TYPES OF BAGS:
Main Bag: You will all be given a rolling duffel bag for your Europe trip.
Travel Bag: It is suggested that you also bring a travel bag (such as a back pack or larger shoulder bag) for quick access when on plane and trains.
Day Bags: Fanny packs are convenient for boys, but so are deep pockets on shorts. Girls should have cross body purses for daily use.
Night purse: Girls should have a small cross body purse that never needs to be set down for dance clubs.
Purchases: BE ECO FRIENDLY, carry a small lightweight cloth shopping bag instead of carrying 10 plastic bags when making purchases. They can fold up into your pocket until needed. Then all of your souvenirs are together and you save the earth just a little bit more!

PACKING:
Packing your duffel bag is going to be the main focus for your pre-departure responsibilities.
You will be given a list at the next meeting June 7th of important items to pack, but this is a little blog about how to pack for 3 weeks!

Firstly, you will be in each city 3 days. You will be able to wash clothes in your third city, Amsterdam. It is best to think about packing 3 daytime outfits and 3 night time outfits ONLY because THAT IS ALL YOU NEED. You have to really get past the idea that you want to have 21 daytime outfits and 20 nighttime outfits. There is just no room for this type of closet on a whirlwind Euro trip.

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Hello everyone! I’m sitting in a cafe in Hollywood California thinking about how I need to get familiar with blogging on my iPhone because I’m taking 17 kids to Europe in less than 60 days!!!
I haven’t been updating the travelers with weekly reports, but in the last month I have had the UPS truck bring me all of our rolling duffel bags, I.D tags, euro rail train tickets and water bottles. I’ve confirmed all of our hotels with final wire transfers.
And I’ve alerted the bike tour companies of our reservations for our bike tours.
I’ve been mentally making my packing list and realize that I can pack less a there is a day in Amsterdam where I can clean my clothes at a laundry mat.

Now that I can blog from my phone. I will be updating more often with other Jong to fill up your minds with to inspire you to take an AP mental break and research sites in Europe you will be visiting instead!

IT IS SO HOT AND HUMID. I believe the kids said it is 90 out, plus the humidity. There is no reason to take a shower, before you can even dry off, we are sweating. The day began after an evil night out. We were robbed by the taxi drivers. |Grossly depressing us all. So this morning, it was hard to get out of bed for the bike ride. It was toooooo hot to do the 4 hour tour, so in 2 in a half hours we were able to see Parliament, views of the castle from the river and other nonmemorable monuments. There was a natural water fountain that was so gross, but we all tried it and it tasted and smelled like rotten eggs.

Barely able to walk in the heat home, and up the thousand steps to the room, most took a nap, and others ran to the 3 story air conditioned mall 3 long hot sunny blocks away.

A group dinner at Umicon allowed everyone to share their last supper together.

Then, after a game of chess, a game of samurai, a game of signing Jack’s t-shirt, and sitting out on the balcony, the group left to the neighborhood hangout, Instant, to try to play some pool. Unlike all other nights out where everyone dressed to impress, these Cali Kids wore swim shorts, tshirts, and cool summer dresses.

It is almost 11 pm, and I suspect that the heat will drive them in sooner than their averaged 4 am curfew…
Our wake up time is set for 8 am, taxi shuttle vans to the airport arrive at 9, and our flight leaves at 11:55.

We will be leaving Shane and Evan behind, as they venture to Florence on a 5 pm train. Emma and Justine are headed to Rome, and Justin Caesar and Nathan will be ditching us in New York.

I can’t even put into words the family that has been formed on this trip. The boys have named it the Butler Krew, and have given eachother names like Harold and Chester…I don’t know if they realize the memories that they have created, and I am thinking of offering a college graduation reunion trip, just so I, selfishly, can see how much they have all grown into more amazing individuals.

There hasn’t been one catastrophe that has ruined the trip for us, even when the boys missed the train to Amsterdam, they were still there before hotel check in…And, although the taxi drivers played us for a few hundred, the kids learned a HUGE lesson about traveling, and trust…The girls ultimately are best friends tonight, so any real tension throughout room sharing and whatnot has dissolved maturely.. The guys have inside jokes about eachother that will last on facebook for decades to come…And, as they find themselves bored in their college courses, I am sure, they will be remembering bits and pieces of this amazing trip.

WE have found a date where EVERYONE has approved, for our reunion party…August 9th…and that’s IF Evan and Ashli are NOT in Catalina that day…so I am in hopes that one of you parents will offer your home to us, as we have an awards ceremony planned, a picture passing. and video made by Alex and Harry, and really, a time to remember, laugh, and see eachother once more before college life calls them all on their own journeys…

We have learned how to say budapest correctly> Budapescht.

Leaving Prague, we walked from the hostel to the train station, which wasnt far at all, and we should’ve done that upon arriving, because the subway was harder to navigate than just walking…and we arrived to find our train delayed an hour. We went upstairs and sat in the old and dark train station *the original station, as it had authentic carvings and murals on the ceiling. 200 years ago, it would’ve been glowing *(“Titanic” thoughts arise) However, we sat together, not moving away from the group, and thank goodness we didn’t, because teh train was not delayed afterall. We all boarded and found our rooms were all on the same car this time. The train ride was on a brand new train, completely comfortable. Max, Marcella and John stayed awake all night, to monitor the halls as I had spread mz fear of gypsies into all of my travelers. Better to be prepared than to have bad memories…We were awoken with coffee and pain au chocolates served 30 minutes before arriving at the Keleti train station. Again, we were woken up to the most gorgeous mountainous views, and the train followed the Danube river into town.

We waited downstairs in the cool marble of the Keleti train station as Shane and Evan purchased their train tickets to Florence. An hour later, we took one subway and one tram and walked four blocks to our hostel. BUT it was literally six marble flights of stairs to the third floor. We do have the whole third floor flat to ourselves, it is comprised of three apartments. The first has two rooms which hold four beds, and these are the most spacious rooms ever, plus they have a huge entry way, and their own kitchen and bathroom. The next apartment has a ktichen a bathroom, a room of 6 beds, a room of two and a single. The third apartment has a room of six beds and a twin with a kitchen and two bathrooms. WE ARE SPOILED. (except for the stairs to get up here )

As soon as we arrived, we all put on our bathing suits and shorts and walked 10 large blocks to the Synchenyi Baths, Oh My GOSH, we found heaven. The 3 large outside pools had warm, cold and a lap pool. Then we all decided to cancel the bike tour until tomorrow. So we went inside the baths and ventured into about 20 pools all ranging from 16 degrees celsius to 38 . Our preferred was 34. IT was so much fun teaching them to go from freezing cold, yes, the head too, to the hot, to feel the tingles. Then we went back outside to lay in the sun and hop around in the cool pool. The pool had the largest assortment of people, ages, cultures, looks, body sizes that we all had ever seen. It was spectacular. The most fun was walking in the tiled circle of the pool, creating a whirl pool, that literally swept you off your feet in the currents. It was made as everyone walked in a circle, and soon, we were all laughing and drowning in a circle.

Most travelers were done with the spa experience after 2 hours, and i was trying not to be upset, as I had cancelled the bike tour, but about half stayed until 4, and we all were able to rest, and do our own thing.
Upon returning to the hostel, most slept, and I hopped on my skateboard to visit old haunts, visit with the bike tour people, and find us a restaurant, which amazingly I did! I skated down a random street on the way to the bike place, and looked in at this odd gravel filled bar, with multi colored garden picnic tables. It kinda reminded me of a beach bar in Mexico. In any case, I kept going to the bike place, and after I got tomorrows time locked in, I asked for advice about a dinner place. She showed me on the map where to go, and I did, and low and behold it was Kolevest….the place I saw! |I alerted them we’d be coming in an hour.
We showed up, and there was no waiter, so I played waitress, and I had NO idea what to expect, but the food was the BEST we’ve had all trip. Tender sirloin on a fried potato pancake with bell peppers in a balsamic dressing. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Others had a hamburger, but it was seasoned with a chili ketchup sauce, and then there was a Chicken Mozzerella with tomatoe sauce, over a lettuce. I mean, really unbelievable.

I am now, in the second apartment, waiting, waiting blogging, waiting, for them all to get ready to go out on the town. I have a huge fear that if I stop typing, I will just go to sleep…so…The weather is super hot here, and humid, we are sweating sitting still.
We are headed to Instant, a dance club 3 blocks away, then Morrisons, another 3 blocks north, and then back to Szent Istvan to a roof party which we ventured upon last year, to see the amazing lights at night.

Tomorrow, we will have the bike tour, and then free time. Before we leave at 6 am to the airport.
It is going to be hard to say goodbye, but we are already trying to figure out a date, in August when we can all be together again for the reunion party.

CANT WAIT TO COME HOME…I MISS MY FAMILY!!! and I am sure these kids miss their loved ones just as much, but gosh, its all a blur, and a wonderful time we’ve had…