CHOLET EXCHANGE UPDATE – January 12, 2020
519 jours!
Dear Travelers, Potential Travelers and Parents,
Welcome to the first official update of the June, 2021 Cholet Exchange. I want to fill you in on a change that is about to take place.
If you attended the parent meeting, you are aware that I had made an executive decision to take the option that includes the “in city” guarantee. This assures that the hotels during the EF portion of our tour would be located in cities, as opposed to in the suburbs. (some being far in the suburbs – which I strongly dislike.) The cost to you for this guarantee was $245. I was informed on Friday that EF has made a few adjustments in this policy. Our tour package, Paris, Normandy and Brittany, no longer comes with this guarantee. If you’ve looked at your EF account recently, you’ll see the price is $245 lower.
As I was chatting with our EF Tour Consultant Ben, he sent me a map that shows where our Paris hotels could be located. I was not happy with these possibilities. He did have an idea, change to a similar tour which does include the city guarantee. This program is called Paris and the Chateaux. This is a tour that I had taken four times before switching to PNB in 2017, and it’s one that I really do love. I’ll give more details below. I told Ben that I would think this over. I will give him my decision tomorrow, but I’ll tell you now I will make this switch.
I only see one drawback to this change – less time in Normandy and Brittany. We will still be there, but for only one night each instead of two. I’ll miss Honfleur and the cliffs of Étretat. (I won’t miss the cheese factory.) But we will still see the D-Day Beaches, the Caen Memorial, the American Military Cemetery, Saint-Malo, Mont Saint Michel and more.
On the plus side, we will spend two nights in the Loire Valley and visit at least three of the famous castles (Chenonceaux, Chambord and Amboise). This portion of the tour was something I really missed a lot when I switched to PNB. So I am very happy to be doing it again and for you to see this beautiful region. (And the dinner in a cave is my all-time favorite EF meal!) You can view the itinerary here
I’m sure you are now wondering Does this affect our cost? The answer is yes, but the new price will be a bit lower!! Ben and I will get the revised figures to you soon. Students, I guarantee you will love Paris and the Châteaux as much as you would have loved Paris, Normandy and Brittany.
On a related note, after Ben and I discussed the changes, he informed me that he will soon be taking a new position at EF and will no longer be our consultant. Taking over for him will be Julia Patterson. It was great working with Ben since the summer of 2016. He will be missed. I’m sure Julia will do just as great a job!
Au revoir!
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