November 8th Festival Class Schedule
Our top travel teachers present ten lively slideshows on their favorite travel destinations, including four lectures by Rick packed with his latest travel tips, insights and discoveries. Reservations are required for all classes Happy travels!
- Special Travel Center Hours and Deals: Saturday, November 8th from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
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Directions and map to class venues
Eating and Sleeping in Edmonds
European Travel Skills with Rick Steves
Time: 9-11:30 a.m. • Location: Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)
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For 30 years, Rick Steves and his staff have been taking careful notes so you can learn from their mistakes rather than your own. We'll teach you the secrets of safe, smart, inexpensive travel — low on stress and high on fun. You'll learn how to plan an efficient itinerary, pack light, and find Europe's off-beat nooks and intimate crannies. You'll maximize adventure and minimize crowds, eat and sleep comfortably on less than $100 per day, choose great budget hotels, and navigate Europe's excellent rail system with ease. Forget about expensive vacations in big American-style hotels. We'll teach you how to experience the real Europe...through the back door! In this lively slideshow lecture, Rick covers:
- Planning an efficient itinerary and packing light
- Finding off-beat nooks and crannies in Europe
- Maximizing adventure and minimizing crowds
- Eating and sleeping well on less than $100 a day
- Choosing a good budget hotel — without reservations
- Hurdling the language barrier
- Avoiding theft
- And more!
Ireland with Pat O'Connor
Time: 9-10:30 a.m. • Location: Edmonds Theater
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Join us for a slideshow romp through the unique Irish landscape! We'll get a glimpse of Ireland's fascinating history and meet the friendly people of this charming country. Our travels will take us through both the Republic and Northern Ireland, including Dublin, Waterford, the Aran Islands, Dingle Peninsula, Belfast, Derry, and the Giant's Causeway.
Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary with Cameron Hewitt
Time: 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Theater
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Together we'll travel through a trio of Eastern Europe's most accessible and enjoyable countries: the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary. Along the way, we'll stop off in bohemian Prague, charming Krakow, gorgeous Gdansk, and bustling Budapest.
Packing Light & Right with Joan Robinson
Time: 12-1:30 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)
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You'll learn now or you'll learn later: The first step to a great trip is packing light — don't weigh yourself down! You can travel for months with one carry-on size bag and still have everything you need for a great trip. We'll distribute packing lists, show off the latest in lightweight luggage, and demonstrate a professionally packed bag. .
Great Britain with Rick Steves
Time: 12:30-2 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Theater
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From Big Ben to bagpipes, Great Britain features some of Europe's best scenery, top museums, quaintest villages, and friendliest locals — all without a language barrier. We'll visit Bath, Cotswold villages, Wales, the Lakes District, Edinburgh, Hadrian's Wall, and York. In London we'll visit some of the world's best museums, theaters and pubs.
France with Steve Smith
Time: 2-4 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)
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It should be no surprise that France is the world's most-visited country. We'll lead you through the battlefields and rugged coastline of Normandy and Brittany, and the vineyards and chateaux of the Loire Valley and Burgundy. Then we head south to Provence and the glamorous Riviera before topping it all off in romantic, historic Paris.
Spain & Portugal with Reid Coen
Time: 2:30-4 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Theater
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Our journey begins in Barcelona, gawking at astounding architecture and rambling down the Ramblas. Then it's on to Madrid, where you can fill up on tasty tapas and visit top museums. Then we'll head south to Granada, the whitewashed hill towns around Sevilla, and Portugal's romantic Algarve Coast, before finishing our journey in bustling Lisbon.
Italy with Rick Steves
Time: 4-6 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)
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You'll almost be able to smell the linguini and taste the vino rosso as we explore enchanting Italy. The north is home to cosmopolitan Milan, time-tripping Venice, serene lakes, and the Alpine Dolomites. In central Italy we'll visit the Renaissance capital of Florence and the quaint hill towns of Tuscany and Umbria. On the Italian Riviera, the Cinque Terre's rocky coastlines and tiny villages are the epitome of picturesque. We'll wrap things up with amazing Rome and the dramatic Amalfi Coast.
Germany, Austria & Switzerland with Dave Hoerlein
Time: 4:30-6 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Theater
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Tour the scenic heart of Europe, from the poetic Rhine to the Romantic Road and the fantasy castles and beers of Bavaria. We'll venture onward to the hills of Mozart's Salzburg, then along the Danube to Vienna. Finally, explore the Alpine wonderland of Heidi's Switzerland in Appenzell and the Berner Oberland.
Rick Steves' Iran with Rick Steves
Time: 7:30-9 p.m. • Location: Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)
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Rick Steves is back from a ten day filming trip for PBS to the Islamic Republic of Iran. His mission: to help humanize a country we know very little about by simply getting to know the people and the culture. He’s organized his photos and is ready to share his lessons and surprises with a vivid 90-minute slide show followed by a short Q&A (no need to cover your head).