Lost Luggage--Found

Well, after a stressful day of dealing with the lovely people at United in Des Moines, all our luggage showed up by 9:30 p.m. I talked with some lovely ladies on the United 800 number who helped me arrange delivery. Then, got frustrated with the nasty people in Des Moines who were NO help and couldn't give me any answers, just gave me attitude. Had to talk with the supervisor at the 800 # and he was NO help. Ended up driving to the Moline airport to pick up our luggage, just as the Riverside kids were having their delivered. Such stress, for stupid reasons... not a big fan of the United DM agents.

I think we're all adjusting back to reality, slowly but surely. Glad we brought the awesome weather home with us!! The kids wrote some very sweet things in my journal - such fun memories to go back & read. Am currenly uploading pics - will put some on here as well.

Thanks to those who faithfully followed and read my blog!! Am off to Houston for a conference on Sunday and then to Denver the next week. Next big overseas adventure will be in September to Paris.

Hope you enjoy your summer!!

Toodles for now ~ steph :)

Home Sweet Home

Well, we made it... it's been over 24 hrs since we awoke in Shannon, Ireland until we put ourselves to bed in Iowa and what an adventure it's been getting here.

Our hotel was literally in the parking lot of the airport, so we just wheeled our luggage over, in the spitting rain. We have been SO extremely blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather for the past 13 days, so once the spitting started, we left the country. In the Shannon airport, they checked us in in groups of 5 (important for later), got thru security no problemas. Met some lovely people from Maquoketa, IA, as well as Waterloo, IA... such a small world. Had about 3 hrs in London, which is where we said our good-byes to the other 3 groups. Grabbed some lunch and once our gate was posted, headed to our gate.

Since we checked in on Aer Lingus (who gave us boarding passes all the way to DM), United decided that we needed new boarding passes. So, off to the service counter we go, they enter in our luggage tracking #'s and give us our 2 new boarding passes and off we go. Flight from London to Denver is delayed leaving - weather issues in Denver, but eventually we take off on our 9+ hr flight...

We got to watch 4 movies - I watched Last Chance Harvey, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Paul Blart: Mall Cop and most of The International. Got to do some loopty-loops over Nebraska cuz of weather and trying to avoid it... oh joy!! But made it safe & sound.

All the luggage showed. Went thru immigration and rechecked our bags. Viola! After a potty break, stood in the HUGE security line at Denver and off to our gate we went. Our 3 hr lay-over turned into about an hour... not too bad.. enough time for a drink/snack and back on our 3rd plane of the day. Most of us zzzz'd during the last flight, otherwise was a nice flight.

Made it to DM safe & sound and headed to baggage... to NOT find our luggage.... yes, ladies & gents, none of our 12 pieces of luggage made it!!! So, over to the United counter we go to the extremely rude lady who, since we checked in together (refer to above), we don't know which tag belongs to which person to have it shipped to either Omaha or Moline.... GRRRRRR!! So, am basically told I could have them all shipped to one locale and I have to pick them up and decide to have them go to DM.... so, I'll be back in the car to DM tomorrow since the next Denver flight gets in at 1 p.m. Happy?!?! Elated.... Fortunately, Mary is coming to meet me in DM and take the Riverside kids their luggage so I don't have to drive all the way over there and then back.

So, get the car from the Holiday Inn - say good-bye to all my good friends and off we go east whilst the others go West. About 1/2 way home, I run over a dead deer in the road - there were lots of guts from other deers previously, but this one was pretty intact. Pull over, pop side bumper back in and we're in business. Thank God for Jenna who stayed awake the entire way and kept me awake (mwah!!). Drop off Sanjana and then Jenna, whose lights were on and I can see deer fur hanging from the bottom of my car... oh joy....

So, yes am glad to be home... wish we had luggage, but if it's just delayed, no problema. Glad I have new clothes here so I can change out of mine that I've worn for a while. Think my bed will feel good tonight... turned on the A/C (apparently it's been hot here) and apt is cooling down nicely.

Will report tomorrow on luggage status, but it's bitter sweet being home.
Buenas noches - I'm exhausted!!
~steph :)

Sweetest kids :)

So, at dinner tonight, we did some reminiscing about our trip... best hotel... best dinner... best place in London... best city in Ireland... coolest souvenir they bought... etc... Was great to hear the variety of answers - everyone had something awesome & different they liked yet they all experienced the same thing.

Once done with that, one of my travelers, jenna, gets up and presents me with an England flag signed by all the kids with little messages written on it. It will be one of the coolest souvenirs I have ever received and was honored that they enjoyed their trip so much to do that for me... flattered and semi-speechless. Parents, you should be proud of your kids... they done good. :) I am the lucky one to have had the priviledge of taking them around these amazing countries and showing them a piece of the world that I hope they'll be able to get back to see some day. They have many stories to tell - be prepared!!

See you late tomorrow night!!
~steph :)

Last day.... :(

Well, here we are... our last day in the UK and Ireland. When we look back on what we've done in the short time we've been gone, we are absolutely amazed. London feels like forever ago, but when we look back at our pics, many smiles appear on our faces!!

Today we did a short bus tour around the Connemara region & saw a marble factory. We then had about 4 hrs of free time in Galway. So after lunch at O'Briens sandwhich shop, we wandered the streets, did some shopping, and chilled out around the river whilst eating ice cream.

Our day ended here at the Park Inn, right next to the Shannon airport. We are currently awaiting dinner and then need to finish packing for tomorrow's long journey. Our flight is out at 8:30 a.m. but we'll be there by 6... oh joy... thus starting our LONG day to get home.

We fly from Shannon to London - 2 hr layover - London to Denver on a 10 hr flight - 3-4 hrs in Denver and then Denver to Des Moines, arriving there at 10:30 pm... then we have to drive home... oh joy!!! :(

Although we are excited to go home - back to our own beds, real showers, milk, our pets, ICE, air conditioning/ventilation, peanut butter, wide roads, processed foods/corn syrup (although I like the real sugar best!!), different clothes to wear, cheap food, the dollar, our families & friends, driving on the right side of the road.... and many more things we'll laugh about at dinner tonight... we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and are sad to leave. We have OODLES of pics to show off - just you wait!!

Erin go bragh - see you all soon!!
Hugs -- steph :)

Wednesday

Just a quick note about yesterday - I have 1 min. 30 sec on my timer... yikes!
Yesterday was another gorgeous day in Ireland... sun a-shining... castles to hike around... beautiful landscape to enjoy... singing on the bus... good times!!!
Today is our last official tour day in Ireland... sob sob sniff sniff... We're off to explore the Connemara region and tour Galway.
Leaving early manana...

Ring of Kerry

What a beautiful day today!! The weather was absolutely gorgeous - barely a cloud in the sky! Not hot & humid - little breeze coming off the lakes...sigh...

Anyways... today we did the Ring of Kerry tour. Before heading out on the bus, we got in jaunting cars and went around the lakes of Kilarney. Jaunting cars are buggies pulled by horses. Our horse was Tim and our driver was Jim (not real talkative). Went thru Kilarney National Park - saw the castles and the lakes - even saw some deer (cue the deer...). After that hour tour, we jumped on the bus and started the Ring.

1st stop was the bog village - like Pioneer village/Living History Farms. We stopped for some photo stops along the way. Another stop was to see sheep herding. Another stop was where Charlie Chaplin had a summer home, etc...

It was a day mainly on the bus, with a stop here and there every hour or so.
The scenery was AMAZING!! So green - one kid even commented at the end that they were sick of the green... but not sure how that's possible. We got to see the Atlantic Ocean but didn't spot any of the dolphins or whales that lurk in the waters.

We all survived without any barfing - yippee!! That's quite a feat since our driver said on his last run, he had 11 sickies...uck!! I 'drugged' some of the kids so they slept during part of the trip, but at least they weren't sick and won't be for the rest of the week...that's the important part, right?!?!

Anywho... we're off to dinner down the street.
Tomorrow we're off to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher - more awesome scenery!!

Erin go bragh!
~steph :)

Blarney & Killarney

Kids have said this was one of their favorite days. Think it's because we've left all the big cities and are out in the gorgeous greeness that Ireland is famous for!

Our 1st stop was at the Rock of Cashel - a big, huge rock with a cathedral on it. Kids got to climb around on the rock around it and do some exploring of the little village.

Next up was the Blarney Castle. If you kiss the stone, you are said to receive the gift of gab. So, we all hiked up the 120+ steps, sat down, grabbed the guard rails, leaned back & downwards and kissed the stone. Wandered thru the castle a bit and headed for lunch. Took the cheat route for lunch and headed to the grocery store and sat and had a picnic in the park. Did a little shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills which has a bit of everything in it. I think everyone is just about done with souveneir shopping...YEAH!!!

A couple hours later thru some stunning scenery and we arrived at our hotel. It's quaint - think we have almost the whole place to ourselves. Walked into center city after dinner (5 min) and just wandered the streets with the locals.

Early to bed so we can be ready for our day tomorrow - the Ring of Kerry. In the morning, we jumping into jaunting cars - horse & buggy - and heading out along the lakes of Killarney. Then we'll get on the bus and away we go around the Ring.

Weather was a bit warm today - supposed to be beautiful tomorrow. Heard it's hot & humid at home...ugh.. not looking forward to that, so I guess we'll enjoy the lovely Irish weather while we're here.

Erin go bragh!
~steph :)

Dublin

Today was our tour day of Dublin. Our guide, Reny, met us near Trinity College and showed us her town. We went into St. Patrick's Cathedral, saw Christ Church, saw Grafton St. & Temple Bar area, Phoenix park and then ended back at Trinity for a tour of the Book of Kells. Weather was spitty this morning, but turned into quite a lovely day.
Unfortunately, we had a sicky today, so while the rest of the group ate lunch at Hard Rock, I ran Sanjana back to the hotel so she could get a nap & some Sprite before dinner and our Irish music show tonight. Met back up with the group - walked around Temple bar area and then caught a bus to the Guinness storehouse. Took a tour of the storehouse and ended up in the Gravity bar with it's 360 degree view of all of Dublin - awesome!!
While I went back to the hotel to get S, the rest did some shopping on Grafton Street and hit an internet cafe. Dinner was lovely and then we all went out to an Irish music night with traditional singing and dancing... and a comedian to top it all off!!!
Kids are having a great time... getting along splendidly together... spending a little too much dinero maybe... gotta work on getting up on time ... have 5 more days to go... it's all good!!

Tomorrow we're off fairly early to hit the Rock of Cashel and then Blarney to kiss the Blarney Stone.

Erin go bragh!!
~steph :)

Wales & Dublin

We are currently in Dublin, or a suburb of it at least. Yesterday we toured Oxford & Stratford-upon-Avon and Anne Hathaway's cottage... got our fill of Shakespeare, that's for sure!! Last night we stayed in Wales in a quaint little village of Llangollen. Woke up this morning to some spitting rain, but at least it did it while we were on the bus.

Drove thru Snowdonia National Park on our way to Holyhead port to catch a ferry across to Dublin. One of our morning pit stops was at Beaumaris castle - old, never finished - kids loved climbing all over it.

The Ferry across the Irish Sea took 3+ hrs with no one getting sick. Arrived out in our hotel about 45 min. later and had dinner.

Best part of the day was our evening activity: seeing the new Transformers movie!! Yes, numero dos is out here - premiered in London & Dublin yesterday and we caught the 8:45 show tonight here.... a couple chose not to go, but those of us who did LOVED it!! OMG... so much action & excitement - hope they'll be able to sleep tonight.

Forgot to mention this, but on our last day in London, while we were waiting to go to dinner, there was a semi-trailer parked in Leicester Square for the new Harry Potter movie. No, it's not out here, but they were running some promotion and you needed a ticket to get it.... except my sweet-talking kids talked their way into the trailer. Got to see the clothes worn in the movie and got their pics taken in Dumbledore's chair!! They were SOOOO excited!!! Pretty much made their day!!

So, needless to say, they are having a good time!! We celebrated Jenna's bday in style yesterday - had cake and sang to her last night for dinner - good times!

Tomorrow is our touring day of Dublin in the a.m. and then some free time before we go to the Irish music night. Monday we'll head out of Dublin and go kiss the Blarney stone, giving us all the gift of gab.

Erin go bragh!!
~steph :)

Good-bye London

Well, it's our last night in London and we are sad to say good-bye, but excited with what the next week has in store for us.

Here's a recap of our last 2 days:
Yesterday, Wednesday, was our last free morning until the other groups showed up. So, got up bright & early and headed into St. Paul's Cathedral. Was a contrast to Westminster and most said they liked it better. Saw the American memorial for those killed in WWII. Went into the crypt down below...All but 2 of us braved the 400+ stairs to the Whispering Gallery and to the Dome...got a nice little buns-of-steel workout, but was worth it for the birds eye view of London. Back onto the Tube we went and headed to Wimbledon!!! No, not for the tourney - that starts next week - we just wanted to do the tour & museum...but since the tourney is next week, the had suspended tours...grr.. but some of us went into the museum, which was pretty cool! We did get to see some of the outsides of the stadiums.. guess we missed Rafa warming up the day before and Martina Navritalova dedicating something in the museum...grr... But, the kids liked getting out of the hustle & bustle of the city to see where the "commoners" live. Back to the city we went - grabbed lunch in Leicester Sq while we waited for the other groups. If you've seen the news, Leiscester Sq was were the new Bruno moved premiered... saw them setting it up.
Went off on a walking tour - sprinkled some. Walked to some new places we had never been. Got some more shopping done - went to Harrods. Huge, quite overwhelming, but a must-see.
After dinner at Ye Olde Cock Tavern (giggle), we headed out to see Kensington Palace and back home we went....whew!!!

Today was our official city tour - had a local guide, Stuart - was AMAZING!!! Really could relate to our audience - fantastic!! Did a bus tour of the city - saw the changing of the guard and some places we'd already seen, but was good for the kids - filled in the gaps of questions the kids had. Headed out to Windsor - grabbed lunch - and toured the castle, where the Queen was in residence!!! Saw where the fired started and how they saved most of the furnishings, even the floor boards (they flipped them over!!). Saw the chapel where the Queen Mum is buried, as well as Henry VIII. Back to the city - Picadilly Circus - little shopping and then dinner of chinese. After dinner, we checked off the last thing on our London "bucket list."... the London Eye. Got a whole capsule for ourselves and off we went. Takes 30-35 min. to go around...fun!!! After some ice cream, we went back to the hotel the same way we first came in on Monday... have come full circle.

Tomorrow we're off to Oxford, Stratford, Anne Hathaway's cottage and an overnight in Wales. Saturday we're jumping across to Dublin.
Kids are loving it - so are the adults!! They've learned so much and have taken oodles of pics. We've spent a "little" money, but are hoping for cheaper things outside of London. The kids are now experts of the Tube - it's amazing to watch their transformation.

We came, we saw, we conquered....

almost forgot...

We were coming home on the DLR (docklands light rail) and who gets off the train as we get on but the FRENCH KIDS!!! Such a small world !! They are doing a London/Paris tour - got in the same day we did but are at a different hotel.
Got to shout hellos as the doors closed, but was a nice little surprise!!!

London, Baby!!

Here we are in London... and it's been amazing... and we still have 2 days to go!!
Survived all our flights, layover and got all our luggage - even arrived early, if you can believe that!! Once we dumped our stuff at the hotel, we were off. To give you a preview, we walked almost 8 miles on Monday!!

We tubed it up to Westminster, saw Big Ben (no canisters of chocolate milk, Jack!), Westminster, then headed down Whitehall - saw #10 Downing Street, caught the Horse Guards coming out for their morning routine, saw Trafalgar Sqaure & played with the lions, walked the Mall to Buckingham, saw the Horse Guard heading to their palace, ate lunch at Hard Rock, walked thru Hyde Park, tubed it to Madame Tussauds, out to the hotel to finally check in and then back for dinner near the Tower of London.... exhausted?!!? You should be - we sure were, but it was all worth it - what an amazing 1st day! Kids were sound asleep by 10... me too!!

Ready for Day 2?!? Tube to the Tower of London - kids were fascinated by this place - got into the Henry the VII exhibit for free, saw his armour, saw the crown jewels, saw where Anne Boleyn was beheaded and then wandered around by the Tower Bridge. Kids soaked up every minute of it... it was awesome! Grabbed lunch at Subway and caught a boat up the Thames that explained all the amazing buildings. Hopped off at Westminster and went into the Abbey. Found out the audio guides were free, so we spent almost an hour there - kids loved it!! Came back to our hotel (out in the Docklands area) to drop off pkgs and change. Headed to see Platform 9 3/4 - Harry Potter fans be jealous!! Then did some shopping on Oxford Street. Met our guide, Ceire, and went for dinner of bangers & mash. Caught a quick tube and saw Wicked - it was AWESOME!!!! So cool to see on the stage... and in London, no less.

The kids are becoming experts on finding their way around the tube - good problems solvers. The weather has been great - it poured on us coming home for dinner on Monday, but today it was sunny and not real cloudy - perfect!!! Only walked 5+ miles today.

We're all really enjoying being a small group and navigating around that way...the other 3 groups show up tomorrow. So, Wednesday's agenda is as follows: St. Pauls cathedral, Wimbledon, maybe lunch at the Sherlock Holmes pub... walking tour/meet other groups around Picadilly Circus, Leiscester Square, Free time to see Kensington and shop at Harrods, then dinner of fish-n-chips at Ye Olde Cock Tavern.

We are having a blast - kids are loving it and are so engaged in what they are seeing - it's great!! Only have a few more things on our London "bucket list" to check off
Thought I'd share some thoughts - hope all is well back home!
Will try to update tomorrow - thanks to Jenna, I'm using her laptop!!
Toodles ~ steph :)

England, Ireland, Wales 2009

Well, here I go again!! It's June - time to get out of the country!! Destination this time?? England,Ireland,Wales for 13 days. I have 7 students and 4 adults going along. We are paired up with 3 other groups - Texas, Nevada, & Montana, for a total of 45. Our guide, Ceire, is Irish, from the western town of Galway. Our tour official starts on Wed, but we are arriving on Monday to spend 2 extra free days in London and have quite the agenda once we get there! But first, we have to get there! Our flight out of Des Moines on Sunday departs at 6:30 a.m., so we're going up this afternoon, staying at the hotel across the street so we're not driving at 2 a.m... ugh. We're routed via Denver-D.C.-London. Coming home is similar - Shannon-London-Denver-Des Moines. Luckily, we get in at 6 a.m., so we've packed as much into our free days as possible - Hard Rock, Kensington, Madame Tussauds, Westminster, St. Paul's, London Eye, Wimbledon tour, Wicked theatre production, etc.. good stuff!!

Our tour includes: London, Windsor, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Wales, ferry to Dublin, tour of Dublin, Blarney, Cork, Ring of Kerry, Galway, the Burren & Cliffs of Moher.

I posted a pic of our tshirts this year - they are flourescent green (or limey green) and the expression in Gaelic basically translates to "It's nice to have company on the journey." Thought that was fitting - life & travel are nice when you have people to share the memories with.

May our pockets be heavy
Our hearts be light
And may good luck pursue us
Each morning & night

Will try to post more as we go!!
Erin go Bragh ~ steph :)

Home Sweet Home

Sadly, my time has come. A return to reality. Every time I'm in an airport it's either to embark on a new adventure, or to return to life as I know it. Was VERY lucky when I caught the metro/RER this morning since there wasn't any rush-hour craziness. Caught all my trains out to the airport - took me 75 minutes to get out. Had a couple scams going on the trains. These two moms, separate trains, both brought their kids along, put a little note on the seat opposite me. It was in French, so I had no idea what it said, but could deduce that they wanted money. Sadly you just have to ignore those people and not encourage them. On the train to the airport was a saxophone player who was good, but his first song was Tequila from PeeWee Herman's Playhouse - not a good opener, buddy! Got checked in real fast and then let the waiting begin. Seems like travel is a bunch of hurry-up-and-wait time.
Flight was NOT full at all - took the very last seat so no one was behind me and no one in front of me. Movies were lame: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants & Water Horse. Flight home was 9+ hrs, but since we left Paris early (miracle!), we had to do a u-turn once we hit Lake Michigan and stall until we got a landing time.
Then, so more hurry-up-and-wait time in Chicago after transfering terminals. Of course the Moline flight was delayed - had to de-ice the plane. Kind of an important thing to do, so I guess I can wait a few more minutos.
Boy is it cold back home! You know it's cold out when you can see your breath on the gangplank to the airplane.
But, yes, I am home safe & sound, luggage and everything. Car started right up - yeah! Didn't sleep on the big flight over - am semi-tired now, but should be since my body should think it's 5:50 a.m..... yikes!!
It was an amazing journey filled with such great places and sites, but more importantly it's the people who make your journey worthwhile. My presentation, from what I'm told, went extremely well and hopefully I've had a positive impact on another GL who will be able to impact their kids positively and share the world with them.
Thanks for all you prayers and comments on this whirlwind of a week....now it's back to reality... and a bunch of papers on my desk!!
Au revoir!!

Pere Lachaise

So, when you last heard from me, I was on my way out to Pere Lachaise, a cemetary with lots of famous people, like Marcel Marceau, Chopin, Pissarro, Rothschild, Seurat, Oscar Wilde and even Jim Morrison from the doors. It's not a cemetery like we know, it's a bunch of crypts built up - so ornate...quite impressive... yet a tad spooky. Didn't think it was wise that the single girl was wandering the cemetery alone on a cloudy day, especially after all the run-ins at the Eiffel Tower. Plus, this guy/kid popped up behind me as I was looking at the map and creeped me out. So, decided to make quick work. Would find just a couple "big namers" and then get out of dodge. I found Chopin on my way to Jim Morrison's. Had a little trouble finding his - there were a couple of creepy guys in the vicinity that kept appearing & reappearing. But, once I turned the corner and saw a couple of people a row or two back, and then saw a guard, I knew I had found it! Paid my respects, took a pic and was outta there. Did not pass go. Did not collect $200... although I saw a crypt for the Adams family, so had to take a pic of that! :)

I think the kids would like it - maybe I'll make a scavenger hunt activity with it...hmmm....

After a quick stop at the supermercado for dinner, walked in just in time for the 21-gun salute and President Obama's speech. It was ALL over the news, newspapers, magazines, etc... in Europe as well.

Free Day/Last full day

After 11 hours of sleep, I was ready to go this morning. I have a free day all to myself so I mapped out my plan of attack. Luckily I found another internet cafe so I could tell you about it. The stupid computer at the hotel has Facebook & Blogspot blocked - grrr....
Anywho! I metroed it down to the Louvre, walked over to the Musee D'Orsay and spent 2 hours in that museum. Was my first time there - liked it a lot and think the kids will like it when we go. Next, I walked all the way down to the Eiffel. You can pay to ride up all the way, or you can walk up to the 2nd floor and then you have to take the lift to the very top. I walked all 668 steps to the 2nd floor - my own version of Buns of Steel - and then took the lift up. It was FREEZING up there, but you could see all of Paris - quite beautiful.
Here's the latest scam they're running in the park by the Eiffel. Some innocent young teenagers bends over to pick something up and pretends like you've dropped it. It's a gold ring. Not quite sure why - maybe they think you'll reward them for returning it. On my way to the tower, I got hit TWICE with the scam. And then on my way out for lunch, again!! Unreal....
I'm hoping to hit Pere Lechaise - a very famous cemetary where many famous people are buried. I tried to go ride the Ferris Wheel again today, when I saw that there were no carriages on it. They weren't just cleaning it yesterday, they were dismantling it for the season...bummer!

Paris in a day!!

So, Sunday was our official 'tour day, and boy, was it a dousy!!! We saw the Arc de Triumphe, Champs Ellyses, Eiffel tour, Notre Dame, Napoleon's burial place, Ponte Neuf, Sacre Coure, Monmarte, the Tullieres, and then headed out to Versailles. After dinner we went on a Batome Mouche - boat ride on the Seine at night with all of paris lit up, we finally got back around 11.

Paris is finally growing on me. It's such a beautiful city - a little chilly - should have brought gloves!!! And currently it's downpouring - ugh!!! which is nothing compared to home!!

struck out a bit today - musee de o'rsay was out of tickets by the time i got there & the giant ferris wheel was being cleaned.... guess what i'm doing manana!?!?

PARIS!!!!!!!!

Whew - finally made it... and what an adventure it's been, even just trying to get here. Got a blizzard, basically, the night before I left. Was unsure if flight would go on time, so decided to rent an ACT II limo/van and just drive to Chicago. Roads were okay, but there was one spot that, within a 2 mile span, 5 semis were jack-knifed. Luckily made it - no problema, off to Paris I go. My American flight was real empty so got a whole row to myself. Caught a cab to the hotel - was over $50 - yikes. Hotel is very nice, just not in center city. In Europe you either have a nicer hotel, just far out of town or you have great location, just not all the extras. Was too early to check in, so I met up with some EF staff, Lindsey & Matt and find out the other experienced Group Leader missed our Chicago flight and would be in later.
Once everyone got in, we had our staff meeting. There are 2 of us experienced GL's: me & Bob. He's amazing. If ya'll think I'm a world traveler, this guy beats me hands down, so that should tell you lots. He's the nicest, humblest guy I know. There are 4 EF staff here: Lindsey, Matt (who knows my future bro-in-law....small world), Rachel & Milena. We all bond together great , and along with our guide/tour director, Antonio, we have dinner with the other buses.
This is what they call Paris Orientation. They bring over GL's who are planning trips and have never taken students on a tour. Our whole bus are those who aren't traveling until 2010 - early planners.
All the newbies arrived on Friday with their scattered arrival times. I get to be meet & greet with Bob in the lobby. We go to the Louvre once they are all there and got to see Mona Lisa, the Nike/Winged Goddess, Venus de Milo...and much more. Had some free time to shop, grab lunch & wander.
Saturday was our 'convention day' when I had to do my presentation. Was very nervous because Bob is the man at these conventions and since this was my first one, I was very intimidated. I held my own, did my presentation through the eyes of my kids and gave them tips on how to stay organized on tour. It went well - lots of positive feedback. No time for questions, but that's already been going on all tour. Have constantly been bombarded with question almost non stop, but love every minute of it cuz if it helps them have a successful tour and give those kids a trip of a lifetime, then it'll have been all worth it!!!

36 hours and counting....

Well, Cedric & I will be off again soon. This time we're heading to Paris, the city of lights, for a week! I was given this amazing opportunity through EF, the student travel company I use. They are having an orientation for new Group Leaders and asked me to come along as one of the "experienced GL's" and give a presentation about what life is like with kids on tour. Of course, I jumped at this opportunity!! Paris? For a week?? Yeah!! It's been about 5 yrs since I was last there. So, the next 36 hours will find me finishing up my lesson plans, finishing packing, finishing laundry, and finishing up my presentation. It's days like this that I had a "normal" job that I could just leave, stop everything where it is, and just pick it up when I return. Sadly, teaching is not like that. There's lots of ducks to put in a row before I can go, but it'll all be worth it when I get there. Just pray for some great weather, cuz it's not looking too hot. Am going through Chicago, so am going to try & get on an earlier flight out of Moline so that I don't miss the jumbo 767 to Paris on Wednesday. Oh, the joys of travel in January. Again, it'll all be worth it! :)