MHS goes to Italy 2011!: Daylight savings time is this Saturday. Hour forward. BE AWARE of departure time.

Wednesday, March 9

Daylight savings time is this Saturday. Hour forward. BE AWARE of departure time.

Travelers, a real potential problem is in our midst...please be aware that Saturday night is the time when we "Spring forward" an hour. If you fail to do this, you will be late to the airport by an hour. This cannot happen for a long list of reasons so please make sure to spring forward and be on time so that we can "set sail" smoothly. Only 4.5 days until we depart! Bellisimo!

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On Tour EMERGENCY Phone contacts

When we are on tour CARMEN is the most reliable phone contact as her phone works 100% of the time and mine is all a coin toss.

Here are our phone numbers, in the event of an EMERGENCY only. Otherwise, post on the blog and I'll pass along a message to your travler.

Carmen: 39 339 3239808

Ms. Savage: 44 792 444 2290

**If either of these do not work, try it again with or without the 0039 (Italy's country code).

Remember that you can also call EF tours and they can contact us, as well.

Flights, Itinerary and Hotel Quick Reference

Reminder that hotels are subject to change and if they do, we will update the blog accordingly.

Depart:

Meet at the front of MHS at 1:45pm on 3/13

3/13 5:20 PM (IAH) Air France Flight 639 arrive in Paris at 8:35am

3/14 12:50pm (CDG-Paris) Air France Flight 1714 arrive in Milan 2:20pm

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Return:

3/21 7:20am (Rome) Air France flight #2305 arrive in Paris (CDG) at 9:30am

3/21 10:30am (CDG- Paris) Air France flight #636 arrives in Houston at 3:10pm

Day 1 Fly Overnight

Day 2 Milan to Venice

Day 3 Guided tour of Venice

Day 4 Florence Guided Tour

Day 5 Unstructured day in Florence

Day 6 Drive to Rome- Vatican

Day 7 Guided Tour of Rome- Colosseum, Roman Forum, etc.

Day 8 Pompeii

Day 9 Depart for Home

Hotels:

3/14-3/16 (Venice) Hotel Bolivar Via Verdi 70, Lido di Jesolo 30017 +39 0 421 97 16 28 www.hotelbolivarjesolo.it/

3/16-3/18 (Florence) West Florence Via Guido Guinizelli, 15 Campi Bisenzio-Firenze, FI 50013 +39 055 895 34 88 www.westflorencehotel.ot/hotel_en.ht

3/18-3/21 (Rome) Hotel Al Rifugio Via Nemorense, 30 Nemi Rome 00040 + 39 06 93 65 90 26 http://www.alrifugio.com/

Need quick help from EF tours regarding your account?

You can call the EF tours 1800 637 8222 number at any time for GENERAL help. Or you can log on to www.eftours.com and find a lot of great info. But if you have a serious need or a specific question about your account.....

Our Amazing Pre-Tour Consultant is Aaron Owens. He's superman. He can leap tall buildings in a single bound and fix or help with anything regarding your account.

Aaron can be reached at
1-800-637-8222 ext 79684
aaron.owens@ef.com
Mon 9-5:30
Tue 11-7:30
Wed 9-5:30
Thur 11:7:30
Fri 8-4:30

What the heck do I pack?? (Weather will play a big role)

The weather averages between 53-61 degrees in March for the highs and chilly 34 to 41 degrees for the lows. If the temperatures are regular, this is what you should plan for. The coldest part of our trip will be in Venice, then get warmer by a couple of degrees per city along our route. Stay tuned for a complete list of what to pack so that you get the biggest bang for your ONE piece of checked luggage and still meet the weight requirement. Air France will allow us to check one bag that does not exceed 50lbs. This means that on your journey there, you should shoot for 45lbs total as you will definitely bring back some goodies. As you purchase souvenirs, keep this weight restriction in mind as a checked piece of luggage will be at the expense (and only allowed on return) of each traveler to the tune of $55 per bag. UmmMhh...this is not the time to request a venitian glass, octopus shaped chandelier for your dining room..MOMS. (They really make these..ick.)

Carry ons...we are going to hold a hard line for adults and students in saying that you should have nothing more than a messenger bag or a backpack. Here's why...you have to be able to haul, lug, load, your own items and often times in a BIG hurry and lots of times as we change cities and airports. This is all we are capable of carrying with 53 people. So in the best interest of the group, this will be the allowance. One checked luggage W/wheels, one backpack or messenger bag. No purse, etc.

Lil' travelers tip...pack your jacket/coat in your luggage on the way over. Then drape it over your arm and carry it on the plane coming back. This frees up the right amount of space and weight for souviners and is allowed (coat on the plane, over your arm).

About your tour leaders!

Ms. Savage is the Fine Arts Dept. Chair here at Manvel High School. This will be her third trip to Italy, second via group travel and my fifth trip abroad since 2006. When she is not busy teaching or traveling, she coaches league softball and spends time with her family and pups.

lsavage@alvinisd.net 281-245-2232 ext 2641

Ms. Satterwhite was born to travel as she was born in Scotland and then made her way to the US as a youngster. This is her second group tour with MHS but has made many trips across the pond either visiting family back home or seeing exciting new places. When she is not busy teaching and traveling, she is enjoying time with her family doing many fun and exciting things.

vsatterwhite@alvinisd.net 281-245-2232 ext 4598