Breathtaking Views of the Matterhorn – On Tour European Experience

European Experience No Responses »
Jul 212011

Dear Family and friends,

With the trip moving along, our Westcoast family headed into the Swiss Alps to the alpine village Zermatt.  We traveled via bus then by 20 minute train to our destination, a small town with no cars over a mile high in the air with the powerful Matterhorn looking down upon us. Upon being given free time, Jess wasted no time before tasting swiss chocolate.   Ben H and Zack F also made sure to try the local delicacy.  After dinner, the group headed to a billiards hall. As captain of his high school billiard’s team, Eric made sure to show off his skills to the group.  Ben R and Jon also stood out as future professional billiards players.

The following morning, our family split up between those who wanted to conquer the mountain via snowboarding or skiing and those who wanted to reach the top of the mountain via gondola and short hike.  Justin, Zach L, and Brandon proved to be the olympic skiers of our pack.  Cassidy also made it known that she was a force to be reckoned with on the slopes.  Bryan also
wowed the local mountain goats with his snowboarding.  Meanwhile, the remaining trip members boarded a gondola to bring them to the peak of the mountain.  While Carly Z had her eyes shut the entire ascent to 10,000 feet, Tyler and Ben L were the brave members who snapped pictures all the way up to the top.  Nearly 2 miles in the air, Will, Julian, Madison M, Lisa, and Emily truly found the views breathtaking.  Once our group reunited, a scavenger hunt commenced in which teams had to take pictures with various objects around town such as a mountain goat. While Jess took her group to get more chocolate, Lori, Shelby, Steph P, Sarah S, and Danielle became the victors and won even more chocolate.  In order to celebrate our last night in Switzerland, our family headed to a disco. While Alex and Jason S got to know the locals, the remaining group boogied down on the dance floor.  Adam S, Bari, Ty, Rachel, Carly Z. and Sarah M really set the b ar high for the dancing,  David, Carly F, and Ben F also emerged as the dancers of the night.

Mamamia, after two nights in Switzerland, our group became one large italian family.  Upon arriving in Venice, we wasted no time before endulging in our first italian meal.  Madison Y, Alyssa, Kelly, Amanda, Richie, Jason E, and Bryan enjoyed a night of bread, pizza, pasta, and gelato.  Jess, Dean, Matt, and Adam B even made sure to take advantage of seconds.

The following morning, our group hopped on a boat to return to Venice and explore the city.  Our tour began in the Jewish getto where Adam S and the group learned the history of Venitian Jews. We then headed to the Murano glass factory where Steph B and Lori were amazed at the beautiful glass art.  Of course, no tour of Venice is complete until a gondola ride. While Dean enjoyed a romantic ride with Sam, Jess put down her gelato and sang along with her gondolier. After another incredible dinner, the group departed Venice. Don’t worry, our trip members from Las Vegas, Sarah and Danielle, have already begun plans for a reunion at the
Venetian Resort.

We’re all really excited for the next few stops so look for another update soon!

Ciao for now,
All of us on On Tour European Experience

The Westcoast Blogger

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Gondola Rides and Gelato in St. Marco Square – European Escape

European Escape No Responses »
Jul 172011

As we made our way to Venice, we were all surprised by the beautiful and warm weather, as it was quite a change from the top of the glacier in breathtaking Zermatt. We were very excited to finally be in Italy and enjoy its infamous pizza and pasta. Brooke and Katie were amazed by how beautiful the city was, they were thrilled to be in Venice. Our first night in concluded with all trip members enjoying a swim in the pool on the roof-top of the hotel looking over the city.

Our second day in Venice brought many exciting things. We started off our morning in the Jewish Ghetto where we took a guided tour in the synagogue. The trip members were interested to find out that the ghetto in Venice is the oldest of all the ghettos in the world. Gil and Hayley really enjoyed the amazing pizza from one of the delicious kosher restaurants there. After spending the morning in the Jewish ghetto, Evan was extremely excited to have time to explore the town with his group and negotiate a deal for a fedora hat. In the afternoon, Gilly, Colton and Valerie were looking forward to watching the glass blowing demonstrations at the famous Murano glass factory. Damion, a thirty-five year glass blowing expert created a beautiful vase and a glass horse right before our eyes! The trip members were fascinated by Damion’s talent and were excited to browse around the factory to see what other treasures they could find, now knowing how much work goes into creating these masterpieces.

Later in the day, the trip divided up into five teams to participate in a little friendly competition with a game of People Hunt. The object of this challenge is to find people that match the clues you are given by the trip leaders. Dani M, Mayra, Hayley, Eliza and Lindsay came in first place, finding the most people to answer their questions. Our night was concluded by enjoying a relaxing gondola ride and gelato in St. Marco square at sunset. What better way to end our time in this amazingly interesting place!

As we left Venice and continued our journey to Rimini, Danielle S, Megan and Ben were psyched for beach time. We created new memories while spending the afternoon lounging by the beach and playing in the water. Valerie impressed us with her volleyball skills when she played volleyball against Tour Director, Bryan. Hayley and Mayra couldn’t wait to hit the dance floor that night when we headed to the disco! Watching all the trip members dancing together was such a sight to see! Their smiling faces truly made our day!

After a fun-filled night at the disco, our last day in Rimini was concluded with mini-putt golf, gelato and frozen yogurt as well as an early celebratory dinner in honor of Jessie’s “Sweet 16” birthday!

We are very excited to tour Rome and to finally see the Coliseum and Vatican- two places that we have heard so much about! Fedoras off as we make our way through our last week of the best European tour ever!

 The Westcoast Blogger

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Whitewater Rafting in the French Alps – European Discovery

European Discovery No Responses »
Jul 172011

 

Bienvenue from Switzerland!

Since we talked to you last, the European Discoverers have consumed over 247 nutella-filled crepes, biked the border of the pristine Lake Annecy, and went whitewater rafting in the crystal-clear French Alps.

We arrived in Annecy just in time for dinner and to explore the elegant old city on our way to the restaurant. Trip members were completely enthralled by the authentic cobblestone streets surrounded by small, picturesque canals lined with brightly-colored flower baskets. Liza, Abby and Jen couldn’t help but stop to snap pictures, taking in all of the city’s immense beauty with extreme awe. At the restaurant, trip members were psyched to learn that they’d be cooking their own dinner fondue style, a tradition amongst locals in Annecy. Stephanie and Raffy were naturals, cooking with total expertise while Whitney and Jillian loved every bite, exclaiming that it was one of the best meals they’d eaten yet. After dinner, we walked over to a large park overlooking the breathtaking mountaintops and shimmering blue waters for a group activity where trip members were asked to come up with a jingle and commercial. Kim, Jacob W, Melanie, Haley F., Stephanie, Michael, Sam F and Lauren B. were the stars of the evening, impressing us all with their extreme talent and creativity.

The next afternoon, we relaxed a bit on the beach. Finally able to envelope ourselves in the crisp blue waters we’d been longing for, Lindsey, Dani, Anthony and Alexis jumped right in, feeling immediately refreshed. Meanwhile, Emily B and Allie chose to enter the water in style, splashing down the water slide with delight. The following day, we rose with the sun to set off for Centron, a river-valley between majestic French Alps to challenge ourselves on class three and four rapids. Rafting was especially thrilling for Ilana and Jesse W. who had never been before, and Dylan, Zach and Jesse B., who loved getting maximum air-time with each wave their raft overtook. After all of our hard work on the rapids, we treated ourselves to deux boules (two scoops) of mouthwatering gelato. Speaking of mouthwatering, we are now in Zermatt, Switzerland where trip members have fallen madly in love with Swiss chocolate. Suffice it to say that the cute little chocolate shops that line the streets of Zermatt may have sold more truffles in the last two days than they have all year. Once the fresh Swiss air lulled us to sleep, we awoke to experience the illustrious Matterhorn. Sam W. and Stephen were fascinated by the seemingly flawless land that floated beneath their gondola and couldn’t wait to get their hands on some fluffy white snow at the top. Gondolas in Switzerland today, gondolas in Venice tomorrow.

Talk to you soon!

The Westcoast Blogger

Posted by wcc360summer at 10:19 AM Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Breathtaking Views of the Matterhorn – ON TOUR European Experience

European Experience No Responses »
Jul 152011

Guten tag friends and families,

Last time we connected you, we were on our way into the quaint little town of Annecy, France. After a fun filled couple of days in Paris, we arrived in this beautiful lake side French city and got a chance to take in some beautiful sites. One especially memorable moment happened as we emerged from a tunnel just outside the town when all trip members gasped in unison at the beauty of Annecy.  Annecy is a unique city in that it has narrow cobblestone streets with very few cars. It was a great experience for our group to walk around and see the town’s great cafes, galleries and boutiques. Our group activity – a photo scavenger hunt – was a highlight of our time in Annecy. The group was split up and given clues and challenges to complete using their cameras. Not only did this scavenger hunt result in a little bit of friendly competition but gave Trip Members a great chance to explore the nooks and crannies of one of France’s quaint cities. Some of the clues the Trip Members were looking for included a man with a toupee, a crazy mustache and ask a local to take a picture with their dog, IN FRENCH!  The first team to arrive back to our meeting spot having completed all the tasks, consisted of Sascha, Raquel, Ryan, Andrea, Cameron and Joe. Coming in with a very admirable second place performance were team members, Jake, Brad, Hayley, Brooke, David O. and Henry.

Day 10 was not only a very active day but gave us yet another chance to see the unique charm Annecy has to offer. A wonderful bike ride along the Lac des Cygnes, which translates to the lac of swans, gave Trip Members a picturesque riverside view and great bike path route along which to follow. Amanda really enjoyed the bike ride and said “the best part was when we got to swim in the clearest lake I’ve ever seen!” Reid definitely agreed with Amanda and also enjoyed such clear water! Sarah was so excited for her second bike ride ever and did a great job maintaining her newly developed skills. Following our bike ride, we had a relaxing afternoon at the Annecy beach. Trip Members enjoyed the warm French sun and sports coordinated by our sports coordinator, Jon. Beach volleyball, paddle ball and some water slide fun was definitely a great part of the afternoon. The Hermosa boys consisting of Joe, Jimmy, and Ryan and honorary member Brad went undefeated in the 2011 Westcoast Connection Volleyball Elite Series tournament.  Some rest and relaxation at the hotel and dinner in small groups around Lac des Cygnes closed off our 10th day together.

Day 11 Wow, white water rafting was both thrilling and exhilarating!!  With full wet suits on, each Trip Member was well on their way to taking on this challenging course without a hitch.  Some friendly competition down the river, which resulted in a significant splashing battle between boats, added to the excitement and fun of the rafting experience. Melissa sat way up front for most of the ride and really enjoyed the adventure! Sara and Boone lead one group at the front of the boat as Boone has rowing experience and taught her skills to Sara. Jordan loved the rafting and had a great time in her all-girls boat! A delicious gelato treat after dinner was a great ending to another perfect day.

Day 12 saw us traveling through one beautiful Swiss town to another as we made our way to the hidden town of Zermatt, which is tucked away in the Swiss Alps. Our Trip Members had the chance to ride the shuttle train into Zermatt as we learned that Zermatt is a village with few cars and pedestrian streets. After checking in to our hotel, we headed off for a fun night of games and billiards. Brooke played a fun game with Ryan while Julio and Ilyssa cheered them on! Amanda and Brad beat Bobby and Sara in a thrilling duel of pool that lasted three rounds.

Day 13 was definitely a day all Trip Members will remember. One of Zermatt’s biggest attractions is the Matterhorn. Luckily for us, we had the chance of either skiing down it or taking a gondola right up to the very summit.  Stanley had a great time skiing and spent his ski day on the hill with fellow ski friends, Jack, Jake, Josh, Jeff and Troy. Another group consisted of Allie, Boone, Ari and Raquel. Michael had a great time skiing the Swiss Alps with Cameron, Mitchell, Scott, Andy, Cody L, and Henry. After experiencing a fun day on the slopes, it was time to show off our dancing moves at the local disco! Kaela enjoyed dancing the night away with Allie. Cameron and Henry started a cool shimmying conga line and had a great time leading the pack!  Our wake-up in Zermatt on our last day was very exciting as the Matterhorn was in clear view. What a breathtaking site!  We said our goodbyes to the majestic mountain, and headed off to Italy.

Our first destination in the country famous for pizza and pasta was Venice. Our first ride on the canals of Venice was exciting and gave us all a great idea of how the locals travel around each day. Dinner at a traditional mom-and-pop restaurant was enjoyed by all, filling us up and giving us energy to explore the famous Piazza San Marco. The night ended with a nice dip in our hotel’s rooftop pool! We had a great time and enjoyed a refreshing cool down after a warm and enjoyable evening in Venice. For our second day in Venice, the group had a guided tour of the old Jewish ghetto. We then headed over to the famous Murano glass factory after lunch by the Rialto and the group was enthralled as they watched a glass blowing master create a beautiful vase. We learned that there is no school for the glass blowing master to learn this art, but rather it is a family skill passed on from generation to generation. Kaela and Ilana really enjoyed watching the glass blowing master create something beautiful from what appeared to be nothing. They, along with the rest of the group, gasped out of amazement and excitement as they saw the flaming glass ball transform before their eyes. We returned once again to Piazza San Marco for a fun and challenging “people hunt” where the objective is to interview locals and tourists based on a series of tasks and questions. The group was split up and was running through the Piazza looking for couples on their honeymoon, and people who could sing the Italian, American and Canadian national anthems.  Once all the groups were back we got our chance to experience a true Venetian attraction – a gondola ride. A group of boys made up of David J., David O., Ethan, Andy, Sascha, and Stanley were first to take off. Isabelle and Alanna shared a gondola with Hannah, Raquel and Ari and were all smiles during their trip! Cody L and Valentin shared a nice ride with Jordan and Melissa. Leaving moments before the quad was yet another boys group consisting of Sammy, Cody L, Scott, Cameron, Henry and Mitchell.

We hope you all at home are enjoying your summers, we sure are. Look out for another update very soon.

Arivaderci from Italy!

The Westcoast Blogger

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Picturesque Gondola Ride up the Matterhorn – European Escape

European Escape No Responses »
Jul 122011

Dear Families,

As we headed to Annecy from Paris, the Justin Bieber-trend continued with a sing-a-long version on the bus dedicated to our Trip Director Bryan. Dinner in Annecy brought some new experiences for some of our trip members, as Colton was thrilled about shelling shrimp for the first time! The staff were quite impressed with the group as we split them into teams for an organic alphabet scavenger hunt; they had to find all the letters of the alphabet hidden on buildings, on the street, or in the natural environment. Mayra, Evan, Eliza, Megan, and Mimi were our winners!

The second day in Annecy brought many adventures as we went for a bike ride along the lake in the morning and then went whitewater rafting in the afternoon. Lauren and Annesse were both first-time rafters but loved the thrill of the experience, along with Mayra, who had quite an adventurous time in her boat. We finished the evening with our first taste of gelato before the famous gelato in Italy that we will hit up in several days!

As we all saw the shop signs “Herzlich Wilkommen”, we felt graciously welcomed in the picturesque village of Zermatt where we added German to our language options of the trip. Our first evening in Zermatt created new memories at a country restaurant that actually played pop music. Lindsay and Miranda had the chance to learn to play pool for the first time; and while David bragged of his mad pool skills, he ended in a tough battle with Bryan. Chloe and Dani M., on the other hand, got a little more creative with their billiards game, as they racked the balls into a heart-shape.

The beauty of Zermatt was readily evident the next day as we took the gondola up to the picturesque top of the famous Matterhorn mountain.  After exploring the village, well known for both chocolate and Swiss Army knives, we concluded our evening with quite the party at a local club in Zermatt. Hayley rocked out in her heels for a night out on the town and loved dancing with Valerie and the rest of our group, while Ben showed up the locals with his dance moves on the dance floor.

During our last wake-up in Zermatt as we made our way to Venice, Evan offered up of one of his favorite quotes: “Let’s do it like Brutus!”

The Westcoast Blogger

Posted by wcc360summer at 12:36 PM Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
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