Our first pre-trip meeting is a departure from our customary "lecture-type" sessions. Instead, we are having an informal social get-together with an Italian theme. There will be wine, cheese and Italian bread to titillate our palates, and Beverly Young plans to decorate her home in an Italian motif. There will be business to take care of, however, and I will show a video of some of the tour highlights and answer your questions about the nuts and bolts of the trip. I have enclosed a map and directions to the Young homestead at 159 Eayrestown Road in Southampton Township (Vincentown). If you have any questions, call Beverly Young at 859-2061. You are welcome to bring along a "treat" in the spirit of the theme – not a lot, however, as this is not intended to be a major party. The refreshments are simply incidental. This particular meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. and you should be on the road again by 4:00 p.m. at the latest. Of course, if there is a major snow or ice storm, we will not have the meeting. We will have an Italian flag flying in front of the house to help you identify the location.

Please mark your calendars for the second and third meetings: Saturday, February 20 and Saturday, March 20, both at the Burlington County College Library from 10:00 a.m. till noon. These meetings are optional – but they are recommended for those who wish to get the most out of their trip.

Enclosed you will find a full description of the optional excursions available on our Grand Tour. Since I have to forward all registrations to EF Tours within 30 days of departure, I would like those who have not selected or paid for their tours to come to the meeting next Saturday with their selections and full payment. Make checks payable to EF Institute Trust Account and write "Tour # 332556" on your check and your personal EF Account number. If you do not plan to attend the meeting, please mail your selections and check to me at Box 2234, Southampton, NJ 08088.

For those who have elected to join us on the round trip bus from Vincentown to Newark International Airport, I would also welcome your payment at the meeting. The cost is anticipated to be $30.00 per person, round trip. It may be less, and if so, I will provide refunds for everyone in cash on the day of departure. You may pay me in cash or by check made out to Joe Laufer.

Travel experts tell us that the best exchange rates are available in banks in the destination country. They also tell us that your best rate is obtained by using your credit cards while abroad. We also encourage you to bring some of your spending money in Traveler’s Checks for safety reasons. Nevertheless, we encourage our travelers to bring along a token amount of native currency for the first and second days abroad, in order to hit the ground running, so to speak, once you arrive. Generally we suggest $50 to $100 in the foreign currency. You may make arrangements with your local bank for exchange currency. They usually take a few days to process your request. If you are comfortable with downtown Philadelphia, First Union Bank at the corner of Broad St. and Sansom has a walk-up foreign exchange counter open daily during regular business hours.

As a service to our travelers, I volunteer to make a "bank run" to First Union in Philadelphia on February 2.. If you would like me to do this for you, you may bring your money to the January 23^rd meeting and I will have your Italian Lira at the February 20 meeting. I will accept amounts only in $50.00 increments, and no more than $150.00 per person. Cash is ok, or make a check to Joe Laufer. You will receive a receipt for your money at the meeting. (For those of you who may be confused about the introduction of the Euro on January 1, it doesn’t go into effect for the general public until the year 2000, so this will be the very last time you will use Italian Lira, unless you return to Italy before the end of the year).

You will find enclosed a list of the room assignments for the tour, which I forwarded to EF this week. If there are any errors, please let me know. I based the assignments on your feedback sheets, and where you did not indicate a roommate, I assigned on for you, where possible. Save the list for the trip, as you may use it at our several hotels to keep track of where your friends and relatives will be staying.

Those who have traveled with me before realize that EF doesn’t assign airlines or hotels until almost the last minute. The minute I learn the name and location of our hotels, I will post the information on the Internet (www.laufer-world.com) and forward it to you by mail.

1. Room assignments
2. Description of Optional Tours
3. Article on Pisa
4. Article on the Isle of Capri
5. Directions to the home of Jim and Beverly Young