trip #1- 2014 Barcelona and Madrid

july 1-8, 2014

It was in early March of 2013 that this idea came into my mind. While having dinner on a Friday after work, with a couple colleagues I asked, "What do you think about taking our students out of the country?" Both of my friends and colleagues said, "yeah sure, that could be interesting if it was the right group of students." We finished our meals and did not discuss it any further.

My colleagues at this point did not know I was an actions type of person and if I have an idea in mind that I will go 100% into it. I went home that night and did some research on who provides these services, where could we go and how much would it cost? By Wednesday of the following week I had chosen the tour company and our destination. I went with EF Tours (Education First) due to the fact that their website was user friendly and they had providing tours for over 40 years. If they have survived this long they must be doing something right.

As I approached my colleagues again with this idea I was gung ho and ready to go and just assumed they would be just as excited as I was. I laid out the plans and the cost and neither of them balked at the idea but now had to come to the realization that what I had said only a few days ago was truly about to happen. One of the colleagues liked the idea but was not sure of her future plans and decided to not take part.

As I started to pass out information and gauge student interest I was happy to see how many students had interest but saddened to know how many of them had no clue where Spain was and how we would get there. I had numerous questions about can we take a boat? Can we drive? I had walked into another colleagues room to share with her the information and one of the first people I met when I moved to Memphis was also in the room as we both got hired together from Memphis Teaching Fellows. As I was talking about the trip, she said, "WAIT, your going where? How do I sign up?"

I looked at her and sure said, "I did not think about you at all for going on this trip, my bad!" Next thing you know she was on board and I doubt she knew what she had just signed herself up for. Little did we know how crazy Ms. Madrid would be.

We had a lot of ups and downs with this trip. We sold snacks during the day which led to the district threatening to shut us down and move the trip to the following summer. First off they didn't have the power to do that and our school was about to be taken over by the state so they truly did not care. We did sell roughly $18,000 worth of snacks for just over $9,000 profit.

For all of my students we had our first flight they ever had from Memphis to Miami. We ran into our first delay and plane issue as there was an issue with the GPS system. We had boarded our flight and sat for about an hour as they tried to fix it before we had to de-plane and go to a new gate as they were bringing us a new plane. We arrived in Barcelona about 5 hours behind everyone else and had to get a special transport to get us to where everyone else was. We met in downtown Barcelona by their Hard Rock Cafe and after a short meet up with the rest of our group (Ms. Mary and my parents who had arrived ahead of us) we got to walk around and shop.

The three main attractions that I enjoyed most in Barcelona was Park Guell, La Sagrada Familia and Las Ramblas. We also had a mini scavenger hunt where I had shown the students a set of murals that were on one of the buildings on Las Ramblas. The first person to spot them would get $25 of spending money. Laticia Jackson was the first to spot them and it was just by chance as the boys had wanted to stop at a shop to look at the belts for a moment or we may have missed them entirely.

On our way to Madrid we passed through the town of Zaragoza which allowed for one of my group leaders a chance to get some medication for her foot that was acting up. Our tour director Maria was very supportive and helpful in that time of need. When we arrived in Madrid we got to see the Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and the Prado. We spent a lot of time around the Puerto del Sol as there were many side streets and shops that we could check out. Puerto del Sol is also where there is a famous statue of a bear and a Madrono tree.

We stayed in the Travelodge in Barcelona and the Hotel Mayoragoza when in Madrid. The Travelodge was a rather small and had the bare essentials for a hotel. The breakfast and late night dining were both good options as we spent a good portion of our nights watching World Cup soccer in the lobby. This was also where we had WIFI. Our hotel was about a 8-10 minute walk to Puerto del Sol. The boys and I made that walk one evening about 11pm to see what the nightlife had in store. We were amazed at the activities we saw as there were many people out and about and there was a few sets of street performers. We had a group of college age students who were on roller blades jumping over random things. A few of the boys even took part in one of their jumps as they laid on the ground and formed a long chain of people. We found out that Wanya gets a little nervous and apparently will scream rather femininely as they went to jump over him.

I strongly feel that this group was the best group as it was our first. The kids truly had to persevere and bust their butts in order to get to their goal. I hope these skills and experiences will carry on in their lives.

Hotel Breakdown-

Barcelona- Travelodge Barcelona- Bare minimum hotel.  Rooms adequate but small.  Bar and lobby where top notch.  Literally just a place to lay your head.  3/5

Madrid- Hotel Mayorazgo-  Kind of medieval style hotel.  Centrally located.  Nice breakfast.  Very nice hotel 4/5

Tour Director- Maria Fernandez

Flight- American Airlines

trip #2- costa Rica

june 17-26, 2015

After a successful trip in 2014 to Barcelona and Madrid we decided to keep the trips coming.  We chose to go to Costa Rica for two main reasons.  The first being it was a cheaper trip and since we had less time to fund raise it seemed like the most logical choice.  We also wanted to find a location that was in contrast to what we did in Spain.  I would say that Costa Rica fit both of those needs real well.

If you did not already know, Costa Rica is mainly a rain forest and has some differing climates.  We experienced rainy days to super hot days.  It all depended on where we were in Costa Rica to what climate and the weather we encountered.  The higher the elevation we were at the rainier and cooler it was.  As we got closer to ground level and near the beach it was sunny, barely if ever rained and was quite warm. 

The hotels were good as one of them had a rec room with a pool table.  I would say that myself and Tavion held down the table most nights.  This hotel also had a mini club with speakers and dance area.  The rooms at this hotel though did not have TV's as we were high up in the rain forest.  One of the best memories from this hotel was in town about a 5 minute bus ride was the BEST pastry shop we have been to. 

Another highlight of the trip was when we went to the Manuel Antonio National Park.  It took about 35 minutes of walking to get to the beach area.  On our way we got to see 3 different sloths.  One of them was "walking" on the ground right next to the walking path and another had a baby in a tree about 6 feet from our walking path.  These are very odd looking and moving creatures but surely an awesome sight to see.  The beach was AMAZING.  It was a large space that even though there were a lot of people there we didn't feel cramped and had room to play and flip around.  My fondest memory of the beach day was that as we went to each lunch one of the ladies in our group had taken her food out and was sorting it on the table by her.  Our guide had told us about the monkeys that would be around.  We didn't realize they liked nutter butter cookies but as the lady moved to the side just a bit a monkey came flying down from the tree, snatched up the cookies and went back up to the tree before any of us could say a thing.  It was almost as though he was mocking us as he easily opened the bag of cookies up and begin eating away.  It probably was my fondest memory as it was not my cookies that the monkey had stolen. 

From the start I had always told the kids these trips would get them outside of their comfort zones and test their will and fortitude.  So, despite my fear of heights I wouldn't let the zip lining opportunity pass me by.  I was super nervous and when they had me climb up this rickety ladder to get started I was second guessing my decision.  The only real issue with this experience was that it rained the whole time and the zip lining stations were not connected so we had to do a lot of walking in between as well.  In the end I have no complaints about the experience.  However, I am not sure I would do this again but we shall see. 

One of the top experiences of the trip was being able to go to the hot springs.  It is a set of naturally occurring pools that have different temperatures.  The water is said to be very good for your skin and overall very soothing for your body.  The hot springs had a water slide but we did not take part in that and also had a nice swim up bar that had some awesome chicken wings.  

The last experience we had was the whitewater rafting experience.  We got up very earlier that morning and headed to the "rapids."  After getting all fitted in our life vests and paddles the staff brought us some fresh chilled pineapple.  The fresh pineapple was one of the highlights of the trip by far.  As we got ready for the rafting we had some who were a little apprehensive and others who were ready to get going.  We were in groups of about 4 or 5 plus a guide.  They showed us how we all have to work together when rowing and depending on where you are in the raft your job changes as the rapids change.  After getting completely soaked we changed into some dry clothes and they had lunch all ready for us.  They had a make your own taco station for us.  It was awesome as the chips were homemade and super fresh.  It was a great way to end our trip.

As the trip winded down, a lot of people were ready to get back home while some of us began to ask, "Where are we going next?"

Hotel Breakdown-

June 17-18- Villa Tournon- Came in very late and only slept there and had a breakfast.  Decent breakfast.  Small, outdated rooms. 3/5

June 18-20- Hotel Bromelias- Centrally located, huge pool.  Nice rooms.  4.5/5

June 20-22- Hotel Villa Verde- In the rainforest.  Pool table in main restaurant.  Dance club for the kids.  True rainforest vibe.  Loved it.   4.5/5

June 22-24- Playa Bejuco- literally feet from the beach.  Huge pool, modern rooms.  Great meals.  6/5 due to the beach being right next door.

June 24-26- KC San Jose- Super Modern Hotel, upscale.  One of the best mini marts down the road from hotel.  Go left out of hotel and about a block down has the best pastries.  5/5

Tour Director- Hurben Zeledon

Flight- American Airlines

trip #3- LOndon, Paris and Rome

march 8-17, 2018

The planning for this trip began during the 2015/16 school year.  As usual we had a lot of eager and excited students.  As we began fundraising we had more and more students back out or succumb to the demands of meeting their $3300 fundraising goals.  By the end we had a group of 6 travelers.  We had 3 adults, 2 students and 1 former student (Tavion is the one lucky student who has been able to take part in all 3 trips so far).  We raised $12,000 for this trip which takes our three trip total to an amazing $75,000.  We joined with 2 other groups in order to form our final group.  We had a group from San Antonio and one from Dallas for a combined 23 travelers.  For this trip we changed our tour provider from EF to Explorica.  This was honestly done for one main reason which was that the cost was cheapest with Explorica for the same trip EF offered.  When we tend to fundraise all funds needed for the trip the cost is our bottom line.  

Our tour guide was Chiara Corsetti, who was born in Italy and has a wealth of knowledge of many European countries.  She can speak fluent Italian, English, French, German and Spanish.  She was an amazing tour director.  She was always attentive to our groups needs and did her best to make sure we got to see everything we wanted to.  I hope we get to travel with her again. 

This trip took us to London, Paris and Rome during Spring Break of 2018.  We arrived in London and had a slight delay finding our group as we walked by them originally as they had arrived a few hours before we did.  After a few phone calls and orientating ourselves to London Heathrow Airport we found our group.  We quickly boarded our bus and was off to our hotel to drop off our luggage before we went out on our first day of sightseeing.  While in London we got to experience the RER (subway system).  I am glad our group was not any larger as it was hard enough getting us all on and off together.  We got to see Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, PIcadilly CIrcus, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben (however it was under renovation) and Westminster Abbey.   The only negative to London was the first day it rained a lot so Trafalgar Square and PIcadilly Circus were not as fun as they could have been.  The food in London was amazing and our group thoroughly enjoyed the authentic Fish and Chips meal as well as the deconstructed pot pie.  It was a great time to get inside and get some souvenirs before we were off to our next country. 

On day 4 we headed to Paris by way of the Eurostar Chunnel Crossing which is a speed train that takes you from London to Paris super quick.  We had an easy transition from bus to train and after a few hours we would be in Paris.  Paris is truly the CIty of Lights and an amazing place to witness firsthand.  I had the pleasure of being in Paris a few years prior on a group leader tour with EF but was excited to go back.  After about a 45 minute bus ride we arrived at our next hotel and were able to drop off our luggage and get ready to leave out again as our rooms were not ready just yet.  During our stay in Paris we got to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees and got to take a Seine river cruise that took us by the Eiffel Tower at night.  Another awesome experience we got to have was Candous (my other group leader) had a friend who lives in Paris and she met us on a day we had some free time and she took us down to the Louvre and were able to get some pictures of the iconic pyramid associated with the Louvre.  Thank you Claudia.  We got to see an amazing display of lights on the Eiffel Tower. 

Before we knew it we were off to our third and final destination of Rome.   I would say this transfer was the one that caused the most discomfort as we took a sleeping couchette train to Rome.  It was an overnight experience were we had six of us crammed in a rather small car with pull down beds.  My other group leader who has back issues prior to this had an awful time getting to sleep and awoke with some real discomfort.  However, being the fighter that she is it did not deter her from seeing all of the sights and sounds Italy had to offer.  We saw the Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Roman Forum, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.  I had the pleasure of studying a lot of these places when I was in HS in my latin class but being able to see them first hand is life altering.  It also puts into perspective how large and immaculate these buildings are especially when you take into account the rudimentary tools they had at the time to build them.

By the end of the trip I think we were torn about wanting to stay and get home to our own beds and our normal schedules.  I would of loved to stay for as long as I could as I know there is much more to these cities and countries besides the main tourist locations.  This trip was worth the blood, sweat and tears it took to get us there.  I can not wait to see where ITC goes next.

Hotel Breakdown-

London- IBIS Wembley- Modern Hotel, Right close to Wembley Stadium.  The best breakfast so far, mainly due to them having hash browns. 5/5

Paris- Campaile Hotel Paris Pantin- Very nice hotel.  Very modern.  Fast elevators but small.  4/5

Florence- Hotel West Florence- Nice hotel, decent breakfast.  3/5

Rome- Hotel Parco de Medici- Multiple buildings.  Nice rooms.  I had a huge room.  Had to walk to other building for meals. 4/5

Flight- Delta Airlines

Tour Director- Chiarra Corsetti

Trip #4- Barcelona, France, Italy

March 9-18, 2022

Finally COVID has subsided a little bit so that we can take a tour.  I am now teaching at MASE and started planning for this trip in 2018.   Covid definitely put things on hold and made this traveling experience very different.  Regardless, we had an amazing time.  I was able to take 4 adults and 3 students.   

We started out in Barcelona with a city tour.  We saw one of the largest markets at the Mercat de la Boqueria.  This was on the same street as Las Ramblas.  A very famous street in Barcelona where there is endless amounts of shops and places to see and do.  There is a NIKE store anout 3/4 of a mile down the road on the left hand side.  We also got to see Park Guell which was created by Antonio Gaudi and opened in 1926.  In 1994, UNESCO deemed the park a world heritage site.  It is very colorful and reminds of a gingerbread house.  This is the 2nd time I have been to Barcelona and the first trip I was able to just look on from the outside of La Sagrada Familia (also created by Gaudi).   This trip we had the pleasure to go inside and see how enormous it is and the stained glass in the windows.  The building was started in 1886 and after Gaudi took over from the first architect, Gaudi only lived to 1926.  The building is still NOT finished.  They hoped for it to be completed by 2026, the centenary anniversary of Gaudi's death but COVID-19 stalled work and there is one section that they think will be fully completed in 2034.    We had paella for dinner which is a customary Spanish dish.  

We then travelled to Provence and walked the Pont du Gard and visited the Nimes amphitheater.  The amphitheater reminded me of the colosseum but smaller and no underground passageways.  We then travelled to Nice, Monaco and Eze.  Monaco is the richest soverign state in the world.  You have to have a lot of money to live their it costs $117,000 per square meter.  So for example, a house that is 1000 square meters it would cost $117,000,000 to build.  We also were lucky enough to be there for the Prince's birthday and there was a whole ceremony and we could see him waving from his house.  We visited a perfumerie in Eze and then headed to Florence which was followed up by going to Pisa where we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  

Lastly, we headed to Rome and saw the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Novana, Colosseum, Roman Forum,  the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.  The nice part of the Vatican was that due to COVID restrtictions there were a lot less people that day as they usually get 20,000 vistors day and now limited it to 2,000.  It was nice to be able to sit and actually look at the Sistine Chapel as in past instances you get pushed out and need to take it all in very quickly.  There is a superstition with the Trevi Fountain that if you turn around and throw a coin with your right had over your left shoulder into the fountain that you will return to Rome.  So far I have done it 3 times and been back twice so far (waiting on the this past toss to see if I return).  Based on 2016 data it was estimated that roughly $1.5 million euros was thrown into the fountain.  They use the money to help with the poor and for repairs to the fountain. 

Hotel Breakdown- 

Barcelona- Hotel IBIS Barcelona Ripollet- Nice hotel, modern, Mcdonalds 1 block away.  4/5

Nimes- Kyriad Hotel Nimes Quest- Smaller hotel.  Small rooms.  Only 2 floors.  Very small rooms. 3.5/5

Nice- Du Pin Hotel Nice Centre- Port- Very modern. Quick elevators 4/5

Florence- Hotel Cimabue- Least modern hotel ever.  Looks like we were back in medieval times.  Huge keys for the door.  Smaller rooms. 1/5

Rome- Hotel Domidea- Nice hotel, modern, nice size rooms, modern key card entry 4/5

Flight- United Airlines

Tour Director- Claudia Mura

Back to Costa Rica for the second time.  I had planned to travel with a friend of mine and we would join groups, however, that did not work out and I ended up going on the trip with one of his students.  Myself, Mary Braswell (trip 5), Sandra Sisson and Javier Love all attended this trip.  I am glad to go back to Costa Rica and definitely want to go back there again. 

Going to Costa Rica is a nice change from the busy European cities.  Especially if you love nature and the outdoors you will love CR.  After arrival we went to the coffee plantation and got to try a lot of different flavors and kinds of coffee.   We also found out that Starbucks gets their coffee beans from CR.  After going to CR in 2015, I have been waiting to get back to the hot springs.  They have like 15 different pools that all vary in temperatures.  Very soothing and supposedly healing as well.  

We then did a river kayaying tour down the Sarapiqui river.  We also got our first taste of fresh pineapple.  There is nothing better than FRESH pineapple.  That evening we did a bat tour which was interesting.  We then got to visit the Bri Bri indigenous reserve where we got to see how they make chocolate that does not melt.  They served us a meal out of banana leaves and we ended the tour in one of their huts for a cleansing ritual.  I would liken it to a native american style sauna.  

On day 6 we went to the sloth rescue center and got to see some sloths up close and personal.  We also learned that sloths can actually move quite fast if they need to.  We then finished up the day with a caribbean cooking class.   I was also to take part and make some plantains.  We went to the Cahuita National Park and had some beach time at Punta Uva.  We came back towards the bus early to get a meal and do some shopping.  It ended up being a good decision.  Until next time, Costa Rica.  Puda Vida (common saying in CR which means Pure Life.

Hotel Breakdown- 

July 17-18- Hampton by Hilton San Jose- right by airport, Nice, modern, snacks from lobby were SUPER expensive.  Next to the denny's.  4/5

July 18-19- Hotel Linda Vista- Nice hotel, some greats views.  Large rooms.  4.5/5

July 19-21- Hotel El Bambu- Nice hotel, big rooms.  Nice variety for dinner.  Chicken restaurant to the left of the hotel is AMAZING.  Got to see a sloth in the trees behind the rooms 4.5/5

July 21-24- Hotel Lizard King- Smaller rooms, only 2 floors.  A lot of things to do and buy around the area.  Right next to the Caribbean Sea. 4/5

July 24-25- Hampton by Hilton San Jose- right by airport, Nice, modern, snacks from lobby were SUPER expensive.  Next to the Denny's.  4/5

Flight- United Airlines

Tour Director- Jenny Oviedo

Trip #6- London, paris, amsterdam

March 8-17, 2024

Trip #6 made a lot of good memories and a few new experiences from the other trips that I have done.  I am still working at MASE and took 4 MASE students on this trip.  Myself, Mary Braswell (trip 6), Nazzaree Cooper (trip 2), Rj Echols, Takiyah Taylor, Toni Banks and Brianna Jones (trip 2) enjoyed this trip.

Initially, we flew into Laguardia (NYC) and then had to get a transfer to JFK (NYC).  From there we flew to London on Delta Airlines.  It was about a 7 hour flight and this is where the first new experienced happened.  A student of mine left his passport on the plane and did not realize it until we got to customs.  After about an hour later we got things situated and met our tour guide.  We had a short drive to our hotel and left our bags in storage and met up with the other groups that would be traveling with us.

On day 1, we got to see Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Covenant Garden, Leicester Square and took a tour of the National Gallery.  We then headed to dinner which was supposed to be England's national dish of fish and chips but apparently they did not have enough fish and we got a meat pie instead.  DEFINITELY not the same, but most of us were hungry and we ate it anyways.  Over the next two days we got to see Buckingham Palace (we also got to see the changing of the guards), Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.  We got to also go inside Windsor Castle.  That was a fun and interesting experience.  On the 3rd night we also took part in a Jack the Ripper guided evening tour.  He is the most famous serial killer in London.  Obviously, with it being at night added to the ambiance of the experience.

We then headed to the City of Lights, aka Paris, France.  After a couple hour train ride on the Eurostar we arrived in Paris.  We got to see all of the main attractions such as the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Versailles and the Louvre (where the Mona Lisa is located).  We also got a guided tour of the city of Montmartre which is an artist area.  We did have some issues with the veniculare to get up to the city center where we were accused of skipping the payment and got fined $35 euros (luckily our tour guide reimbursed the people who had that happen.  For me, the best part of the France experience was that we were able to go up into the Eiffel tower.  Breathtaking views of the city and well worth it.  I took the elevator back down but the kids did the 700ish steps back down instead.  

We ended up being the only group that added the extension to the tour and we were headed off to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  We went from a group of 44 down to 7.  That in itself was awesome.  Our first night in Amsterdam we had a traditional dutch pannenkoeken dinner.  It was more like a LARGE crepe that could be savory or sweet or both.  I got nutella and strawberries and it was AMAZING.  We then got a tour around Amsterdam and did a river cruise.  We then headed to the Diamond Factory and learned about how they are made and what the different cuts are.  The best part for me was the tour of the Anne Frank house.  There is so much history and experiences in that building.  Most of the travelers had read the Diary of Anne Frank prior to travelling as well.

Hotel Breakdown:

London- PI Hanger Lane Hotel- Small but nice hotel.  Rooms were nice and clean and adequate size.  Internet was good.  Only issue was the service in the restaurant in the hotel. I would rate this 3.5/5 (mainly due to poor dinner service)

Paris- IBIS Nogent Sur Mane- Nice hotel, rooms were decent size.  Modern.  Internet was good as well.  Slow elevators. 4/5

Amsterdam- IBIS Budget City south- The most modern and nicest hotel of this trip.  In the lobby they had a PIZZA VENDING MACHINE.  The FASTEST elevators I have ever been on.  It was like if you blinked you would go from 10 down to the lobby. 5/5

Flight- Delta Airlines

Tour Director- Robert Riedijk