90-day Milestone 

This is a reminder that Tuesday, December 22, 1998 marks the 90 day countdown to departure. At EF Tours this is a significant milestone. The complete balance of your account is due at EF on December 22. After this date, EF assesses a $75.00 late fee on any accounts with a balance. (See page 6 of the glossy EF brochure for payment details). So please make your payment by that date (directly to EF) to avoid the late fee. 

Trip Roster 

There are some changes to the roster of participants which was listed in Newsletter #1. Our completely booked tour now consists of 54 people. Two of our original group had to drop out, namely Erica Cowan and Viola Feuchtwanger – each because of illnesses of family members. However, there are four new members of our travel company: Rosanne Marzarella of Marlton and Marianne Hartka of Blackwood – two friends who were on the waiting list just hoping that someone would cancel! Also, we welcome the two individuals who won the raffle conducted by BCC for the benefit of the Theater program: Dan and Toni Currie of Mount Laurel. We actually have one more open space (the European coaches hold 55 people) – and there are one or two individuals considering joining us, so we may have the full complement of 55 after all.

The first of three pre-trip meetings has been scheduled for Saturday, January 23, 1999 at 1:00 p.m. at the home of Beverly and Jim Young, 159 Eayrestown Road, Southampton, NJ. Bev, who is one of our tour participants, suggested we have the first meeting as an informal party-like get-together with an Italian theme. So, there will be wine and cheese and each of you is invited to bring a treat – with an Italian flavor. The meeting will last till about 4:00 p.m. and we will do an overview of the itinerary, with special highlights of each venue we will be visiting. The pre-trip meetings are optional, but highly recommended, as a means of orienting everyone to the tour. Realistic expectations help to make a tour more enjoyable and memorable, and we do our best to prepare everyone properly. You will be provided with directions to the Young’s home in advance of the meeting date. If you have any questions for Bev, her phone number is 859-2061. Bev and Jim were with us on the tour to Portugal and Spain.

Mark your calendars for the remaining two meetings, which will probably be held at Burlington County College on the mornings of Saturday, February 20 and Saturday, March 20 from 10:00 till noon.

Here’s a breakdown of the number of participants who have signed up for the optional tours in Italy:

Many of you have already sent in your payment. If you haven’t, please hold off until January. You can mail the money or bring it to the January 23 meeting.

In addition, 30 of you have signed up for the bus to Newark International Airport. That is a very good number and will help keep the cost down to under $30.00 per person, round trip. No payment for this will be due until February.

Thank you for returning the sheets with room assignments, passport numbers and optional tours. Only a few of you have failed to return them. If you are one of the few, you will find a PINK copy of the form enclosed. Please return it immediately with the appropriate information.

Travel Gifts 

If you would like to suggest to friends or family members appropriate travel gifts, may I suggest the Magellan's Travel Products Catalog. It can be ordered by calling 1-800-962-4943, or on the Internet at www.magellans.com. The address is 110 W. Sola St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101-3007. If you intend to be a serious traveler, you can’t beat the selection of travel items offered by Magellan’s.

Don’t forget to click on to my web-site, www.laufer-world.com for ongoing information about the trip. After clicking on to "International Travel", follow the directions to the EF site to get detailed information about the various cities in Italy we will be visiting.