The only appropriate way to begin an article about a European vacation is with a healthy dose of bragging: I’m spending a week in Europe, on a grand tour of Amsterdam, Paris and London. Even better is the fact my airfare, hotel and two meals a day are all included in the $1500 price. Sure, that might sound more like lying, but it’s true. Really, it is.
Most people would assume it’s impossible to see three major European cities in one week for $1500. You can’t even fly there for much less than $1000 these days. But, here’s a little secret: if you can stand a week with 30 to 50 easily-excitable, variably-annoying-yet-intriguingly-sweet high school kids, than you can enjoy an amazing (although tiring) week abroad. All you have to do is sign up for a tour with Explorica.
Explorica is an East coast touring company based out of Boston that designs, books and guides European trips for American high school kids. My mother is a French and Spanish teacher at Waterville Senior High School and has been touring with Explorica for some years, allowing me the opportunity to go along with her as a chaperone.
Until recently, I thought it was an opportunity that I was simply lucky to have fallen into. But according to Lynn Howard (this year’s live-in, Explorica employed professional tour guide) anyone, of any age, from any where can join a trip. She says, “All one has to do is visit the website, choose a trip, and sign up. College kids are preferred, but anyone can [join a trip].” She continues: “Explorica believes that cultural learning begins at home, and inviting others outside the [school] group is the best place to start.”
Though signing up is as easy as deciding whether you want to frolic in the blue of the Mediterranean or spend two weeks winding your way through the miles of museums in Paris, she encourages college students to select their destination six months to a year in advance.
“By signing up early,” she says, “you become eligible for the company’s flexible payment program [which is] broken up into 3 or 6 segment payments- much easier on a student’s budget.”
I realize however, that many of you have a little extra cake (read: leftover student loan refunds) squirreled away and might need to run to Amsterdam this summer (especially after reading this article). If that’s the case, Lynn says to “Go ahead, hop on [the internet] and see if you can squeeze [a trip] in.”
My tour of Amsterdam, Paris and London is a very popular one. Lynn estimates that up to 50 percent of the tours she has led in her career have been to at least one, if not all of these major cities. “They’re the heavy hitters.” She says. “All the very best of art, food and major European culture can be at least touched upon by visiting these cities.”
High school kids usually choose it for language classes or because of their familial heritage. Most of the students I am travelling with are ostensibly travelling for their French class, though when asked directly why they’ve made the trek they almost all reply with: “Because I have always dreamed of going to Europe.”
Occasionally, it can be so tiring that tempers fly and kids get irritable and you may just want to leave the whole lot of them behind. Lucky for you though, it never lasts long. Being with them reminds you what it was like when you were 15 and purely hormonally-driven. It helps you to bury your own perpetually embarrassed, over-emotional and pimple-ridden past. You get to know one another quickly and form friendships. Becoming something like a mentor to them, they begin to look up to you and find themselves inspired by your collegiate achievements. It’s an important gift to give and makes you feel just plain old good. And let’s be honest-the price is right and well worth the incessant Britney Spears music and fart jokes.
So far, my students, myself, my wonderful boyfriend, my mother and Lynn, our patient tour guide have been to two cities and are working on the third as this is being written. We began with Amsterdam and with all the selfishness of someone who really loves taking these trips and thinks that you will really love them too, I will begin my tale from abroad with Amsterdam as well.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam opens its grand Dutch arms and draws you in immediately. From the colourful, crooked houses that dance along the canals, to the tulips that stand as tall as a child, you are immediately in love with the place. It possesses a charm that is reminiscent of Portland yet uniquely European.
When we arrived, we were bleary-eyed and useless from a hair-tearingly long and sleepless flight. Unfortunately, our local residency for the two days we were there provided little comfort. Explorica prides itself on finding safe, clean, centrally located and inexpensive hotels for the tours to stay in, but they tend to fall on the chintzy-uncomfortable end of the hotel hierarchy and the Hotel HEM lived up to that gleaming reputation.
Foam mattresses and Dutch-style showers with no shower curtains actually brought one sophomore girl to tears. However, it was the innate kindness of the Dutch that made our stay at HEM enjoyable. The desk staff brought shower curtains, extra blankets-anything we asked for they happily gave.
This kindness is inherent in all Dutch people, it seems. The Dutch speak English fluently-a pre-requisite for graduation from secondary school there and The Netherlands’ official second language-so questions were asked frequently and always answered with a smile or a kind suggestion. Be forewarned, however, that this kindness comes only by attempting to fit in to the Dutch lifestyle, which for many Americans seems odd and, as one parent who is travelling with us was overheard saying “a little bit freaky.”
“Fitting in” simply means three things: 1. Leave the fanny packs, shorts, USM sweatshirts and Bush 2005 election pins at home. 2. Don’t gawk and gape at the brown cafes, “window-ladies” (in the red-light district) or gay/lesbian/transsexual Dutch contingency and 3. WATCH OUT FOR THOSE BICYCLES! If you can follow those simple rules and be kind in return, Amsterdam will draw you in as if you are oneof its own.
The bicycle issue is an infamous one. Everyone says “Beware the damn Dutch bikers.” After months of hearing the same rhetoric, my group was convinced we’d all be mowed down by a foaming-mouthed pack of Dutchmen within minutes of arriving. What people forget to mention is that it is a way of life, literally. Everyone, absolutely every single person rides a bike. In fact, there are more bikes in Amsterdam than there are people. On our first morning, as we were loading onto the tram to ride through town to Anne Frank’s house, we saw a wisp of an ancient woman riding her (non-geared) pedal bike over a bridge with her equally-as-grey-haired dog in a basket at the back. She kept up with the fifty or so people riding around her as though it were the easiest thing in the world.
Amsterdamian’s pride themselves on both their commitment to the environment and to a healthy lifestyle; riding bicycles from age eight to age 80 is simply a natural extension of that life-philosophy.
Another extension of that ideology is their love of their history. Though you might not know it, the Dutch were the first to rule the import/export business, discovering the Far East and many parts of Africa long before the English or the Spanish did.
They have put a collective effort into maintaining their prideful history; keeping ancient houses in the same style and d?cor as they possessed when they were originally built, painstakingly preserving original pieces of Dutch art and pouring huge amounts of time and money into their museums. Of these museums, it is the Anne Frank house that makes the biggest impression.
It is a place that defies description. When you are lead through the house, and up the stairs through the secret bookcase that hid the entrance to their annex, you can only find tears to explain it. It has been preserved in the state it was left upon their arrest, including the pictures Anne hung in her bedroom of her favourite American movie stars. It is haunting, and saddening but undeniably important.
A few days in Amsterdam with 30 students in tow leaves little time for much else besides what has been pre-designed for you by Explorica. The schedule is extremely well-planned and tight-fitting. . . until the students are sent back to the hotel for bed (rather early) and you are free to wander the streets of Amsterdam yourself, an adventure that can lead you down various paths.
On our last night free, my boyfriend (a chef and restaurateur) and I made reservations at the world famous SupperClub restaurant. Before we arrived, he explained only two things to me; that it was one of the world’s top five trendiest hot-spots and that we would be eating on beds. Yes, that’s right, B-E-D-S.
We had trouble finding it at first. The door to the place resembles a bank vault, solid and brass and set into the wall of a winding side-alleyway with no discernable sign announcing its presence. To get in, you must “ring the bell and wait” as a tiny hand-written note said. So we rang. And we waited. Five minutes later the door opened with a screech and we walked up the stairs to be greeted by Howie, a New England transplant who, dressed only in baldness, Buddhist beads and a blanket, resembled a hipster-monk creation. He led us to our “table,” which consisted of a two foot square glass and steel coffee table set upon one of the all white beds that lined the expansive room and instructed us to remove our shoes. We climbed up and became enthralled by what can only be described as dinner-theatre-circus-in-the-round.
We were serenaded with tunes spun by a live world-class DJ and a Nicole Kidman look alike who played an electric violin. We watched as people jumped up randomly from their tables and danced between courses. Oh, and we ate. For four hours we ate inventive, perfectly prepared foods like beef carpaccio salad and poached shrimp with roasted tomatoes. We ate for five courses, yet never finished our meal. By midnight we were tired and full and had to leave, much to our server’s dismay, who informed us as we were paying that there were two more courses to come. Dinner in Amsterdam, it seems, can often last until 2:00 am, and all for just 65 Euro per person.
That night we stayed up late, slept little and got on out tour bus in the early morning to head for Paris; ready for more food, more culture and even bigger adventures.