Traveling - spring break

During the program, as most know, there is a break period meant for traveling for about 2 weeks. Now, most students coming into the program really plan on taking advantage of this opportunity: being in Europe and the facility of getting around to new countries. Thats great. However, if there are any students who do not feel that they can afford it or just feel like saving some money and sticking around in Pontlevoy, there is one thing the Abbey program does not tell you. If you do choose not to travel, you have to pay at LEAST a good 50 euros a day to stay in the Abbey, because it is not rented for those two weeks. SO, be prepared to move all of your stuff out once Paris week hits. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that it is a good idea to travel since you would spend just as much money staying in Pontlevoy. On that note, I want to encourage everyone to plan out their travel break long before the program. It might simply be, "Hey, I've always wanted to see Rome" and so therefore, plan out a nice trip to Rome. However, if you can go for something a little more meaningful, aside from just seeing sights, that memory will stick with you for much longer. I got very lucky in planning my travel break. I went to Portugal to study violin with a wonderful professor, who put me up for the entire time I was there. I was able to relax and enjoy the beauty of a small town in portugal, while making wonderful friends and preparing for my career at the same time. This memory will never die. So if you can find some place, some city, something that will change your life, use that for your travel break as opposed to just running all over Europe (because that can get very expensive and tiring)