Hello everybody!

We are very happy to officially release our 2010 tour schedule. We have 6 exciting tours on slate and we hope that interest will be plentiful. Feel free to go to the "Group Tours" page to find out more about these tours. 

We will have a booth at the DSA convention in Las Vegas and we are really looking forward to seeing old clients and finding new ones there! Feel free to stop by our booth whenever you can. 

Have a great day!

Hello everybody!

I promised myself to write on the blog often-- guess that did not work out too well. I noticed that I have not written in here for over 6 months-- yet it really does feel like yesterday. Where does the time go? 

As we all know, travel is becoming difficult in this period due to the global economic crisis. We want to assure our clients that all HOT tours will occur as planned and our commitment to HOT remains the same as ever. If something changes, you will be the first to know!

For 2009 we are operating at a reduced schedule and were forced to cancel a few tours. If you are interested in traveling in 2009, we have three options still available: Ireland in May, Scandinavia in July, and a customized tour in Italy anytime you wish. 

As always, contact us anytime. We will be working on updating the website in this period so be on the lookout for any news. Thanks!

 Terry

Hello everybody, from England!

Our current tour (London and Paris, with an extension of 5 days to explore the English countryside) is going very well. We are currently in Brighton, England's famous and fashionable seaside resort. Tomorrow we depart for the Cotswolds to visit its gardens, pubs, thatched cottages, and green spaces. Then it's on to London and finally Paris. Lots to come!

Reservations for our 2009 tours are proceeding along nicely. Some tours have already been filled up (Bella Italia in April and October, and France in September).

We urge reserving as early as possible to secure your spots on the remaining open tours (Ireland in May, Bella Italia in June, England and Scandinavia in July, Russia in September, and Hawaii in October).

For any more info, contact us anytime. Thanks and have a great day!

Day 10's Blog

by Randi

There was sunshine on our faces when we woke up. We noticed that we got up on a really beautiful Saturday morning in Venice. We deserved that feeling!

We went to the Doge's Palace for the morning. There was so much history behind the Palace. Now we understand better how Venice got so rich.

After that, we were on our own in Venice. It was our very last chance to explore this part of Italy. We weren't ready to go yet. We had our last big Italian dinner before we depart for California in the morning.

I remember the day when CSD High School proudly announced that Italy would be our next International Studies Trip. The first thing on my mind was that Italy is full of amazing history. I knew I had to go there. I am 25% Italian myself.

We had been waiting for this trip for months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. About a week before the journey started we counted down and got excited everyday. We were going to a country that has 50% of the world's ancient treasures.

International Studies is not only to learn about another country's history and culture but also to socialize with students. We had a variety of roommates for hotels in every city we went to. They got to know each other better from talking in their rooms before bedtime.

We were very lucky to have full communication access with our deaf tour guide, Terry. There is almost no company in this world like Hands On Travel. We had this unique opportunity to go to Italy. Thanks, Terry for making calls, reservations, dealing (especially with frustrated people), beautiful lectures, your patience with high school students, and everything!

To the parents of the students: Be sure to know your money was worth it for your kids to go to Italy! 

 Loooooong live Italy 2008!!!

Day 9's Blog

by Valerie F. and Amelia

Today we went to a deaf school for deaf Italian kids. Its name is ISISS. We took the train from Venice to Padova, where the school is located. We arrived to a warm approach from the school superintendent, Arianna Caccaro. We settled in the assembly room with several deaf Italian kids. Caccaro explained their programs to us, such as one that the school provides to ensure that the kids are qualified to work all over Europe. Others include giving grants to turn the school into a multimedia HS by putting TVs all over the school for information access and smartboards in each classroom. She also extrapolated about the sports program, in which they get famous athletes to instruct their kids! Wow! They also explained that their school is focused on math, computer data entry, and sometimes architecture. Then we had lunch with them and we met many Italian kids. We enjoyed chatting about the differences between America and Italy. Then we returned to Venice and we rode in gondolas! It was a romantic time for couples, and exhilirating for singles. During the ride, we noticed how beautiful Venice really is. When we finished riding we got free time. We stuffed ourselves with dinner and crepes. We enjoyed today so much that we are in such a merry mood :)

Day 8's Blog

by Monica

If you hate having cars or being stuck in traffic for hours and hours, Venezia is the answer! 110 mind-boggling islands with 440 bridges connecting the streets, actually canals! We boarded the taxi boat which brought us to the hotel; during that short journey I have to emphasize that the sight of Venice is phenomenal and overwhelming! The words that I am trying to explain won't ever work, and seeing pictures won't work. You have to be there in person! Simply speechless, period! When we arrived and settled down at the humble Istituto San Giuseppe convent, we left our bags and went to see St. Mark's Church. What made it interesting is their gold Byzantine mosiac work which covered the whole ceiling. The statues do have a whole lot of stories left behind so be prepared for our stories when we come back home! We then went to Alberto's for a seafood dinner which was delicious. For those who don't like seafood they had pasta. La Dolce Vita!

P.S. Happy Birthday to you Mom, tomorrow! Hugs!

P.P.S. No group pix today, none was taken! Oops!

Day 6's Blog

by Karlee and Andrew

We woke up very early in the morning and after breakfast we got on the bus to Siena to visit some museums, towers, and the headquarters of the 3rd largest bank in Italy. It was nice to see different styles of buildings from Rome to Florence to Siena which was more of a gothic style. We also got the chance to visit 2 deaf brothers who own a wine business. We learned more about wine and how to run a business. We also got 4 hours free in the evening to shop, eat dinner, use the internet and wash our clothes. Today we walked 6 miles. We look forward to the next day!

Day 7's Blog

by Serena and Valerie S.

Today, we went to Pisa to visit the Field of Miracles and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was absolutely beautiful and unique! After that, we went to the Uffizi, which was a big museum. We actually learned a lot about art which gave us a good spirit. It was very impressive. It was a good opportunity to visit the museum and worthwhile! We walked to see the beautiful bridge, the Ponte Vecchio. It is a very romantic bridge! It is our last night in Florence and we are looking forward to be in Venice tomorrow. Obviously we had a blast and it was very enjoyable.

Today we have pictures from yesterday and today... but no blog! After a long day in Siena the students all had the evening free and ran out to do their own thing before we could get them to write up the day's entry. That'll come tomorrow... Pazienza, as the Italians say. In the meantime here are the pixs from yesterday (taken at the top of the Florence Duomo) and today (in Siena's famous Piazza del Campo). Enjoy.

Today was our first day in Florence. We arrived at the
Azzi Hotel to leave our bags and then we went to see the
Medici Tombs. We saw Lorenzo the Magnificent (Medici)'s
tomb. Then we went to the Duomo. We saw beautiful art on
the dome. We took 463 steps to get to the top of the
Duomo. Afterwards we went to enter the Accademia museum
to see the famous statue of David. David is based on the
bible story of a small boy who was able to kill a giant
man, Goliath. We went to the Medici palace where entire
generations of the noble family lived in. We saw
beautiful artwork and sculpture all day which made today
memorable. After a nice dinner in Florence, we're ready
for the next adventure to begin tomorrow!

By Rachelle and Michael

(P.S. We forgot the excellent group picture that was taken on top of the Duomo. We will post that tomorrow!) 

 By Aaron F. and Sarah

We met several deaf people from Spain on the train trip to Pompeii. While in Pompeii we were impressed by the huge front gate and the walls around it. There were many ruined buildings. We were amazed and impressed that these buildings have stood and survived about 20 centuries! We were filled with an enriching experience walking through many treasures. We will never forget what we saw today. Today was also a relaxing day which allowed us time to take pictures and videos.

We also learned about the Pompeii dog that was bred only in that one area. Today you can see some descendants still around the ruins. Also you could see impressions on the road made by the wheels of wagons back then, and I was skipping on the stones hopping from one place to other with my camera, and that was a lot of hopping!

Tomorrow is Easter so there will not be any blog entry. We will be back on Monday. See you then!