What are good summer camps in Paris?

Passionate travelers, can you give me some advice about planning a trip this summer?

• My school year ends on June 15, and around June 20th or so, we plan to go to Europe. Here are the places we're considering: *Germany - some little towns close to the Alps; Dresden *Paris, France *Florence (not 100% sure) We'll probably be commuting from each destination via the Eurostar. Also, any recommendations in this area would be great! Originally, we were planning to visit a few more cities, but my parents shortened it as I need to start prepping up for the SATs! What are your favorite cities in Europe? My summer vacation is 2 months, and I definitely want to spend at least 1/3 of it traveling. In the US, we'll be going to most likely Philly, NYC, DC and Chicago. For anyone that's taken the SATs, can you recommend any "camps" or summer schools that helped prepare you for them? And last but not least, I wanted to do a study abroad / volunteering this summer. I'm fairly open in regards to where, but I probably don't want to stray too far from the path I'm on (although I really want to visit South America / Africa). Any recommendations would be great! Apologies for the disjointed state of this question. It's almost a dozen heaped into one, so I really appreciate your patience! You can pick and choose if you'd like. Thanks in advance! : )

• Answer:

  It's a brutal hour of the morning right now, so if you just see a string a letters in this answer I apologize in advance because I probably fell asleep on my laptop. I wanted to give you a brief answer about my favorite spots in Europe since this question is about to expire. I wholeheartedly love Croatia because it's so astonishingly beautiful, has fascinating cultural spots, and is very dynamic and fun. Plus Croatian men are hot. It completely sucks that YouTube is blocked in China because I would post a link to Maksim's "Croatian Rhapsody" and you could see what I mean. Ernest Hemingway described Dubrovnik as "paradise on Earth," and it truly is magnificent. Things have probably changed dramatically since his time there since so many travel guide books have raved about it in recent years and so now there are tacky tourist shops mixed in, but it's still a gem. It's one of my dad's favorite spots on the planet because he's an enthusiastic sailer and it has a gorgeous coastline. I'm not fond of Florence in the summer. At all. It's beastly hot and humid, and it feels more like Disneyland than a chic cosmopolitan city with all the loud Americans and their bulky backpacks and white tennis shoes talking way too loud. We spent a week there on a family vacation a few years ago and my usually extremely well behaved and pleasant sisters had daily meltdowns, and I felt like throwing myself on the ground and screaming too, because it was just so freaking hot gelato wasn't going to cut it. It's a fantastically romantic, charming city, but you really need to experience it in another season. Lake Como is far more tolerable, and is stunning. I also love the Amalfi Coast, but it's a trek down there. Prague is also insanely overrun with tourists in the summer, but the weather isn't quite as oppressive. It's a really amazing city, and there are many adorable, interesting little towns within the Czech Republic worth checking out, like Karlovy Vary. I'd probably pick Croatia, but it really depends on the rest of your plans. It's simple to just hop on a train or drive from Germany to CR, but it can be a tad bit more challenging getting to and around Croatia. "The Romantic Road" of Germany is lovely. Once again, you're going to be crammed in with a ton of tourists, but I think you'd still have a great time there. You already know the awesomeness that is Paris. I would try to explore some other regions of France like Provence. We always go there for a family retreat in August, and it's so relaxing and joyful. If you have the time you might want to consider checking out Stockholm or Norway. Both are fabulous in the summer. I have to get some shut eye. I'll try to edit and add about the US cities if I can, and if I can't, I'll just email you. : ) *hugs* ~ peace