Stumped for a Christmas gift?

Stumped for a Christmas gift?

What to give that hard-to-buy-for person?

How about a trip to Spain, Portugal and Morocco?

The 12-day trip, leaving St. Louis on May 19, 2010, is open to all Columbia College students, faculty, staff, family, alumni and friends, and will take in the sights, sounds and smells of:

• Barcelona, home to Antonio Gaudi's delirious architectural creations; and a dinner of paella, the national dish
• Zaragoza, and the baroque Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar with its frescoes by Goya and Velazquez
• Madrid, the capital, home to the 2,000-room Palacio Real and the Prado, one of the top museums in the world
• Córdoba, the capital of Moorish Spain
• Seville, with its 12th-century octagonal Torre del Oro (Golden Tower)
• Granada, and the magnificent 14th century Alhambra, one of the most photographed buildings in the world
• The Costa del Sol, with its fine beaches
• Lisbon, the lush, seven-hilled Portuguese capital

And don’t forget flamenco, fado and tapas.

Participants also may ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar and enter a world of mosques, camels, snake charmers and bustling markets in Tetouan, Morocco for a day – or just lay on the beach.

Participants may also take the following Web-assisted courses for credit:

Instructor	E-mail	Course
Bledsoe, Ann	ambledsoe@ccis.edu	MATH 377: Group Theory of Tiling COLL 177: Study Tour Experiences (1-hour directed study course)
Boon, Bob	reboon@ccis.edu	ENGL 377: El Cid and Don Quixote ENGL 377: Travel Writing
Carter, Robert	rdcarter@cougars.ccis.edu	SOCI/CJAD 277: Human Trafficking
Darnell, Amy	aldarnell@ccis.edu	COMM 177: Intro to Spanish Film COMM 377: Spanish Cinema
Higgins, Todd	trhiggins@cougars.ccis.edu	ENVS 277: The Environment of Spain
Miltimore, Robin	ramiltimore@cougars.ccis.edu	ENGL 377: Hemingway's Spain
Ross, Dawn	dlrossmo@yahoo.com	MATH 277: A Mathematical Look at Symmetry and Patterns
Ross, Fred	fross@ccis.edu	CHEM/BIOL/PHYS/ASTR 277: Origins and Growth of Science
Stanton, Lee	lastanton@ccis.edu	ARTS 277: Art and Architecture

To find out more about the trip, go to www.eftours.com/ and enter tour ID 778565, or contact Bledsoe at the e-mail address above. The total cost for the trip is $2,950. You have until the middle of Feb. 2010 to sign up, but if you sign up now there are several different payment plans (described at the tour Web site above).

Here's the fine print:
Base cost is $2,950 for 12 days. Costs may be a bit more if flying from the West Coast, less from the East Coast. Deadline to sign up is Feb. 14, 2010. Must have valid passport; EF Educational Tours will handle visas. Trip includes all flights, transfers, busses, hotels, and two meals a day; does not include tips. Payment plans available; students may pay with financial aid. Contact Colleen Brown, associate director of Financial Aid, for details on paying with financial aid only at ctbrown@ccis.edu.