CHOLET EXCHANGE UPDATE – January 8, 2017
(157 days!!!)
Dear Travelers, Potential Travelers and Parents,
Bonjour à tous!
I have two items to make you aware of.
1. As you’ll recall, the dates that we had picked were “tentative”. I told EF that our requested departure date would be Tuesday, June 13, returning to the US on Wednesday, June 28. The tour companies reserve the right to slightly alter the dates in an effort to coordinate multiple groups. With that in mind, our dates have changed, but only by one day. Here is our adjusted (and final) plan:
• Departure from Fairview: Wednesday, June 14
• Homestay in Cholet: Thursday, June 15 – Wednesday, June 21
• Leave Cholet for Paris (Day 2 of the EF tour), Thursday, June 22
• Return to USA (Day 9 of the EF tour): Thursday, June 29
2. Not only has EF changed our dates, but they have also switched us to a different, yet comparable, tour package. Rather than being on the Paris and the Châteaux tour, we will now be on the Paris, Brittany and Normandy tour. I am attaching the itineraries for each tour in case you’d like to compare. Here are the main differences. (a) On the PBN tour we will not be travelling to the Loire Valley to see the castles. (But, we still may while in Cholet, which is in the Loire Valley). (b) Rather than one night each in St. Malo and Normandy, we will be in each town for two nights. (c) A visit to the Palais de Versailles was included in the PC tour but is an added option on PBN. I’ll talk more about that in the next paragraph.
Here’s where it might get a little confusing. The new tour package, PBN actually costs less than the first, PC. The difference is $130 and EF will refund you or credit your account accordingly. However, as I mentioned above, a visit to Versailles on Friday, June 23 is an added option. The cost is $99. If we choose this option, then the refund/credit to your account will only be $31. If we decided to skip the visit to Versailles, we would instead stay in Paris with a few extra hours of free time – and I would have no trouble at all filling that free time productively! In my opinion, no matter which choice we make, YOU WILL LOVE IT!
I have not yet decided whether I will make an executive decision, or allow you to vote. But I would still love to hear your thoughts (students and parents) and preferences. Please do reply to directly by e-mail if you’d like to share your thoughts. By this time next week I will let EF know our choice.
That’s all for today! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and please let me know what you think!
Merci!
Monsieur
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