street and took a nasty fall one day. A little ice, a little Tylenol and some rest and she was raring to go again. ❤️

Jacey was our bird fearing observer. She was game for any activity but when birds were involved, she was less than impressed. I loved seeing something interesting/amusing/odd and catching eyes with her as we exchanged wide eyed expressions. ❤️

Bridget was the bravest of all nine of us! She goes to school in Milestone, but was intrigued by our itinerary and decided she wanted to join us on our journey even without knowing the YG students at all or very little. She was a trouper and earned the respect of all of us for her gumption! ❤️

Lindsay and Felecia are gems of the earth. Practical, fun, organized, safety conscious and willing to go along with all activities. They made for a fun week! ❤️

I feel completely blessed that parents allow me the privilege of travelling with their best kids. I love travelling and I love working with teenagers. Being able to work with my chosen age group and doing an activity I enjoy while enabling students to learn history through hands on learning, is me living my best life. Thank you for trusting me with your finest. ❤️

Travel day!! The trek home has begun. We left the hotel by 9 (midnight at home), and now we sit at the airport. Fingers crossed the snow storm doesn’t deter us!

Last day visiting the north and it was fantastic!

We went out on the tundra buggies and rubbed Rocky (the bear mascot) for good luck as driver Dylan told us to do the last day we were there. It worked like a charm!

We view multiple bears today. One was a momma and a cub who were very much in sync together. We watched multiple boys who were either sleeping or trudging along. Two of them went to the water’s edge looking for food. We saw one stay at a spot for a long time and when he raised his head, blood was on its due. Our directors thought he was eating probably a seal because it was a red residue. We viewed another one that they had named Anne. She was laying in the sun on a rock looking quite angelic. Connie got a fabulous shot of her rolling on her back.

Ice break up was 125 days ago so these bears haven’t eaten since then. Our leaders were very careful not to agitate them. The “explore.org” buggy was around doing their live feed of the bears.

We had a fabulous trip and met some wonderful people.

Leader: Duane Collins from Newfoundland. Runs his own tour company in NFLD and does this for 2 months in the fall.

Buggy driver Dylan.

Dave and Bev Fleming from Pennsylvania. They run a winery there. Quiet and super kind couple.

George and Sally Leonhardt from Pennsylvania and Florida. We had a lot of fun teasing George.

Jeff, Diana, and Michelle Wong from HongKong, Uk and Australia. Family that has lived in multiple countries. Super fun!

Connie. We were the ying and yang again! It was perfect!

Last day visiting the north and it was fantastic!

We went out on the tundra buggies and rubbed Rocky (the bear mascot) for good luck as driver Dylan told us to do the last day we were there. It worked like a charm!

We view multiple bears today. One was a momma and a cub who were very much in sync together. We watched multiple boys who were either sleeping or trudging along. Two of them went to the water’s edge looking for food. We saw one stay at a spot for a long time and when he raised his head, blood was on its due. Our directors thought he was eating probably a seal because it was a red residue. We viewed another one that they had named Anne. She was laying in the sun on a rock looking quite angelic. Connie got a fabulous shot of her rolling on her back.

Ice break up was 125 days ago so these bears haven’t eaten since then. Our leaders were very careful not to agitate them. The “explore.org” buggy was around doing their live feed of the bears.

We had a fabulous trip and met some wonderful people.

Leader: Duane Collins from Newfoundland. Runs his own tour company in NFLD and does this for 2 months in the fall.

Buggy driver Dylan.

Dave and Bev Fleming from Pennsylvania. They run a winery there. Quiet and super kind couple.

George and Sally Leonhardt from Pennsylvania and Florida. We had a lot of fun teasing George.

Jeff, Diana, and Michelle Wong from HongKong, Uk and Australia. Family that has lived in multiple countries. Super fun!

Connie. We were the ying and yang again! It was perfect!

Best: soccer game on ship, staying in room with Nathan and Joe, Colesseum, cruise, Santorini, freedom of the cruise, donkeys, midnight mass at Mykonos, Delphi, being able to travel with students and parents again!

Worst: near miss with a moped, getting bumped by runner hard, kicking soccer overboard when we didn’t own it, jet lag, crowded Vatican, pools weren’t warm, couldn’t understand guide at Pompeii, continually getting lost on the ship, when the adults got lost in Athens.

Weirdest: seeing human poop on the sidewalk, having a guy try to hold my hand and dance with me, showering while ship was moving, fish nibbling at my feet, zesty guy gave someone a look over with an approving nod, zesty guy started twerking, mesmerizing ants, dance show on the ship, and getting feet nibbled on and being the street attraction with a crowd forming.

An early start as we travel to Pompeii today!

We are on the road. Stopped at a road side stop for a bathroom break and refreshments and experienced complete chaos. The store was full of about 200 students all yelling at the tops of their voices running around buying candy. We are already thankful for our wonderful Canadian kids, but now we are incredibly thankful! One man in our group commented that all of those 14 year olds must have been fed Red Bull and cigarettes for breakfast! Hahaha. Once again Yellow Grass/Milestone (and Eston) kids rock! Joe thought he witnessed six robberies in the 20 minutes we were there!

We visited the incredible site of Pompeii today. Our kids once again established their fabulous nature. Our guide was struggling with very uncooperative audio equipment and was naturally soft spoken. All of this made for a frustrating experience. Lunch consisted of a choice of pizza or spaghetti and we were serenaded with an Italian singer during our meal. Made for a giggly experience as he would come up to each table to sing in his operatic voice. After lunch, we had a chance to shop once again. These Italians really try to capitalize on the whole penis idea as you could get tshirts, bottle openers, aprons, and more. Made for more laughter as different people discovered some new swag.

Interesting last meal in Italy of an appetizer of grilled zucchini, eggplant and mozzarella cheese and then meatballs and French fries for the main course with some cake for dessert.

Tomorrow we fly to Athens!

Much slower walking day as only 9400 steps or 6.25 km.

Ciao Italy!

As we flew home, I reflected on our whirlwind tour of Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and, for some, England. Lots of memories keep flashing through my mind…

• Kacy was our sleepy girl with wild curls. She has a talent for being able to sleep on a bus very quickly. I’m thinking starting the trip on medication didn’t help, but she was a trooper. The Eiffel Tower perked her up though.

• Dean looking like he fit in perfectly in Germany. His style made him blend into the background that sometime we had to count twice before feeling secure moving to the next activity. His easy smile always greeted my worried and uneasy eyes when I miscounted. He may have not even realized that he looked like a German youth.
• Preston with his calm, relaxed gait sauntering down the streets of Paris looking as relaxed as when he walks down the hallway at school. I also loved it when he shyly told me for whom he was buying souvenirs.
• Marshall’s easy smile with his incredibly polite questions all the time. If Marshall has a tired, nasty side, I have never seen it. I have seen how fast he can move when I need to knock on his door when he is a little late. Wow. Those legs can go fast!
• Walker with his eagle eyes. He could spot people and objects we needed to see way before my older eyes could focus. He was very useful in spotting Jens and signs.
• Landon is a sweetie. There was an instance when we came out of a museum and a small child had spilled a pail of legos and toys in the parking lots. Totally voluntarily, Landon went over to help him pick up his mess.
• Andrew was very patient with his aunt when we were playing with optical illusions pictures at the Louvre. He may have been tired from the miles of walking, but was still willing to play along with the pictures.
• Mia was our quiet addition from Weyburn. I loved her happy eyes when we sang happy birthday to her! I consider her quite brave as I’m sure she had reservations about coming with us. Good for you!
• Bradie was our friendly one who was always ready to chat. I believe she was the first one of our group to reach out to our traveling mates from Quebec to get to know them. That skill will serve her well as she graduates.
• Torri loving the history lessons and her eyes shining after each new lesson. She genuinely seemed to be trying to soak in every ounce of Europe that she could.
• Taylor loved crawling around on the HMS Belfast. I loved it when she told me that it was her favourite museum. She also surprised us all by creating a poem at at John McCrea’s site of Flanders Fields. Wow!

Jordyn’s face beaming when she shyly showed her pin collection to me. She had bought a souvenir pin from certain areas. They are a beautiful collection.

Bryanna is the best packer! She had the smallest suitcase and she never complained about anything. She may have been tired, but never complained. Our London guide may have felt a little sorry for her as Bryanna had the bus-sleep-itis for that city tour.

The parents that came along, Felecia, Kathy, Pam, Donna, and Robyn, made the experience that much better as our friendships deepened with so much laughter. We weren’t called the giggling mommies for nothing.

The thirteen students are the real reason that Leah and I planned this trip. The “happy mommies” were a bonus but our “kids” are the reason that we love EF tours. We both love to travel and if we can share that affection just a little, we have completed our mission this year. We will see where 2021 takes us! Perhaps back to Europe for an eastern swing. Stay tuned 😊

Other memorable moments:

• Getting up ridiculously early to leave
• Getting into trouble with security at Canada Olympic park as our kids wanted to play in the snow and we missed the “don’t play in the snow” sign
• The naked guy protesting something in Berlin
• Horrifying stories of the Berlin Wall and what people were willing to do to get out of there
• ALL of the group pictures that we all took. I’m sure the kids were ready to strangle their technological inept parents and teachers. Use AirDrop!🙄
• Elevator buttons having E for earth or ground floor. Maybe this is true or maybe this was one of Jens’ stories. 🙄 We coined a new phrase for when he “Jens”sing us.
• The train where we almost had some adults carry on without the rest of us. 🙄
• So many funny memories, but also so many solemn ones when visiting cemeteries and war memorials and beaches. So many Canadians gave their lives so we can live the rich free lives that we do. The sacrifices made are more real when visiting these sites. Many a tear has been shed on this trip, especially seeing our young Canadian students absorb and understand the meaning. It truly was a beautiful moment.
• Windmills. Windmills. Windmills. Who knew they could be as popular as Disney World??
• The cheese and clog demonstration and Kathy being called “happy mommy woman”
• So close yet so far away from the fields of tulips
• The house that was wide as young man’s arm span (Landon and Marshall proved it)
• Our bus driver Thomas or Tomas. So interesting, so kind, and so hilarious. Telling us about his romance with his wife. 🥰
• So many beautiful poppy pins, scarves, pictures and more that were brought home
• The man who met us at Tyne Cot Cemetery as he had a connection with Audrey Wilkinson
• Dean finding the tombstone of a relative in Tyne Cot Cemetery.
• The awesome edger machine that all of the moms want to use in their yards

• The Last Post Ceremony and how inspiring it is. It is difficult to comprehend that they do it every day. Every day. Still in 2019.
• Jens and his silliness whether it be popping wheelies on a scooter, playing the Hunchback of Notre Dame, singing duddy duddy due, standing waving to us as we left and we did a circle in the parking lot. “Look kids. Big Jens!” He was a treasure to find and truly made the trip better.
• The carousel in Paris
• We saw the London Marathon running and the man who ran with Big Ben on his head before he got clocked!
• The subway in Paris. We were travellers and adapting to the situation. We did great!!
• Mind the gap. Mind your head. Mind your own business
• Way out. Way out. Way out.
• Jack the Ripper Tour where the tour guide was scarier than the content. 🙄. We were wishing Jens had come with us for that one.

• Robyn being the voice on the subway announcing stops. Jens loved it!
• Animals were everywhere. Europeans are going to think that Canadians are scared of birds as we always had someone shrieking over birds diving at us. We had a multitude of creatures with mice in the cheese farm, serpents at cemeteries, swans on the river, and, of course, momma cows, poppa cows and baby cows! (Another Jens saying)
• In total, we walked 180,000!or 130km. We should have bought new shoes in Germany
• So many more, but these were the highlight reel.

Our wake up call came at 340 and we stumbled downstairs to find a smiling Jens. It was a bittersweet departure as we have grown fond of our tour director but we also are excited to be home.

Our flight to Toronto was early and now we await our flight to Regina. See ya’ at home!

Our last day of touring! 😢

We toured London on a big coach with a new twist. The London Marathon was happening as we toured so we were manoeuvring around the blocked streets. It actually was a blessing in disguise as many things were closed due to it being Sunday and with the marathon, the streets were quite empty.

• Lion and unicorn symbol of Scotland joined with Northern Ireland joining the UK
• Drove by Hyde Park and saw some “bloke” standing on a pedestal jabbering to a group of people. We were told this happens on a weekend basis.
• Oxford Street is a mile and half long. Longest shopping street. Crosses with Regent Street. We were here shopping yesterday.
• Museums were made free to educate the public because not everyone could get to school.

After finishing our tour, we had lunch at the Tower of London and crossed the Tower Bridge where the marathoners were running. Crazy busy but so inspiring listening to the all the cheering.

We toured the HMS Belfast which was a British war ship. You could listen to the audio guide or just explore. Taylor said it was her favourite museum of the whole trip! The physical aspects of it were quite good instead of just listening or reading.

We took the tube to Covent Garden where we found just a few more treasures to squeeze into our overloaded suitcases.

Our last tour supper was a tradition fish and chips meal.

For our last activity, we went on the London Eye. It was a beautiful way to end our adventure!

Jens Koberstein was our tour director. He was fabulous!

Our wake up call is to come at 340 AM tomorrow. We should be in Regina about 330 pm. Good night!

Good bye to Leah’s group as they departed early!

We traveled to the train station this morning in pouring rains. The Eurostar took us from Paris into London in about 2.5 hours. It was a pretty quiet trip as we all caught a little nap. Upon arriving, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Westminster Abbey. After being amazed by the poppies around the tomb of the unknown soldier and of the nameplates for Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking and Isaac Newton, Jens took us for a walking tour of Downing Atreet, Trafalgar Square and down to Piccadilly Circus for a little shopping.

Our tour director, Jens Koberstein, has made this trip incredibly memorable. His professionalism for his job is very evident as he is always organized and efficient, but his true strength comes from his personality. We have got to know him fairly well and we have achieved a comfortable balance where we can tell when he is full of BS. 🙄 he enjoyed teasing the kids and acting silly by pantomiming that he was the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is a truly a treat to have as a tour director as he is so fun.

A delicious meal of chicken pot pie and mashed potatoes rivalled the lasagna and beef meal from earlier this week.

We enjoyed a Jack the Ripper tour tonight. Whoever did the crimes was a gruesome, sick person.

We took a double decker bus back to our new and last hotel of this tour. The bed will feel good tonight. We had another adventure getting to the right train. Jens told us that our sprint across the train station was “spectacular”! We may be a little delirious with tiredness at this point. Our train ride is long to the hotel. Robyn became the new voice for train announcing each station.

Overall, a great day but we are missing our travel mates from YG who we hear have arrived safely in Calgary.

Over 25000 steps today or 17km.