Well, we retrieved all our lovelies from their home stays and headed straight to Salzburg, Austria where we had a wonderful tour of the town. I posted a few pictures, but I'm sure the students have even more than I do. After our tour, we headed to our beautiful hotel, ate dinner there and headed to a classical music show in a room in a castle. The room was only big enough to fit about 150 people but it was a gorgeous room. There are pictures on the website of this as well.
Today was more of a somber day, but it was a great day in my opinion. We headed straight to the concentration camp where we got a private tour, students asked some great questions, and I think learned a lot from it. We had a great lunch after that followed by going to an Austrian school where they were able to hear from a holocaust survivor. It was such a great day, and to top it off, most of them got to go hang out by the lake here at the hotel and go swimming for a little bit of time. Tomorrow we are off to explore Vienna, and then travel back in time to learn how to survive in medieval times, as well as sleep in "tents" at the base of a castle wall! So cool... Then it is off to Italy we go.
It really looks like Internet will be sketchy foe the rest of the trip, so I will do the best I can... Otherwise I will update the blog when I get home or hopefully in the airport. :-) chao!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Three Countries and Back again
Well, we finally made it to the homestay and I have to say, I have never felt better about the matches for the students. Each one seemed to be in a home with a child their age and even the same sex, so yea to the organizer this year! I am impressed! Everyone seems to be doing very well, and I know many of the families were talking about getting together and going swimming, or going to a festival, etc. All is well in the homestay world! We will see them again early Monday morning where we will be heading back to Austria.
Last time I wrote how we got stuck in the rain in France, which was only part of the day really... once we walked to the beautiful cathedral in the main part of town students were given an option to shop or go on a walking tour of the town... I admit, most opted for shopping, but I got some pictures of the walking tour for everyone, which I will post when I get a chance. The hotel we went to that night was a middle schoolers dream for most, since they had a ping pong table, raquetball courts where the kids played some wall ball, and a fooz-ball table (not sure if I spelled that right). They had a ball... it also gave studdents a chance to socialize or repack if needed, and just goet some good rest and relaxation.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, where I had the absolute pleasure to embarass Townie and have the whole delegation sing happy birthday to him. :) From there it was off to Switzerland we go! Our first stop was in Luzerne where we did a walking tour, and then they had a lunch challenge to complete. They were put in groups of about 5 and given a few tips on some good Swiss/German foods to try, were given 11 Francs and given some questions to try to answer while they were out and about. They seemed to have a lot of fun with it! I think they were hoping for more time in the area, but alas we were off to our next destination. We drove for about an hour to hop on a boat to travel to our restaurant for dinner. WOW! There were some absolutely beautiful sites here. We were floating through the mountains, we got to sing to Townie again at dinner where they served him sparklers in his dessert! He said he thought it was the best birthday ever. :) After dinner, we hopped back on the boat, and went across the lake to jump on a cable car going up the mountain that would take us to our hotel! We hiked just a few minutes more up the mountain to the hotel where the bus was waiting for us with our luggage. The students were able to swim, play soccer, and pet the bunnies they had there. Otherwise, it was once again some great relaxation time and socialization time. Some of the boys were even playing cards. What a fabulous day!!!
Waking up the next day... off to Austria then our homestays in Germany. We headed to Innsbruck, Austria where we were brought after hiking a ways, to a Tourism/Culinary school and taught how to make an apple stuedel... then the students, in groups of about 4-5 got to make one together as well. Yummy!! They served us lunch there as well, and then we were given the struedels they made to take with us.I told them that now that I had all their pictures making this dessert it was going to be proof to mom and dad that they could cook! :) We hopped on the bus after this and at our next rest stop cut up the streudel so they could eat it. Job well done kiddos! Back on the bus we go and off to meet our homestay families.
I probably will not be able to get back on the internet until, at the earliest, on the 19th just as a head's up. I am going to try to post pics later, but not sure the home I am in has a USB hook up on this computer for me to do so... I promise to get them up there as soon as I can.
Till next time...
Last time I wrote how we got stuck in the rain in France, which was only part of the day really... once we walked to the beautiful cathedral in the main part of town students were given an option to shop or go on a walking tour of the town... I admit, most opted for shopping, but I got some pictures of the walking tour for everyone, which I will post when I get a chance. The hotel we went to that night was a middle schoolers dream for most, since they had a ping pong table, raquetball courts where the kids played some wall ball, and a fooz-ball table (not sure if I spelled that right). They had a ball... it also gave studdents a chance to socialize or repack if needed, and just goet some good rest and relaxation.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, where I had the absolute pleasure to embarass Townie and have the whole delegation sing happy birthday to him. :) From there it was off to Switzerland we go! Our first stop was in Luzerne where we did a walking tour, and then they had a lunch challenge to complete. They were put in groups of about 5 and given a few tips on some good Swiss/German foods to try, were given 11 Francs and given some questions to try to answer while they were out and about. They seemed to have a lot of fun with it! I think they were hoping for more time in the area, but alas we were off to our next destination. We drove for about an hour to hop on a boat to travel to our restaurant for dinner. WOW! There were some absolutely beautiful sites here. We were floating through the mountains, we got to sing to Townie again at dinner where they served him sparklers in his dessert! He said he thought it was the best birthday ever. :) After dinner, we hopped back on the boat, and went across the lake to jump on a cable car going up the mountain that would take us to our hotel! We hiked just a few minutes more up the mountain to the hotel where the bus was waiting for us with our luggage. The students were able to swim, play soccer, and pet the bunnies they had there. Otherwise, it was once again some great relaxation time and socialization time. Some of the boys were even playing cards. What a fabulous day!!!
Waking up the next day... off to Austria then our homestays in Germany. We headed to Innsbruck, Austria where we were brought after hiking a ways, to a Tourism/Culinary school and taught how to make an apple stuedel... then the students, in groups of about 4-5 got to make one together as well. Yummy!! They served us lunch there as well, and then we were given the struedels they made to take with us.I told them that now that I had all their pictures making this dessert it was going to be proof to mom and dad that they could cook! :) We hopped on the bus after this and at our next rest stop cut up the streudel so they could eat it. Job well done kiddos! Back on the bus we go and off to meet our homestay families.
I probably will not be able to get back on the internet until, at the earliest, on the 19th just as a head's up. I am going to try to post pics later, but not sure the home I am in has a USB hook up on this computer for me to do so... I promise to get them up there as soon as I can.
Till next time...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Lots of Driving and Rain
I cannot get on the internet with my ipad tonight so this will be short and sweet. We had a long day on the bus today, followed by a rainy walk to the Cathedral in Strausberg. I will post pictures as soon as I can. Everyone seems to be having a great time and I know they are a bit anxious about their homestays in 2 days, but I have every confidence that it is all going to go well! It is my understanding that there is no internet for the next few days, so please bear with me on the updates and pictures until we get internet again.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Last Day in Paris
Well, we got a little wet today waiting for the elevator at the Eiffel Tower, but the students handled it well. They got some great shots from either the top or middle of the tower, which I can't wait to see myself. I only got a few which I'll post later. We had lunch in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Paris, right near Notre Dame. Following that we had a walking tour of some more of Paris and then our tour continued on the bus. What a fabulous guide we had!! After the tour the students had some free time to shop, then dinner at an authentic French restaurant, and back to the hotel to pack. We are leaving Paris tomorrow and heading to strausburg, France. We should be finding out some more detail tomorrow night on our home stays too, which I know the students are anxious to hear.
It will be a long bus ride tomorrow, so hopefully they can catch up on some much needed sleep and relaxation.
Bon voyage Paris!
It will be a long bus ride tomorrow, so hopefully they can catch up on some much needed sleep and relaxation.
Bon voyage Paris!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Day 2 in Paris
Well for some reason my iPad is not letting me post pics here in the blog, so please don't forget to check the picture website from time to time. I will not be able to update it everyday, but we are at a hotel with Internet so I am taking advantage of it while I can.
I hope as the days go on I will be able to get some of the students to type some of these entries as well, so you're not just hearing things from me. :-)
So our day started off with a great "French" breakfast here in the hotel. I sat with some of our boys and I asked them what they thought of it. One replied... "Pretty good, but Miss Lisa, I this milk tastes strange... I think they got it straight from the goat or something." after recovering from laughter, I really had no good response to that. :-)
We went to the Louvre where we had a tour of the museum and got to see the Mona Lisa. I think we were all surprised how small is really is, especially in comparison to paintings surrounding it. It was pretty crowded, which made it hard to hear sometimes, but the kids did great!!!
After this we went to lunch in the Montmarte section of the city where we saw lots of artists, did some shopping, and saw a view of the city from the second highest viewpoint in Paris. I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a picture of the stairs we had to climb to get there, but ask your children about it. Oooo boy!!
We then hopped on the bus to go to Fragonard, a perfume company where they gave us a tour of how their perfumes are made and how it used to only be for the rich years ago. She also told us the essential oils it is made from are so strong that when u put the perfume on it will last for 2 days!!! I know I learned something today!
Ending the day at the Hard Rock Cafe was great and I think gave the students a comforting feeling of home. Tomorrow is our last day in Paris, so we are heading to the Eiffel Tower and they will get some more shopping time. (might want to start checking credit card balances...lol!) I think it might rain tomorrow, but it will not keep us from our plans in any way! :-)
I hope as the days go on I will be able to get some of the students to type some of these entries as well, so you're not just hearing things from me. :-)
So our day started off with a great "French" breakfast here in the hotel. I sat with some of our boys and I asked them what they thought of it. One replied... "Pretty good, but Miss Lisa, I this milk tastes strange... I think they got it straight from the goat or something." after recovering from laughter, I really had no good response to that. :-)
We went to the Louvre where we had a tour of the museum and got to see the Mona Lisa. I think we were all surprised how small is really is, especially in comparison to paintings surrounding it. It was pretty crowded, which made it hard to hear sometimes, but the kids did great!!!
After this we went to lunch in the Montmarte section of the city where we saw lots of artists, did some shopping, and saw a view of the city from the second highest viewpoint in Paris. I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a picture of the stairs we had to climb to get there, but ask your children about it. Oooo boy!!
We then hopped on the bus to go to Fragonard, a perfume company where they gave us a tour of how their perfumes are made and how it used to only be for the rich years ago. She also told us the essential oils it is made from are so strong that when u put the perfume on it will last for 2 days!!! I know I learned something today!
Ending the day at the Hard Rock Cafe was great and I think gave the students a comforting feeling of home. Tomorrow is our last day in Paris, so we are heading to the Eiffel Tower and they will get some more shopping time. (might want to start checking credit card balances...lol!) I think it might rain tomorrow, but it will not keep us from our plans in any way! :-)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
We're Heeeeeerrrreee!!!!
Yeah! We have arrived in Paris. We only had one lost piece of luggage which has been found and will hopefully be delivered to us tomorrow. The students had a great time today getting lots of pics around the city and of Versailles. I was also very proud of them today because they also tried snails at dinner!!! Go ambassadors!!! Please forgive me, but I am beyond wiped out tonight, so I promise to post pics tomorrow. They all seem to be doing really well. We head to the Louvre tomorrow to see the Mona Lisa.
Till tomorrow from Paris... Goodnight to all.
Till tomorrow from Paris... Goodnight to all.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Our Adventure is About to Begin!!
Hello everyone! Are you as excited as I am?? We are literally hours away from traveling to Europe and I am so looking forward to all our adventures and stories we will create and be able to share with our families when we return on July 27th.
Parents, throughout our journey, I will make every effort to keep this blog updated and also have a picture website set up as well where all of you can add pictures to it as well using my login which I will email to you. The link to the site is:
http://s878.photobucket.com/albums/ab343/kemper911/European%20Discovery/
Parents- remember, if there are any questions or concerns during the time we are away, call the program office and they will contact us.
Parents, throughout our journey, I will make every effort to keep this blog updated and also have a picture website set up as well where all of you can add pictures to it as well using my login which I will email to you. The link to the site is:
http://s878.photobucket.com/albums/ab343/kemper911/European%20Discovery/
Parents- remember, if there are any questions or concerns during the time we are away, call the program office and they will contact us.
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