Hello Parents,
This is Tylene. I have lost my phone and internet access to gypsies!!! It has been a tough road from Budapest to Prague. The trip, however, is still a success. The kids are at breakfast right now, right be hind me, and it is 9 ish in the morning on the 7th of July. We are all stumbling around as our feet, from walking around Prague in the rain, all day yesterday has caught up with us.
I keep begging the kids to write this blog for me, but no one wants too...not for the lack of communication with parents and friends, but becaause the kids have 12 to 1 in teh shower department. We keep playing "nose goes" and it's been working as a first -last strategy.

Last night, i ditched out on dinner in Prague and slept ( i don't think I've done that on this trip yet) and they all had a huge variety of food to choose from. Veyas has been finding awesome restaurants that meet our tight budget. We started a bike tour yesterday at 11:30, but a huge, cold, rainstorm came, the girls were cold and wet, so we abandoned the tour, and will try again today, at least the streets will be clean for us all!

In Budapest the kids had an awesome time at the dance clubs. I went with and watched them smiling more than walking around any city. Oh, the best part of Budapest, was when on the bike tour, we stopped to get Starbucks (yes, they are everywhere) and I was so hot that I rode through one of those ground spouting fountain sprays that go up and down. Well, monkey see mondey do, and the kids all got off of their bikes and started playing in the water. My gosh, my three year old never has had so much fun, they were pulling eachother in to see if the spray would go up them, betting eachother who could run through without getting wet, etc. Now Veyas the guide, and myself were just standing there in wonderment, cuz there's St. Istvan's Cathedral, the Budapest Castle and The Opera House, but the kids loved the water fountain!!! All is good.

So far, the family that has been made is wonderful. There are basically 2/3 groups. The Persian girls just LOVE to shop, so on their free time you can find them at Kate Moss' Top Shop and then there are two other groups, or one depending on the destination.

I am begging the kids to post,
Thank you all for being so understanding about how much the gypsies needed to call their loved ones with my phone>>>>>
Cheers
Ty

Twenty travelers signed up!

Bon Journo! Benvenuto! Welkum!

I welcome the following students to the TRIP OF YOUR LIFE!

Mandy Arami Parker Chenoweth Jennifer Cohenmehr Charlotte Dadbin

Sayeh Forantan Nicki Haghani Reza Hajisanje Kimberly Hamilton

Lauren Harour Bennett Hirsch Roxanne Houman Amy Mahoney

Tim Mahoney Devorah Mehrzadi Jennifer Miskabi Yasmin Mossanen

Dylan Palladino Lexi Rubaum Julian Teixeira Ashley Wald

It is very important that you read the blog updates, as new information will be given to you as needed. I will refer to these directions as "steps" towards our trip departure.

First Step of the trip: if you have any questions, ever, about any possible area of the trip, please contact Miss Ty, or Veyas immediately, before you forget the question, so please put our information (found below) in your cell phones right now! Do a test text right now to Miss Ty, saying Hi, with your name. I will check your name off that you can follow directions. If you fail to follow more than 3 directions before we leave, there is a possibility that you cannot follow directions, and Veyas and I will discuss if you should accompany us on this trip. It is imperative that you can follow directions, as little or stupid (in your opinion) that they are, in Europe as many times to meet, or train tracks numbers, or making lefts instead of rights, are made at the last minute and we like to practice changes with you before we leave, to help you get used to working in a group, and following directions. Listen for announcements on the PA, flyers, emails and Blogs. (Bev Hill's girls, you are exempt from Pali PA announcements..lol..) In any case, text Miss Ty. HELLO, THIS IS (insert name) so she can put your name into her phone. RIGHT NOW, so we know that you are receiving these updates.

Chaperone Info:

Tylene DeVine Room A202 tdevine@palihigh.org 323-394-6678

Veyas Anaya Room U118 vanaya@palihigh.org 310-487-1170

Second Step of Trip: Read the following and text Miss Ty your opinions where applicable.

Rooming: Please start thinking about who you will room with in variations of 2, 3, 4 and 5 beds. Each hotel will have a different amount of beds, and you will be asked to give Miss Ty this information before we depart for Europe.

Hotels: Although I am expecting more sign ups, I have put in our reservations at the hotels for 20 and should have the hotel names and addresses listed soon, so that you may look at the addresses and get acquainted with the area using Google maps satellite.

Flights: Veyas is setting up our flights, and should be locking in our dates soon. There is only one traveler who has notified me that they will be needing a different return flight. I NEED TO KNOW ASAP if this is the case for you and you have not notified me.

Itinerary: I am also thinking about adding one more day to either Prague or Amsterdam, as I made a date error on the itinerary, so it is possible we can stay one more day, to make it a 17 day trip, as the itinerary suggests! Please tell me what city you prefer to spend more time in; Prague would be cheaper, but there are more events to do in Amsterdam, such as boat rides and finally shopping, as it is our last stop and you can fill up your suitcases with souvenirs! As it is I figured out the hours we have in each town before any changes: London 48 hours, Paris 54 hours, Venice 36 hours, Budapest 58 hours, Prague 36 hours, Amsterdam 47 hours. Please, please, please let me know where you would like more time. Maybe another option is a day between London and Paris as that is a day train, and we can split time between those two. If you have an opinion, text Miss Ty now with your opinion.

Third Step of Trip: You must attend all meetings, or speak to Miss Ty prior to meeting.

Thursday Meeting Updates: Please make it a priority to stop in with Miss Ty in room A202 on Thursday's at lunch. I will keep a check sheet of travelers checking in, as it is important to learn to check in at appointed stops in Europe. I will not require you to stay and chat (as Seniors like to leave at lunch) but if you can check in before you leave campus, or before lunch ends, I will be able to see that you are a worthy traveler. Veyas and I HATE to wait for travelers to check in, say in front of the Eiffel Tower to get tickets, or at the restaurants to sit down to eat. There are 10 Thursdays before we leave, so I expect you to check in 90 percent of these.

Meet and Greet Party: A group meeting for 2010 travelers to meet and discuss the trip with 2009 travelers is scheduled for June (when they come home from college), which will be held at Veyas Anaya's home in Venice Beach. Exact date is not yet known.

Parent and Traveler Meeting: The second parent meeting is scheduled for June 5th, travelers are asked to come so that all parents may meet all travelers. However, if parents would like to add a meeting before then, please let me know. Parents may call Miss Ty or Veyas at any time for answers to their questions.

Suitcases and Packing: Travelers should walk into an REI or STA travel store and become familiar with traveling options. All of our hotels provide sheets and towels, however, travelers might want to buy washable socks or underwear, travel size Tide wash tablets, ear plugs, Plug adapters, fanny packs etc. Start looking at options and reading travel blogs to help you get a sense of how LITTLE you need to pack. I am SERIOUS when I say bring a SMALLER size suitcase and only fill half of it up.

Fourth Step: Please sign up to this blog site, create a profile and have your parents sign up as well.

FYI. Only buy ONE travel language book per group of friends that has all European main phrases, and ONE Europe book which has all countries, otherwise, just your travel tour books will take up half of your suitcase, you will be able to share these books on the train before arrival to next city.

YOU ARE GOING TO EUROPE IN 74 DAYS!!!

Praha June28

Hello Parents.
It is Sunday afternoon, and most of the kids are waking up, or have just finished a wonderful breakfast at a cafe that we found last night near our Crib 15 hostel. The food is wonderful, hearty and the juice drinks are delicious. Last night the kids walked to a dance club and on the way saw the most amazing view of lights on a castle. They all agreed it was the most beautiful evening of the trip so far. There was no wake up call, as everyone needed to sleep in, and it is now 2 pm, and many are still snug in their comfortable beds. The rooms are designed from IKEA, with bunk beds for 6 people. We united into a family on the train ride from Vienna to Prague, as we had our own train car. Ms. Ty read some tarot cards and most students asked the question "what do I do with my life". Rest assured, Ms. Ty helped them get their focus. Brock just was overheard saying that he had the best sleep of his life last night.
Today, as soon as most of the group wakes up, we will be taking a bike tour of Prague. Then, after 4 Veyas will be taking some to the World Finals of Basketball, where many of his old teammates will be playing against Brazil. That should be an awesome time. The rest of the gang will probably just stick close together and view the evening lights of Prague.
Our hostel is above a skateboard shop, but we all agree, LA has better boards, as their are no long boards in Praha.

I am going to ask a few students to say hi...

Saturday - June 27 - PRAGUE

Hey parentals!
we are sitting in a groovy cafe celebrating Ms Ty's birthday. We just arrived in Prague after a long train ride and we were greeted by a beautiful park and gorgeous buildings. The train ride was beautiful, everything was green and yellow fields stretching for miles. Our hostel is really cool and modern though it might be hard sharing one shower with eighteen people but we have all become a big European family so we will make it work! We are going to explore the streets of Prague tomorrow by bicycle and we are all excited to see more of this unbelievable city.

Hello from Venice!

Hi Parents!

It is day five of our incredible Pali EuroTrip 2009 and we are now in Venice.
Arriving this morning, the students settled in the hotel and had a hearty brunch with pasta, salad, rolls, and breaded chicken.
After, we went on a gondola tour of the Grand Canal, chased pigeons in St. Marco's Square, and dined by the canals. Don't worry, we promise we took a lot of pictures!
At night we learned about the dark and deep mysteries of Venice during our midnight ghost tour.
Luckily, the beauty of Venice was enough to make up for the 13 hour long train ride from Paris!
We are excited for our upcoming 11 hour train ride to Vienna tomorrow night and to see the new city.

We will try our hardest to update again soon.

By the Way Parents:

If you would like to email your child and recieve a direct response please email our chaperone Joelle at JoelleGanzoni@yahoo.com!

May 2nd

Greetings Parents!

First off,
Thank You so much for allowing your son/daughter to explore Europe with me!
You have all been wonderful communicating with me your questions and concerns, and meeting deadlines. Thank you!

We are off to a great start.

I will be updating this Blog everyday in Europe so you will be able to read about our adventures daily! There will be pictures, notes from kids, and announcements to parents when necessary.

You may also post comments on our posts by creating an easy username through blogger.com.

It is very exciting to be able to share with you our daily memories!