Welcome Comets!

It's official - a group of students from Grand Ledge High School has joined our tour group. Here's a quick run-through of some key tour info, so everyone is on the same page:

The Blog: Bookmark this site, and check it weekly for updates and new info. All valid e-mails submitted to EF will be alerted any time the blog is updated. Use the links under Tour Related Info for more information. Check the archives and use the search bar at the top of the page to find answers to your questions.

Tentative departure date: July 11 (This is 95% locked in - it will be set in stone 99 days prior to departure)

Passports: get these ASAP, if you haven't already. 15-year-olds should wait if they'll turn 16 prior to Feb. 1, because 16-year-olds get an adult (10-year) passport. Be certain that the name on your passport matches the name on the EF Invoice exactly. This is a requirement for departure.

Meetings: held monthly in Mr. Van Hof's room during PRIDE (that's a wacky DeWitt High School class, Comets). All meeting content will be posted on the blog. The meetings focus on answereing any pressing questions and on one city we'll be visiting, so Grand Ledge kids might want to search the archives for info on Rome, Vatican City, Pisa and Florence. The January meeting will focus on Genoa and Assisi

Parent Meetings: Two whole-group parent and student meetings will be held. One in March/April, one in May/June. These will probably be in the evening at DeWitt High School.

Billing: EF handles all billing. I can answer any question you have, but you might find your answers at the EF Tours website

Finances: The U.S. dollar is weakening vs the Euro, so you might want to increase your planned spending cash a bit. Use the currency converter at the bottom of the page to see what your dollars will turn into overseas. Some small changes in the tour price may still happen, but are not likely. All prices will be locked in 99 days before departure.

Dec. 19 meeting re-cap

Thanks to all who came to the PRIDE meeting today - hopefully you found some of the info useful. If you missed the meeting, we discussed hotels, spending money, Florence and the departure date.

As promised, here are some links to useful sites - look to the left to find more links in the Tour Related Info section.

Currency:

I've put a currency conversion calculator on this page. Scroll all the way to the bottom to find it.

The rules for purchasing or exchanging foreign currency vary from bank-to-bank, so you'll have to have you parents look a little into this. I know that MSU Federal Credit Union will sell foreign currency with a few days notice, but there is a fee.

Generally speaking, the easiest approach for overseas spending is to use an ATM card that is linked to a checking account - I'll make this the main topic of an upcoming meeting, because there is a lot to know about this.

The cruise:
I think that this is the cruise company that will take us from Genoa to Barcelona. More to follow on this.

Passports:
Be sure that you get your application for a passport taken care of ASAP. You will need to bring this to a meeting in March.

Videos:
This is an ok tourist-created video that gives some pretty good views of what we'll see in Florence.

Packing Checklist Site

This site was rated one of the top ten in Time Magazine this year. It allows you to create a personalized travel packing list. It also has links to other helpful sites, can send travel related email tips, and the lists are printable. Enjoy.

Next Meeting

Our next travel meeting will be Wednesday, December 19 during PRIDE. We will discuss Florence and any other topics travelers bring up.

The History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Here's some background info on the Tower of Pisa. Remember, we'll be traveling to Pisa for a day excursion.

Top Ten Sites in Florence

Here's a nice site with brief descriptions and links to some of the major sites in Florence.

November Meeting Recap

On Friday, November 16 our group of travelers met to focus on two things:

1) Due to a clarification of district fundraising policies, our tour group cannot organize fund-raisers as originally planned. The district policy states that our group cannot collect monies made payable to the school district therefore no money would end up being dispersed to the travelers. This means fund-raisers such as the Max and Erma's dinner night are not permissible per policy. Mr. Van Hof, as a district employee, cannot participate in fund-raising organizing and class time (including PRIDE) cannot be devoted to it. All fundraising efforts must be conducted by the students outside the domain of DeWitt High School. Checks must be made out to individual students (donations are not tax deductible) and not the school. This information was not known until last month's DeWitt High staff meeting. The information was shared with the students today after getting clarification from administration. Mr. Van Hof apologizes for any inconvenience.

2) On a lighter note, all students enrolled by December 14 and current on payments are entered in an EF raffle. If any of the 27 students in our group win the raffle, each traveler will get $500 off the price of the trip. For information on your account status, go to the EF tours home page. Our tour number is 950491 and your account number can be found on your billing statements. Your password is the traveler's birthday. For inquiries on account numbers, account status or for any other questions, you can email Mr. Van Hof at jvanhof@gmail.com.

20 Things I Encountered in Rome - 101 Cookbooks

What a great posting here! If you're not excited to see Rome after reading this, then you've signed up for the wrong trip.

Meeting update

We had a successful meeting on Friday, October 5. If you weren't able to make it feel free to see Mr. Van Hof for the information we covered. We discussed Rome and the exciting sites we'll visit there. The group also decided to go ahead with a Max & Erma's fund-raiser. The coordinator from the restaurant has contacted us and we'll be submitting all the required information within the week. Hopefully, the event will be scheduled for November or December. We can organize all the details at our next meeting.

Rome

Check out this site for information on the things to see and do in Rome. Most of the trip is scheduled with our guide but it still helps to know the background info on what you'll see. In addition, there is usually the possibility of some free time in the city. If you think about it before we leave, plans during the trip will be made easier and quicker.

Trip Meeting

There will a trip meeting for travelers this Friday, October 5 during PRIDE. Please plan to attend. We will discuss fundraising and what to expect in the city of Rome. Please feel free to invite those that may still be interested in the trip but haven't signed up yet - we still have room. See you then.

Just for fun!

Here's a fun site to look through for some neat stuff you might think about for the trip.

Where's my passport?

Here's another reason to get moving on the passport application process sooner rather than later. remember, passports are available at the post office for a total of $97.

Where's my passport?

Basic student travel tips

Check out this site for some basic travel tips. We'll cover a lot more on this topic once the trip gets closer.

Top 10 local hangouts in Barcelona | Travel | Guardian Unlimited

Here's a great little article to whet your appetite for Barcelona. Once you've read it, you might want to scan the page for some other useful travel links, too.

Top 10 local hangouts in Barcelona Travel Guardian Unlimited

Apply for your passport soon

The U.S. Department of State is getting hit with huge amounts of passport applications due to a new federal law that is in effect. The meaning of this for you is that it is never too late to apply for a passport. Usually it takes 8 weeks for it to get processed, but that may get extended due to the huge number of applicants currently. Plus, I'd would assume that with the high volume the State Dept. is seeing right now, the chance for clerical errors is higher, which could derail applications entirely.

I avoided a near passport disaster on my last trip by only a day. One traveler kept putting off the application process, and when he finally applied, the form was completed incorrectly, so he had to re-submit. By that time the departure was nearing, so he had to pay an extra $45 or so to get the expedited service. His application kept moving slowly, and I had to make at least 10 calls to the State Department to make sure it moved quickly enough. (I talked to everyone short of Condi Rice just to get this kid on our plane.) With two days before departure, we got word that his passport was in Chicago. He had to choose between making a round-trip to the windy city to pick it up, or pay $18 to have it Fed-Exed overnight. He coughed up the cash, and his passport arrived 20 hours before we left the country.

The point is, apply for your passport soon. It's not the quickest process, but it's a must for this trip.

Travelers Enrolled!

The informational meeting on February 28 went very well. I'm excited to announce that we already have 3 travelers officially enrolled and many more interested in enrolling soon. Please remember that you can register via the paper application and a check or online with a credit card.

Welcome!

Welcome to the official Italy and Spain travel blog for DeWitt High School. The blog will be updated monthly until 2008, when I'll post more regularly. Once we're overseas, I'll post every night, and the travelers will have a chance to do so as well. Come back often!