A gondola ride in Venice?

Have you dreamt of riding a gondola through the waterways of Venice? Dream no more....we will have the opportunity to travel as Venetians do!  Watch this short video on what to expect on a gondola ride.  it promises to be a real treat!

its official!

We have official trip approval as of today!  Sleep will be good tonight!  I cannot tell you how many nights I've spent thinking about the paperwork...did I do this, did I write that...what about this, what about that?
 The journey has been long..the trip is nearing, and the excitement is building!  25 days until we are jet set for Zurich!
 How many girls at age 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17, can say that they are going on a 3 week holiday to Europe to visit 4 countries, visit two world centres, go inside the gates of Buckingham Palace in the year of the Diamond Jubilee, be in a city that is hosting the Olympics one week before the official event, gone to the top of Mt. Pilatus, yodelled on a stage, found treasures like the Mona Lisa  and done service hours for highschool in a foreign country?  Not many is my guess.  Write those buckets lists, and get ready to check them off as we encounter foreign lands, amazing people, breath taking scenery and the Journy of a Lifetim.

31 Days and counting!

We got our hotels today, check them out online, they look awesome!  I am particularly looking forward to the one in Lucerne, it looks so quaint! 
So, a thought, lets take a song we like, and rewrite it with our own words about our trip! That could be fun!
We are definitely going to shoot a music video in London "Payphone", I have a great idea for it!  We are going to have a blast....let the countdown resume...if June flies by as fast as April and May did, we'll be writing our post trip blogging sooner than we think.

Here are some links to our hotels.
http://www.hoteltell.ch/
http://www.hotelm14.it/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=147&lang=enhttp://www.piccadillyhotel.com/
http://www.busby-hotel.com/en/index.htm
http://www.simplyhotelsfrance.com/en/s06_catalogue/s06p04_fiche_hotel.php?hotel=30

Remember that hotels in Europe are very different from those that you are probably used to, but it looks like EF tours has made some fabulous selections for us!

See you girls on Sunday for our meeting, and Parents and Girls on Tuesday.

Itinerary

Itinerary for 1^st Europe 2012 Independent International Trip

Itinerary A (21Travelers)
	Date	Time	City(Airport)	Flight / Transportation

Depart
	7/1/2012 7/1/2012	5:15 PM 7:09 PM	Thunder Bay Toronto (Pearson), ON	Air Canada Flight # 8540
	7/1/2012 7/2/2012	9:05 PM 10:45 AM	Toronto (Pearson), ON Zurich	Air Canada Flight # 878

Return
	7/22/2012 7/22/2012	3:00 PM 5:55 PM	London (Heathrow) Toronto (Pearson), ON	Air Canada Flight # 849
	7/22/2012 7/22/2012	8:10 PM 10:15 PM	Toronto (Pearson), ON Thunder Bay	Air Canada Flight # 8545

Transfer via Motor Coach Zurich to Lucerne July 2, 2012 accompanied by EF tour director

Day	Place	Events
Mon. July 2	Lucerne	Discover Lucerne
Tues. July 3	Aldebolden	Our Chalet Day Excursion
Wed. July 4	Lucerne Region	Sightseeing, Mount Pilatus and Swiss Folklore Festival
Thurs. July 5	Lucerne to Venice	Travel through Verona, see Juliet’s statue and balcony as well as Roman Arena
Fri. July 6	Venice	GuidedeSightseeing, Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s , Grand Canal
Sat. July 7	Venice to Rome	Travel via Motor coach to Rome
Sun. July 8	Rome	Vatican City, Guided Sightseeing in Rome Walking tour of Rome
Mon. July 9	Rome to Florence	Guided Sightseeing Tour of Florence
Tues. July 10	Florence to French Riviera	Transfer via Piza, see the Leaning Tower of Pisa arrive on French Riviera
Wed. July 11	French Riviera	Excursion to Monaco, Eze perfume factory, tour of Nice
Thurs. July 12	French Riviera to Paris	TGV to Paris- walking tour of Paris, Notre Dame Cahtedral
Fri. July 13	Paris	Guided Sightseeing of Paris
Sat. July 14	Paris to London (Pax Lodge)	Eurstar to London 11:43 a.m. Arrive London, transfer to Pax Lodge via tube, relax at Pax and discover the Hampstead area
Sun. July 15	London (Pax Lodge)	Cambden Market 3:00 pm welcome to Journey Through London program Bus tour around London, London Eye at Night
Mon. July 16	London (Pax Lodge)	Girl Effect Session Get to know London GGCUK, buckingham Palace, Green Park, Mall, Trafalgar Square, Olympic Sights Evening Programme
Tues. July 17	London (Pax Lodge)	Challenge across London London Eye, Dinner out Theatre
Wed. July 18	London (Pax Lodge)	Tower of London Walking Tour Convent Garden Market
Thurs. July 19	London (Pax Lodge)	Service Project Patrol Time Celebrations BBQ
Friday July 20	London (Pax Lodge)	Natural History Museum/British National Museum National Art Gallery Kensington Park Shopping
Sat. July 21	London (Pax Lodge)	Private motor Coach pick up 9:00 a.m. Windsor Castle., Stonehenge and Bath
Sun. July 22	Depart for home	London-Toronto Toronto-Thunder Bay

EF tour meeting on Wednesday

Time is flying and we are completing the final plans for the trip. The London itinerary is almost set, Stonehenge bus tour is booked, eurostar tickets bought, walking tour booked...now just a few more plans for the free time and days....there will be shopping, museums and art galleries! I am so excited!

Don't forget, this Wednesday we will be meeting at Chapters in the community room at 6:30 with a rep from EF tours, plan to come with questions! She will havetheanswers and lots of info!

See you then.

Switzerland and Italy...as seen through students eyes

Meetings, meetings and more meetings!

Hey everyone, we will be meeting on Monday March 26 th location to be announced. this is a meeting for parents and girls, we will be going over some details of what is coming up. I will have Michelle bring her schedule and we will make sure everyone gets some selling time.

I would like to have two more girl meetings between now and June and we have booked June 5th for the final parent/girl meeting. I will book Sherbrooke school for that night. I will email everyone the forms that need to be printed and filled out for Kevin to motorized for us. Come with your forms filled out and passports in hand.

Time is tickin....excitement building.