https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial Students and parents who have traveled to Europe during Spring Break are sharing their experience and suggestions for the benefit of future travelers. en-us 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC 2025-10-22 10:44:52 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Optimplaces.png amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358022 The Europe trip was a great experience. I got to see London, Paris, and Rome as well as Pompeii. The most memorable experience from the trip was being with my friends. It was so much fun being able to experience all of the famous parts of the world with them. If you are considering going, I would definitely go. ]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358022 amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358024 Advice for all upcoming participants I advise if you are a shopper like me or like to spend money then have a lot of money on your card. I had about 500 to 600 dollars. I do like to shop though. More importantly I was obedient and followed the rules. No sneaking out none of that. I was always right next to the tour guy or my teacher. I always kept my journal handy. Along with a filled water bottle and jacket. It got really cold at night and my jacket was very helpful. Now what I took from the trip is like I enjoyed learning about their manners and culture. Then the history was kinda interesting. I enjoyed like the scenery. My favorite thing I did was shop and eat. My favorite part was Paris.  I had lots of fun, I don't wanna take up to much space I hope you enjoy your trip !]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358024 amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358025 We just got back and the trip was fantastic! We saw a ton of things and had lots of tours. Best tour was Versailles with the ear buds so we could look at the art rather than the tour guide. Paris at night while boating down the Seine was beautiful. The castle in Wales was really fun to explore. Changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace was fun, and we even saw the Queen's car in front of Westminster Abbey( i think).  We had free time to shop and look at things we wanted to outside of the tour as long as with a group. The food was so so but the company and the sights were great.

]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358025 amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358026 I am so grateful to have had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this trip with my son. I truly believe it was a life-changing experience for him to be able to travel to and learn about other countries in the company of his friends. It was an amazing opportunity for me to be able to see these places anew through his eyes. 

A bit about our itinerary: We flew into Dublin and explored that city, then traveled by ferry to Wales where we explored a castle, then they bused us to Stratford-on-Avon in England where we learned about Shakespeare. Next we took a bus into London and spent a few days there, and finally we took the Eurostar train through the chunnel to Paris where we concluded our trip. Everything from the tour guides, to the hotels, to the meals, to the optional excursions were very good. I cannot recommend highly enough doing this tour with your child if at all possible. Or, if it is not possible to go with your child, I would still recommend sending your child with the group if he or she is mature and responsible. 

]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358026 amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358027 My son is home safe and sound from his recent trip, and has nothing but wonderful things to say. My daughter took a similar trip 2 years ago with this teacher and also had a wonderful experience. We as parents chose to not travel with either group because we wanted our kids to experience everything without mom and dad as "backup." They were responsible for their own schedules, belongings (passports!), money, etc. and have grown greatly from their first-hand experiences of seeing and learning about things they hear about in class and the news. Needless to say, our youngest child is counting down the days until his trip in three years!

]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358027 amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358028 Dublin, Wales, London, and Paris

I was very lucky to be able to take this extraordinary trip with my son.  We had a fantastic tour guide who stayed with us throughout the trip as well as tour guides in the various locations.  We got to see so much history!  It was fascinating to see buildings older than anything in our country and hear the rich stories they held.  My favorite was the Welsh castle as well as the countryside. I am a nature girl so I loved the breathtaking views.  Another highlight for me was the Trinity College Library. I walked through those doors and my jaw dropped. It was floor to ceiling books on gorgeous wooden shelving complete with ladders. I even loved the way it smelled, that old book smell.  I spoke with one of the employees and learned that in order to read all the books in that library you would have to be fluent in 22 languages. My son's favorite part was Paris.  He got to practice his French while ordering at restaurants and navigating the Louvre.   He got to see the Mona Lisa in person.  You could tell that all the kids were excited to be there and enjoyed taking it all in.  There was a lot of walking and some early, early mornings but they were troopers which tells you they really wanted to be there exploring (and even learning).]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358028 amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358030
This was our second trip with EF and this teacher. It was my favorite. I loved seeing new cities and visiting old favorites. It is a great opportunity to see as much as you can in a short amount of time.  There were many castles that we were able to see and tour. That was the best part.  It should be on everyone's bucket list to visit Europe.  It is amazing to see where our ancestors came from in addition to tasting traditional foods.  We can't wait to go again.


]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358030 amoellering https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358031 Our daughter had been looking forward to this trip for a loooonnnnngggg time, and it did not disappoint her at all. I had been to most of our destinations and my wife to some of them, but it was still a great experience to see this part of the world again and to experience it through the eyes of the children (becoming young adults) traveling with us. To hear the history from locals who have grown up with it, and to be able to see and touch it for themselves is something that I believe will forever change the perspective on the world of everyone who attended. 
And it wasn't just the history that pre-dates much of what our kids know about America by hundreds of years, but the current issues and opportunities these other countries face that we were all able to gain additional insight into.

We were torn about whether to attend and how our presence might impact our daughter's experience, but in the end we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to travel with a great group of old and new friends and to create a shared experience that I hope will give our daughter the comfort to go explore more of our world on her own as her parents were able to do. 
The size of our group was nice in that we weren't too large or too small, but I would continue to encourage our community and our district to find a way to enable more of our students to engage in this experience.
My two younger children have already penciled in the year for their opportunity to go, and I hope it is just as great for them as it was for our daughter.]]> 2017-09-13 20:45:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amoellering/testimonial/wish/187358031