Upcoming Travels
Before I get to my top two Disney picks, I’d like to introduce the next few destinations that will be featured on Suitcase Scholar. As I’m finishing up the school year, my travels are somewhat limited right now…but not really. Before the end of the school year, I will have visited New York City twice, so some Educational NYC posts are coming soon.
Central Park
Additionally, I will be returning to Walt Disney World and visiting Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the first time. I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and you should be pretty excited about the lesson ideas I will come up with in Universal.
All of that is in the next four weeks–aaack! And then it’s summer break, during which my husband and I will be traveling for at least three weeks. As of now our options include Montreal/Quebec City and Bermuda. I’ve never been to eastern Canada–though I love Vancouver on the west coast–and I’ve never been to Bermuda, but you can bet I’ll find lots of learning opportunities in each destination.
Vancouver, 2006
I am taking the 2011-2012 school year off to travel and write, which means that the pace of this blog (and my other two travel blogs, Blog on the Run and Virtual Passenger) is going to pick up quite considerably. Where will I be going? As of now, I have an extended Orlando trip planned for the fall–to work on The World is Your Classroom–and a winter trip to somewhere warm, likely Cancun. Ideally I will be able to squeeze in a fall trip to Phoenix and the surrounding area, including Sedona and the Grand Canyon. The possibility also exists for a quick Vegas trip at any time.
Springtime of next year brings yet another trip–April in Paris. I visited Paris last summer with my husband and really, really didn’t like it. Yes, you read that correctly–I didn’t like it, and I’m going back.
See? Me, miserable in Paris.
I feel I learned many things from that ill-fated trip, and plan to do a re-do the right way. Plus, I know there are thousands of educational opportunities in the city of light.
To make the trip as authentic of a recreation as possible, I’ll be adding London to the schedule as well, as the trip last summer started and ended in London. While it may be a year away, you should most definitely look forward to some brilliant lessons from an English teacher’s ideal city. I could spend a week just in the British Museum, nevermind the National Gallery. I’d also like to do a side trip to the place where all learning begins–Oxford.
I’m sure there will be more trips that I haven’t even planned yet, as I plan to make the best of off-season fare sales and the fact that I have the time to drive to various destinations. I’m really quite excited about all of it–and you, dear reader, should be excited too!
Oh my gosh, this sounds like a great itinerary for your year off! I’m keeping my fingers crossed you like Paris better the second time around.
Hi, I’m here from the PPboards… I can’t belive you didn’t like Paris… Of course you went in summer, WORST season to go! Best time to visit is in Spring time (may is very nice) or fall. It’s less crowded and the weater is way better! I lived in Paris for 2 years, I was an “Au pair girl” and really enjoyed it. But you should come visit Montreal and Québec 🙂 We speach french as well LOL
Greetings and thanks for reading and commenting! I know that summer is the worst time–but there was no other option, as we are both teachers. My husband has a total of two personal days per year. But now that I’m not teaching–at least for this year anyway–I can visit many places in the off season. If only I had enough money to go everywhere I want to go!
Montreal and Quebec are on the top of our must-do list. Actually, that was supposed to be our summer trip this year. But we decided instead to avoid cities (for the most part) and so are doing a Maine and Maritimes trip instead. Though I guess there’s really no reason I can’t do a Montreal trip in the fall, right???
Montreal is very nice in september and october, also in may and june 🙂 In june we have the jazz festival (usually at the end of the month, this year was from june 25th to july 4th, lots of free concerts outside)
I’m going to Ottawa for our vacation this years, I’m like you, I try to avoid big city in summer, because it tends to be to hot. I can’t wait to hear more about your plan!