Every week, Explorations will offer all you inveterate travelers a travel tip from one of our expert Program Consultants.

This week’s travel tip is from our Client Services Manager, Sarah Vessenes, and it’s a good one for the extroverted traveler…

When I travel, I like to go for the authentic experience–to move beyond being a tourist.  I like to eat, shop, and live the rhythms of the city, country or region I’m visiting.

And here’s the best way to get to this authentic experience: Don’t be shy!  As a naturally outgoing person, this comes naturally to me, but for those who are not as garrulous–trust me, it’s worth it.

Get to know the people who know your location like the backs of their hands.  Some of my best travel advice has come from the mouths of taxi drivers, bartenders and waitstaff.

At a restaurant in Holland, my friend who I was traveling with and myself made such good friends with our waiter that he ended up offering to show us a place only locals would know the next day.  He and his friends took us to see amazing views of the North Sea,  miles of tulip fields, and to have dinner at the family home!

Remember, most locals want to make international connections as much as you want to learn about their native lands, so again I say “Don’t be shy!”  Get to know your travel destination the best way possible–from someone who lives every day.

One of our main goals with Explorations is to give everyone an opportunity to meet the fine folks who work at Explorica to help teachers take their students on educational tours across the globe.

This week’s featured Program Consultant is Sarah Vessenes. Here’s some of our favorite excerpts from our recent interview with her:

Where did you grow up?

You would never guess it, but this woman of the world is from Minnesota!  That’s right, the land of -50 (Fahrenheit) days where school buses wouldn’t start and the indoor malls stretch for miles.  I even had the blessed opportunity to work at the Mall of America in High School!

Where did you go to college?

Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL (Not to be confused with the one in MA).  A choice I thought would suit me – small, liberal arts college, near but not in a major city.

While I enjoyed my Wheaton experience,  my best year was the one in which I studied abroad at the University of Bristol, in Bristol England.

Where have you traveled?

Oh, I’ve been around:

Costa Rica, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, England, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Holland, Czech Republic, Monaco, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, Denmark, Sweden, Wales…and Scotland

Which Explorica tours have you taken?

• Italy France and Spain
• Germany Switzerland Austria
• Madrid and Andalusia with Portugal Extension
• Costa Rica

Favorite band, movie, and/or book…

The Time Traveler’s Wife.

It was so good, I started rationing myself so that it wouldn’t end.

If you could live anywhere else in the entire world, where would that be and why?

I would move back to England in a heart beat.  I didn’t want to leave the first time!

I would also love a stint in France before I die.  I actually had an opportunity to do so but passed on it and then found Explorica–which is the next best thing to working abroad.

What do you like to do when you’re not helping teachers plan fantastic tours?

I like being in my new apartment.

My husband and I moved to this spectacular brownstone with private roof access and view of the city.  I can’t get enough of being at home with Michael and the dog!

Is white chocolate really chocolate?

Does anyone say yes to this?  NO, of course it’s not.

Coke or Pepsi?

Neither.  I don’t like pop (as a Minnesotan would say).  Water, coffee, or red wine please.

Why don’t you have a Minnesota accent?

We’re not natives (aka  Scandinavian) which made for immense teasing in school.  My dad is Greek and was raised in Chicago, and my mother is from Colorado.  Minnesota is just where they ended up.

I don’t think a day goes by where they don’t complain that they have to live in Minnesota, but the funny thing is they moved once when I was in college and then moved back six months later.

Go figure.

What’s your favorite thing about your new dog?

He’s out of proportion – he has a big head, long body, and big paws.  A true puppy figure even though he’s full grown.  That and his face is irresistible.  He also has a fetish with sticks.  He can’t go on a walk without picking up one twice as long as his body and carrying it around.  I could go on and on, but I will stop here with my top three.

Why are you smiling?

Because I just discovered The Fuzzy Bunny!

Apparently, I’ve been walking by the ugliest building in the world almost every day on my way home from Explorica…

According to the folks over at virtualtourist.com, Boston City Hall is the ugliest building in the world.

Personally, I think that’s a little harsh.  True, City Hall does somewhat resemble a temporarily docked interplanetary mothership, but, I dunno….

Maybe it’s the homer in me, but I think some of these other buildings are equally, if not more, atrocious.

That being said, Explorations is nothing if not democratic, so I’m leaving it up to you.

What do you guys think–is Boston’s City Hall the worst of the worst, or is there a better choice among virtualtourist’s list for the top spot?

Any particularly galling buildings or monuments that you think virtualtourist left out?

Every week, Explorations will offer all you inveterate travelers a travel tip from one of our expert Program Consultants.

This week’s travel tip is from Canadian Program Consultant Cora Gomez, and it’s a good one for the risk-averse traveler…

My advice: Booby-trap EVERYTHING.

I travel under the assumption that I’m a pickpocket target because:

• I’m travelling with a group, and
• I often don’t speak or look like a local, and
• I’m of Chinese-descent, so some assume that we all have expensive electronic goods attached to us (eg. camera).

My belief is that if you’re going to rob me, at least you’re going to entertain me. I take solace in the fact that if you are able to outwit me by gaining access to my personal belongs, you will soon realize all that work was for nothing…

My warfare tactics includes the following:

1. Luggage locks in case the hotel doesn’t have a safety deposit box.
2. A fanny pack that I wear across my body in case I need to grasp it in crowded areas (on the metro, etc.)
3. A carabiner to clip to the fanny-pack-strap to avoid easy opening. I clip a baseball cap as well to hide the clip configuration as well.
4. A Ziplock bag which I use as a wallet. I utilize a neck wallet under my clothes which contains my passport, most of my money … however I don’t want people to see my hiding spot. Therefore, I use the Ziplock bag as a wallet whereby I keep loose change and spending money for the day.  Additionally, I camouflage my money with Chap Stick, gum, tissue, clothing stain wipes, pen, paper, etc.

[Editor's Note:] If anyone has a picture of Cora wearing a fanny-pack on tour, Explorations promises to give you a hearty blog shout-out for providing us with photo-evidence of this remarkable–and potentially remarkably embarrassing– admission.

Although these tactics impair me from easily accessing my belongings … the idea is that it will deter others. I have never lost anything to pickpockets.

EVER.  So before you judge me, ask yourself–can you say the same?

One of our main goals with Explorations is to give everyone an opportunity to meet the fine folks who work at Explorica to help teachers take their students on educational tours across the globe.

This week’s featured Program Consultant is Cora Gomez.  Here’s some of our favorite excerpts from our recent interview with her:

Where did you grow up?

Toronto, Ontario.

Where did you go to university?

University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.

Where have you traveled?

Most of the Canadian provincial capitals, NYC, Boston, Vegas, LA, Miami, Cuba, Venezuela, Jamaica, Barbados, Brazil, Belize, Panama, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, and China.  I’m adding Mexico shortly.

Which Explorica tours have you taken?

London and Paris with Amsterdam Extension
Madrid, Mallorca & Barcelona
Best of Europe
Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai with Hong Kong Extension
Italy & Greece
Across the Channel to Vimy Ridge - 90th Anniversary

Favorite band, movie, and/or book…

My favourite music both growing up and presently is easy listening.  During my youth while some were exploring angst ridden music … I was swaying to the adult contemporary stylings of Barry Manilow, Diana Ross,  and Johnny Mathis.

Surprisingly I wasn’t beaten up while I was growing up.

If you could live anywhere else in the entire world, where would that be and why?

If money was no issue I would live in Spain, Italy and France along the Mediterranean.  I’m terrible with languages so this would force me to learn.

I would own a place in all three countries with a driver, chef, butler, maid, and someone to piggy back me around so I wouldn’t have to walk.

I’m trying to convince my husband to take on those roles but with no luck so far.

Which food did you love as a kid that you tried as an adult and found to be absolutely terrible?

Ribena is a concentrated black currant fruit drink that you simply add water to.  I used to LOVE it and drank it like no tomorrow.  I recently tried it and it (coloured, sugared water) doesn’t do it for me anymore…

What do you like to do when you’re not helping teachers plan fantastic tours?

My family and I all play tennis.  It is brutally competitive and we cheat like crazy … but it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside to know you kicked your father’s butt on the court and you showed him who’s boss.

On the other hand, my husband is a tennis pro and unfortunately I have been nowhere near to winning … so I’m waiting patiently for him to get old, and requiring some walking assistance to go in for the kill.

What’s your favorite foodstuff that you can only get in Canada?

Flavoured chips such as ketchup and dill pickle.

Why should more Americans visit Toronto?

We offer an experience full of  diverse and multicultural influences.  Whether it be visiting Chinatown, Little India, Greek town, Little Italy, or little Portugal, there is always a familiar and comfortable place to go.

What’s with you Canadians and your overwhelming love of Tim Hortons?

Donuts and coffee–what’s not to love?

You feel safe with the frequent police donut runs (low blow), its cheaper then Starbucks and you can buy Timbits.  Timbits are mini donuts that you can scarf down and not feel as guilty as eating one whole donut….

Our aim with these My Favorite: posts is to give our well-traveled Explorica employees a chance to share some of their favorite travel experiences with all of you.

We’ll be doing two My Favorites this week, and first up is Tom O’Grady.  Take it away, Tom…

My favorite store in all of Germany is…The Kaufhof!

A few years back, I had the chance to go to Germany to see the US play in the World Cup.  I spent three weeks traveling through Germany, following the team and the sport that I love. I spent a lot of time in Munich and became a regular in the Marienplatz .

In the three weeks I was there, I saw just about every part of Munich, and many days I had some time to kill before the games would start at night.  Also, I discovered that due to the heightened number of tourists, many restaurants and shops were inflating their prices to take advantage of the World Cup traffic.  I was not going to fall victim!

That’s when I discovered the Kaufhof.  Its kind of a one stop super-department store.  Picture a Macy’s with a cafeteria/restaurant on the top floor and a supermarket in the basement.

I literally found everything I needed right there–and due to the fact that locals shop there, the prices weren’t affected as much.  To escape the sun, I wandered through the multiple floors, checking out everything European, from clothes, to music, to electronics, to the different kinds of snack foods they eat.  I also got many of my World Cup souvenirs there as well.  They have great prices on many of the things you’d find on the streets.

If that weren’t enough, when I’d get hungry I could go up to the cafeteria and get a great serving of wiener schnitzel and french fries, washed down with a cool orange Fanta (the European version). You  can eat at a fraction of the cost of a restaurant, and you’ll be sitting in a bright, air conditioned room where you can sit for as long as you’d like.

And the best point of all about the Kaufhof……free restrooms!

Sure… they do ask you for a small donation to the cleaner, which is normal in Europe, but you get to use a perfectly clean bathroom that is not known by many tourist.  Plus, you’ll get to impress your fellow travelers with your behind the scenes knowledge.

Buon viaggio!

Every week, Explorations will offer all you inveterate travelers a travel tip from one of our expert Program Consultants.  This week’s travel tip is from Tom O’Grady, and it’s a good one for haberdasher-frequenters, resident clotheshorses, and overall followers of what’s en mode…

First off, Travel Tip Number One: Never ever, under any circumstances, let a Gibraltar monkey get its hands on your passport.  Believe me, I know from experience…

[Editor's Note: If you call or email Tom, he promises to give you the full story on how a monkey stole his passport...and the lengths he had to go to in order to retrieve it.]

Seriously, though, my real travel tip is to pack lightly and carry a big wallet–also known as the Buy Local Plan.

Most trips are usually just over a week long, however many people end up bringing enough clothes for a three-week tour!  Remember, the only people that know you are wearing that outfit for the 2nd time in a week are the people you are traveling with…and they are probably doing the same thing.

Plus, some of the best souvenirs are clothes. Clothes are something you’ll wear in the future and there will be a story attached to the souvenir.

Just imagine: you come home from tour, head to school, and invariably receive a compliment about your new threads.  You’ll sound so cool when you casually mention “Oh this? I got this shirt in Prague because I got caught in the rain and didn’t have any more clothes to wear.”

With minimalist packing, you’ll have enough clothes to get by, room for your souvenirs, some cool clothes after your trip, and you’ll be the envy of your fellow travelers (“You only brought that much stuff?!”).

Buon viaggio!

One of our main goals with Explorations is to give everyone an opportunity to meet the fine folks who work at Explorica to help teachers take their students on educational tours across the globe.

This week’s featured Program Consultant is Tom O’Grady.  Here’s some of our favorite excerpts from our recent interview with him:

Where did you grow up?

Drexel Hill PA, right outside of Philadelphia.  Perhaps you’ve heard of Philadelphia…the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies play there.

Where did you go to college?

I went to Merrimack College in lovely North Andover Massachusetts.

Where have you traveled?

Ireland, England, France, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia & Slovakia (only on the train though) oh and Italy….a lot!  Been to Sicily and Sardinia as well.

And I’ve also flown from London to JFK then JFK to Rome, all in one day.  I think that might be a record.

Which Explorica tours have you taken?

Best of Europe, Spanish Studies in Spain, French Studies in France, Italian Highlights, World Cup Tour 2006 (unofficial tour).

Favorite band, movie, and/or book…

Singer: Luciano Ligabue
Movie: Johnny Stecchino (big fan of Roberto Benigni)
Book: Le Avventure di Pinocchio

If you could be any animal, which animal would you be?

Liger.

The real Philly cheesesteak: Pat’s or Geno’s?

Jim’s Steaks on South Street.  Pat’s and Geno’s are for tourists.

If you could live anywhere else in the entire world, where would that be and why?

Italy. But I’m biased as I’ve lived there before.  I love the people, the way of life,  and the geography.  Beaches in the south and mountains in the north, how can you go wrong? And I hear they have good food and wine as well…

What are some of the things most people don’t know about you?

That I’m a fantastic dancer.  Seriously, I’m really really good.

I’m probably the best wedding date ever.

Our aim with these My Favorite: posts is to give our well-traveled Explorica employees a chance to share some of their favorite travel experiences with all of you.

This week’s my favorite comes from Program Consultant Julie Castanino.  Take it away, Julie…

Italian food is my passion, so I had to choose one of my favorite restaurants in Italy.  Valle Dame is located on the same steep hill as Cortona, a quaint Italian town filled with little shops, good food and even better wine.  If you pass Cortona, and continue on a tiny winding road that has no streetlights, somewhere along the way you will find Valle Dame.  It appears to be more of a home than a restaurant and that is definitely the feeling you get when you are there.

You have to be open to trying different food, and picky eaters might want to pass on this one.  There is not a menu and typically the chef, who is usually your waitress, prepares the same primi course for the entire table.

Are you having second thoughts, yet?  Don’t.

I assure you, the food is well worth ever having a choice of what to eat.  Most of the pasta is handmade (pici pasta is the pasta of the area), the wine from the Cortona area, and the meat is fresh and flavorful.  Before you know it, you are talking with the 3 tables surrounding you, people from all over, somehow finding a way to converse because you feel the need to talk about the delicious food.  And 3 hours later, you are wondering how you can get to your car after eating all of that food!

I went with my family and I remember when we were leaving, we felt like we had to take something with us to remember this tiny place on the dark road high up in the hill of Cortona.  So we have one souvenir that we will hold onto until we all make it back there soon!

One of our main goals with Explorations is to give everyone an opportunity to meet the fine folks who work at Explorica to help teachers take their students on educational tours across the globe.

With that goal in mind, we’ll be introducing a new Explorica Program Consultant each week.  Watch for their posts in the following days, as they share some of their travel tips gleaned from their world wanderings, and regale us all with some of their favorite past travel experiences…

This week’s featured Program Consultant is Julie Castanino.  Here’s some of our favorite excerpts from our recent interview with her:

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Have you heard the song “Small Town“ by John (Cougar) Mellencamp?  Well in high school, we would substitute the words “small town” for “Watertown”.  Say it with a nice Boston accent “watah-town” and you’ve got the idea.  And you know a lot about where I’m from.

Where did you go to college?

The University of Richmond

This is when I had to drop my Boston accent so that my friends could understand me.  I fell in love with Virginia and was more than happy to escape Boston winters.  In Richmond, when it snows an inch, the entire city shuts down.  Being raised in Boston, this is truly amazing to me.  I grew up going to school in blizzards whereas in VA, one inch will get classes cancelled and no pizza deliveries due to “dangerous” roads.  I still miss Virginia’s weather and every Boston February I promise myself that I will move back there next year…

Where have you traveled?

Australia, Mexico, Bonaire, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Netherlands

Which Explorica tours have you taken?

London, Paris & Cote d’Azur

Best of Ireland

Athens & the Aegean

Favorite band, movie, and/or book…

Movie: Father of the Bride (close second is Sound of Music)

Book: No Ordinary Time (I love FDR!)

If you could be any animal, which animal would you be?

An elephant.  They are smart, family oriented, and it would be awesome to have a trunk.

Is white chocolate really chocolate?

Absolutely not.  I am not even sure if milk chocolate is really chocolate.  I go for dark chocolate or European hot chocolate which is basically a huge chocolate bar melted in a mug.  Or churros con chocolate – now that is some delicious chocolate.

Um, I feel pretty strongly about chocolate.

Coke or Pepsi?

Neither.  Milk does a body good.

Truffle pigs or truffle dogs?

I did some research for this question.  Initially I thought pigs because it would be great to have pigs get credit for something.  Everyone loves dogs and they always get a lot of attention, but where’s the pig love?

Unfortunately after my research, I have to go with dogs.  They are better at finding the truffles and do not eat them like pigs do.  I love truffles so I am voting truffle dogs so that there are more to eat.

P.S. I am now a truffle dog expert – ask me about how they train the dogs.  It involves a tennis ball and cheese.