Hotel Information

A student asked me to post more info about the hotels. The hotels in Saint Malo and Toledo both have websites:
www.belemhotel.fr/hotel-saint-malo-us/index.php
www.hotelesmayoral.com/mariacristina/principal2english.html

The hotel for the Costa del Sol is Hotel San Fermin, Avda. San Fermin/11, Benalmadena 29630 Spain. I could not find an official website but if you Google Hotel San Fermin Benalmadena you will come up with reviews from various travel sites.

The hotel for Paris has not been posted yet.

So far I have only been able to confirm the presence of hairdryers in the rooms at one hotel, so you may want to bring your own.

Free-time Survey

Please follow the link below to complete an important survey:

Click here to take survey

Interactive Map

Check out this interactive map of our tour at Wayfaring.com:

http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/show/36862

What is your biggest worry or concern about the trip?

Here is a summary of your answers to Question #8 in the "Who Are You?" survey and my responses to each of your concerns:

• running out of money This trip is good opportunity to practice budgeting. Plan on $10/day for lunch, $5/day for snacks & free-time transportation, $30 for admissions to any extra places you choose to go during free time, & whatever you want to bring for souvenirs. Make a list in advance of friends & family that you want to buy souvenirs for & set a limit of how much you will spend on them. Small gifts mean just as much as large gifts, it's the thought that counts. Make a list if there are specific things that you want to buy for yourself. Remember that it is better to spend money on something you can use than on something that will just collect dust. And, try to limit yourself to buying things unique to the places we will visit.
• losing luggage Be sure to label your suitcases well with a sturdy tag that contains your contact info. Also, tape a paper or card inside your luggage with your contact info in case the outside tag comes off. It is also a good idea to keep a list of the contents of your checked luggage with you on the plane, just in case. However, the airlines mishandle only 6 bags in every 1000, so it is unlikely that your luggage will be lost. Once we arrive in France & Spain it will be your responsibility to keep track of your luggage, so the less you have, the easier it will be.
• getting lost or left behind Each student will be assigned to a specific chaperone who will make sure you do not get left behind. Please help your chaperone by keeping in touch with him/her throughout the day. Never leave the group (even to use the bathroom) without letting your own assigned chaperone know where you are going. If you do become separated from the group somehow, stay where you are. One of the adults will come to find you.
• not taking enough pictures It seems to work best to budget one roll of film/day if you are using film. For digital cameras, plan to have enough memory for 200-300 pictures. Buy your film and memory devices here before you go. After the trip, we may be able to organize a reunion party where you can swap pictures.
• not sleeping well Sleep is at a premium on this trip, but if everyone follows the rules you should sleep alright. Remember that no one is allowed to enter a hotel room other than the one to which he/she is assigned. You might consider bringing eye shades and earplugs if you think they would help you sleep.
• food Well, the food is different in France & Spain than it is here, but it is great opportunity to try new things that you may love. Remember that most days lunch is not pre-arranged, so that will give you a chance to eat the kind of food you prefer. At the pre-arranged meals, give them a try, they really are very good. Also, bring snacks!
• flying Many people are nervous about flying, so know that you are completely normal if you feel this way. If you find yourself thinking a lot about the flight ahead of time, try to distract yourself. On the day of the flight, be sure you have had plenty of rest & eat healthy meals, filling, but not too heavy. Try to be completely packed early in the day, so that you can relax in the afternoon & not face the added stress of being rushed. Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the airport. Bring things to do on the plane that you will enjoy, books, puzzles, music, etc. & try to focus on your destination, not on the experience of flying. Statistically, air travel is the safest form of travel on the planet.
• not knowing what to expect Welcome to the adventure of travel! It is difficult to go into a situation that seems so unfamiliar. Talk with friends or family members who have traveled before. Check out the "Teen Travelers" posts to this blog, they are accounts of similar travel experiences written by teenagers. And have faith. You will have fun!
• missing something you want to see The best advice for this issue I've ever heard came from a tour guide we had in Paris about 10 years ago. He said to always leave something undone or unseen so that you have a reason to return. The truth is, you can never see everything. This trip is designed so that you will see all that is possible in the time we have. The things you don't see will give you a reason to visit France & Spain again!
  

Spanish Food

Here are some websites about food in Spain:

From don Quijote.org
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/food/

Site created by students in Spain
http://www.isabelperez.com/food.htm

Overview of Spanish food from Oxfam
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/spain/food.htm

Meals & the Culture of Spain from about.com
http://spanishfood.about.com/od/discoverspanishfood/a/spain_meals.htm

What is one thing you would like to find out about the trip or France or Spain?

Ok. Here are all of your answers to Question #10 in the "Who Are You?" survey and my responses to each of your questions. I am just pasting in your answers as you wrote them, so please excuse any awkward formatting!

I would just like to see everything and see the towns and cities and learn how people live in Europe. :-)

The shopping in both France and Spain and if the prices are expensive or moderate. Here are a couple of links with more info: http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/France/Shopping ; http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Spain/Shopping

How early will we have to wake up in the mornings? Wake up times will vary, but mostly between 6:30 and 8:30.

Do we get to stay out late and party with the locals Do I need to remind you this is a school trip?! ;-)

What the school day is like in France This is such a great question! Here are a few links with relevant info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_France ; http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/essential/schools-france.html ; http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/essential/frenchschool.html ; http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/essential/french-schools.html ; http://www.education.gouv.fr/

what time the flight is. Flight information is now posted @ www.myexplorica.com under the heading "Tour Reservations" on the left margin menu. The summary is we are flying Air France, departing @ 7:05 pm.

I would like to find out the differences in culture over in France. Here are some links: http://www.frenchculture.com/ ; http://gofrance.about.com/b/a/217408.htm ; http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/france-country-profile.html ; http://www.zompist.com/frenchcult.html

How long we are going to have to do group activities and how much time we get to just hang out. There are a lot of group activities because it is the best way to make sure that everyone gets to see lots of interesting things. However, within each day there will be some time in which you can choose your own activity, including hanging out.

One thing I would like to find out about the trip is how long we'll be doing group activities and how much time we get to do our own thing. See answer above.

I kinda want to know more about the food. Check out the French Food & Spanish Food posts on this blog.

The differences over there. I would like to know more about France. See answer to earlier comment.

I would like to know more about Spain because I only know about some of the culture in France. Here are some links: http://www.donquijote.org/culture/ ; http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/spain/spindex.htm ; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/991960.stm

What their culture is all about. See answer to earlier comments.

how much free time we will have See answer to earlier comment.

Adding a comment:

If you wish to comment on one of the posts:

1. Click the "#comments" link at the bottom of the post
2. Under "Choose an identity" select "Other"
3. In the fields that appear enter your first name and last initial in the "Name" field, enter nothing or your personal web page address in the "Website" field
4. Click "Publish your comment" ONCE and have faith, your comment will appear when the page is reloaded