So I’m supposed to be shy, introverted rad. I sit in the corner at parties, I struggle to make eye contact, I’m even scared to make a phone call.
But sometimes I do something wild on whim.
And that’s how I ended up on a solo coach trip around Europe with a tent.
When I was 20, I took a job in Middlesbrough. It was a ‘placement year’ from university. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a year in the middle of university where you work for a bit in order to try and pay off some of your student debt. I used to earn £160 per week, and it still felt like the most money I’d ever had!
Because I had almost no expenses, I was able to save a bit – I think I saved nearly £1000, maybe less, and I bought my ‘Eurolines Pass’ 30 day ticket for £149.
In hindsight this was crazy, it was me and a rucksack with a tiny tent and sleeping bag in it. But off I went.
Did I mention that most of the coaches were overnight, so I ‘saved’ money by no having to buy accommodation, but it also meant that I saw less than I thought I would because I was so sleepy.
I seem to remember I spent the first few days in Bordeaux, in a campsite near the beach. From there I headed north to Amsterdam, I think, and then on into Scandinavia where I went to Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Stockholm.
Then I randomly returned to the UK, to refresh myself, I think I had been a bit unwell. Not a surprise. But to finish off in style, I took a 24 hour coach trip from London to Prague, stayed for a couple, of days and came back.
However, for the life of me I can’t remember much about these places. The standard trick was to take a double decker bus tour of the city, because it did the touristing for me, and because I needed to make more buses. I also remember that I’d never really been to Mac Donald before, so It’s definitely how I learnt to eat chicken Mc nuggets,