Flight Information Has Arrived!!!

Much excitement! Our flight schedules have arrived! We will be discussing these at tomorrow's Lunch & Learn Meeting with students.

Before you look at the documents below...brace yourself. It looks like both groups have a pretty grueling flight schedule for departure and return. So begin preparing yourself for some long travel days. Bring a book!

Base Tour Flight Schedule

Extension Group Flight Schedule

At our next large group meeting (our last pre-departure get-together), we will be discussing packing restrictions and general rules of airline travel. It's getting real, folks!

Good Morning from London!

Well...what a day! Our arrival day in London is one I'm sure our students will recall as a busy one! Most of the students hit the hay early last night...almost sleeping as they walked because they were so tired!

Our various flights "across the pond" went as well as one might expect. We did have some troubleshooting to do (some minor delays and one significant one for a couple of travelers) on the spot, but all of our students handled it quite well. I was VERY impressed with their patience and maturity as they waited long hours in lines and at checkpoints as we moved through the airports. Eventually, we all got our passports stamped with the UK's customs mark and were on our way.

We were unable to check into the hotel on arrival, as we expected, so we stashed our bags and headed from our hotel (near Wembley stadium) to the Imperial War Museum to view exhibits on Trench warfare in WWI, the Blitz, and the Holocaust, as well as many large artifacts from the world wars (tanks, planes, etc.). In order to do this, we were introduced to the Tube (London's subway or underground system). Hats off to our chaperones as we conquered the difficult task of getting 44 people on and off the trains and through line switches during busy traffic! (You can imagine the difficulty... as staying on too long or not getting on at the right time would create considerable havoc!).

By that point, many of our group were completely famished...as (due to delays and other hassles) many of our group got little for lunch and had last eaten breakfast on the plane (it was 4:30 PM!). Fatigue was a constant companion today as well, since many of us (including me) slept little during our overnight flight schedule and were up for nearly 48 hours straight.

We headed (via the Tube) into downtown London and had a traditionall (AND DELICIOUS) Fish & Chips dinner at Mr. Chips. After dinner, a contingent of our group headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime (many volunteered for this...due to extreme fatigue. We were waking up students who were falling asleep sitting AND standing in the Tube trains!). The EXTREMELY hardy among us continued for a 2 hour "Ghost Walk" (haunted tour of London's East End). Our guide was impressive...even if he was getting impatient with our zombie-like slowness and unresponsiveness by this point. Those who braved the walk were back to the hotel a little after 10:00 PM and more ready for shower and bed than they have ever been in their lives, I imagine.

We did early room checks around 10:30 (curfew at 11:30, by the way) and found all in their rooms, many already in bed. I doubt this evening will yield the same result as they are now well-rested.

Breakfast will be soon at 8:30 (it's 7:37 AM BST as I write this) and we'll be off for a bus tour of London's major sites. Highlights for the day ahead include the London Eye and Les Mis! I'll post pics as soon as I can, but for now know that all is well. We were much exhausted but hopefully on the recovery and ready for the day ahead!

Reminder: Final MANDATORY Meeting for D-Day Travelers

I hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. With only two weeks to go in the school year, things are wrapping up fast! Personally, I have more to accomplish than time to do it, so it's going to be a rough couple of weeks. Eeeek.

ONE of the things I am preparing for is our final pre-departure meeting for the D-Day travelers, which will be Sunday, May 31 at 6:00 PM in the Chi-Hi cafeteria. We have a lot of lose ends to tie up, including:

• Final departure information & itinerary
• Packing rules and tips
• Money/Currency
• Emergency contact protocol
• Collecting any remaining contributions to the general fund

This meeting is required for all travelers (and, if applicable, a parent), due to the importance of the information being shared.

TSA Website has Helpful Packing & Planning Tips

Today during our lunch & learn meeting I introduced D-Day travelers to a helpful site for travel planning. The Transportation Security Administration - the government body that overseas security checks at airports and other locations - has a helpful website for air travelers. Included in the website are tips on:

• how to get through security lines faster (through packing and appropriate dress)
• packing liquids for carry-on
• what items are prohibited on flights
• instructions for transporting gifts
• how to pack electronic equipment

Flight Info for 11-Day D-Day Tour!

I have some exciting information to pass along to you! I just received our flight schedules for the 11-day tour. (Those on the 14-day trip should already have flight information). Except for 2 travelers with special arrangements (who have already been contacted with their schedules), the remaining 15 people on the regular tour will be flying together. Here is the itinerary:

Depart:
6/15/2009 - 2:25 PM - Minneapolis - American Airlines Flight #1442
6/15/2009 - 3:45 PM - Arrival in Chicago

6/15/2009 - 5:00 PM - Chicago - American Airlines Flight #86
6/16/2009 - 6:50 AM - Arrival in London (Heathrow)

Return:
6/25/2009 - 12:20 PM - Berlin - British Airways Flight #983
6/25/2009 - 1:15 PM - Arrive in London (Heathrow)

6/25/2009 - 4:35 PM - London (Heathrow) - American Airlines Flight #91
6/25/2009 - 7:10 PM - Arrive in Chicago

6/25/2009 - 10:30 PM - Chicago - American Airlines Flight #2045
6/25/2009 - 11:50 PM - Arrival in Minneapolis

Now that all of our flight schedules are set, I will make arrangements for busing/shuttles. Please let me know if you are arranging your own transportation from the Minneapolis airport upon return. It will affect how much space I reserve.

Also, now that we know what airlines we are working with, we know for sure what our baggage restrictions will be. See my recent post on Carry-On Luggage for information about what size/weight restrictions you will be expected to comply with.