GROUP NAME:          Shepherd University 103681 B

TOUR TITLE:              Literary Expatriates

TOUR DATES:            15 March 2007 - 26 March 2007

TOUR AIRPORT:       Washington DC

 

ITINERARY OUTLINE

 

                   DAY           1                 DEPARTURE FROM WASHINGTON-DULLES

                   DAY           2                 ARRIVE GENEVA - LAUSANNE AREA (1 NIGHT)

                   DAY           3                 LAUSANNE AREA - CHILLON - MONTREUX -                                                                                                             INTERLAKEN/LAUTERBRUNNEN AREA (2 NIGHTS)

                   DAY           4                 INTERLAKEN/LAUTERBRUNNEN

                   DAY           5                 LAUTERBRUNNEN - TRUMMELBACH FALLS - ITALIAN

                                                         LAKES (1 NIGHT)

                   DAY           6                 ITALIAN ALPS - LA SPEZIA - PISA - FLORENCE  (3 NIGHTS)

                   DAY           7                 FLORENCE

                   DAY           8                 FLORENCE

                   DAY           9                 FLORENCE AREA - SIENA - ROME (3 NIGHTS)

                   DAY           10               ROME (CITY OF THE CAESARS)

                   DAY           11               ROME

                   DAY           12               DEPARTURE FROM ROME         

 

 

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

(ADMISSION COSTS INCLUDED)

 

               LAKE GENEVA BOAT CRUISE

                   CHILLON CASTLE

                   FLORENCE:               Uffizi

                   SIENA:                         Piccolomini Library

                   ROME:                        Colosseum and Forum, Vatican Museums (Sistine Chapel), Keats-Shelley                                                                             Museum at the Spanish Steps

 

 

 

LITERARY EXPATRIATES

 

DAY           1                 DEPARTURE FROM WASHINGTON-DULLES

Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to Geneva.

 

DAY           2                 ARRIVE GENEVA - LAUSANNE AREA (1 NIGHT)

We will be met at the airport by our bus driver and begin the tour by enjoying a Boat Ride on the Lake, viewing Byron's chateau from the water, the site for Mary Shelley’s writing of Frankenstein.  After lunch, we spend the afternoon soaking up the ambience of the city of Voltaire and Rousseau, of revolution and independence, highlighted by a walk through Vielle Ville, Ile Rousseau, Maison Travel, and Jardin Anglais.  Here Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had his hero Sherlock Holmes meet his tragic end.  By late afternoon we’ll leave the city, driving by Les Delices, Voltaire’s residence between 1755 and 1765, before heading for our hotel in the Lausanne area.

 

DAY           3                 LAUSANNE AREA  - CHILLON - MONTREUX - INTERLAKEN/LAUTERBRUNNEN AREA (2 NIGHTS)

Today we journey to Chillon at the end of Lake Geneva, the setting for Byron's famous poem.  Our sightseeing will include a scenic drive along Lake Geneva, as we wend our way to Chillon Castle.  Built on a rocky islet, its towers reflected in the waters of Lake Geneva, the Castle lies at the end of the lake, within sight of Montreux, the French shore and the Alps—the Dents du Midi.  We cross the moat and enjoy a tour, which will include the Great Hall, the former Banquet Hall and the Knights Hall.  After time to explore the castle, we continue on to Montreux for lunch, a favorite resting and writing spot of Henry James.  In the afternoon we drive on to our hotel in the Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen area, a spectacular setting to enjoy the Alps.

 

DAY           4                 INTERLAKEN/LAUTERBRUNNEN

Today travelers have the option of journeying (at their own expense) on the scenic railway to Grindelwald to view the Jungfrau up close or go to tourist headquarters of the Benese Oberland, Interlaken, to view the Swiss Alps from another vantage point.  The majestic setting of this area of the Swiss Alps was inspiration for both first and second generation Romantics.  For those who elect to explore the village of Interlaken, they can walk along the Hoheweg Promenade admiring the Alpine views of the Jungfrau and the Floral Clock, or they may take some of the scenic walks in the area or ride a gondola up the mountainside.  Afternoon shopping and strolling in this town of breath-taking views kindles the literary imagination and recalls the wanderings of Percy and Mary Shelley, Claire Clairmont and Byron. 

 

DAY           5                 LAUTERBRUNNEN - TRUMMELBACH FALLS -  ITALIAN

 LAKES (1 NIGHT)

The coach will carry us to Lauterbrunnen to view Trummelbach Falls and the glaciers around Jungfraujoch and Murren, setting for a Connon Doyle’s Alpine mystery and Wordsworth’s Prelude.  After lunch, we begin the drive through the Alps to the Italian Lake area, where we spend the night.

 

DAY           6                 ITALIAN ALPS - LA SPEZIA - PISA - FLORENCE  (3 NIGHTS)

Today we drive through the Italian Alps.  We journey through La Spezia, where Shelley’s body washed ashore after his ill-fated sailing adventure on Byron’s boat, the Don Juan.  There we view the 19th-century flower gardens and shaded arcades on Via Chiodo.  The short drive to Lerici will take us by Casa Magni, Percy and Mary Shelley’s home in 1822 before he died.  We drive on to Pisa, where the illustrious circle of friends of Mary and Percy Shelley, Byron and the Countess Guiciolli lived and worked.  After a late lunch, we can explore the Piazza del Duomo or “Field of Miracles,” with its beautiful ensemble of Moorish-style buildings: the Cathedral, Baptistery and the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa (leaning today at an astonishing 17.5 feet from its vertical axis).  Despite its sinking foundations, the tower stands as miraculously today as it did upon its completion in 1350.  We continue the short drive to Firenze, Florence.

 

 

DAY           7                 FLORENCE

Today we explore Florence, associated with the Shelleys and the Brownings.  A local tour-guide will shepherd us through the city and share the legends of this jewel of the Renaissance. After viewing the open-air museum of sculpture in the Piazza della Signoria, the political stage for Renaissance Florence and the powerful Medici family, we have the opportunity to visit the Duomo, the Bapististry with Ghiberti’s Doors of Paradise, and Giotto’s Bell Tower.  Our day continues with a visit to the Uffizi Museum, which contains a collection of the most important Italian and European paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries, including works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Lippi, Giotto, Tintoretto, Raphael, and Botticelli. We conclude our day with a guided tour of the Leonardo Leather Workshop.

 

DAY           8                 FLORENCE

We will begin our day with a visit to the Church of Santa Croce, featuring the impressive tombs of many of Florence’s most important people, including Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante, and Galileo.  We continue with a walk to the Piazza de San Felice and Casa Guidi, the Browning home, before strolling the shop-lined Ponte Vecchio to enjoy shopping much as it was during the 16th Century.  The afternoon and evening are yours to enjoy in the city of the Medici.

DAY           9                 FLORENCE AREA - SIENA - ROME (3 NIGHTS)

Today we drive through Tuscany and Browning and Ruskin country to Siena, one of Italy’s best-preserved medieval cities, dominated by its unique Duomo (Cathedral) and its striped Bell Tower.  A local tour guide will lead us to the Duomo, including the beautiful Piccolomini Library, designed to house the Church’s collection of illuminated manuscripts.  The magnificent room features an unrivaled ceiling and large frescoes depicting the important events in the life of Pope Pius II.  We can then take lunch at the beautiful Al Marsili between the Duomo and Via della Citta. We continue with a walk through the narrow and winding streets of Siena to the Piazza del Campo, a vast and lively square in the heart of the city, and the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena’s town hall since the 1300’s.  We conclude the evening with the short drive to our hotel in Rome.

 

DAY           10               ROME (CITY OF THE CAESARS)

Today we will be met by our local tour-guide and have the opportunity to explore Rome’s most spectacular remains from the powerful Roman Empire, commencing with a specialist guided tour of the Colosseum, considered the symbol of Rome's eternity, and the Arch of Constantine.  Completed under Titus in 80 AD, the Colosseum could accommodate over 55,000 spectators who would watch the gladiator games.  We continue with a walk through the ruins and excavations of the Roman Forum, featuring the remains of magnificent temples, basilicas and triumphal arches, which once formed the heart of the Empire.  We stroll to the Pantheon (Temple to all the Gods) and the Piazza Navona, built on the foundations of Domitian's Circus.  This magnificent square, designed in the 17th century by Bernini, is full of life and is highlighted by one of Rome’s most spectacular fountains, the fountain of the Four Rivers.   We continue on to the Spanish Steps, to visit the Keats-Shelley Museum, site of Keats’ death and a museum designed to pay homage to those literary expatriates who made Rome their home.  This evening travelers are free to attend any of the musical or theater events in the city, including Caligari Ruins, where some of the city’s finest opera performances can be enjoyed.

 

DAY           11               ROME

Our guide will meet us for an early morning tour of the Vatican, which houses one of the most impressive collections of art in the world, and we will also have opportunity to see the spectacular Sistine Chapel, highlighted by Michelangelo’s famous ceiling and his Last Judgment.  We will explore St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the western world and an important point of pilgrimage in the Catholic world.  Highlights of our visit will also include The Pieta by Michelangelo, the tomb of St. Peter, and Bernini’s magnificent Baldacchino. We will also have time to explore St. Peter’s Square.  In the afternoon, you will be free to shop or explore the Villa Borghese, which houses the Museo Borghese, or retrace the steps of Dan Brown’s character Robert Langdon as he attempts to solve the suspenseful puzzles of Angels and Demons. The Villa Borghese Museum features sculptures by Bernini, including Apollo and Daphne, as well as masterpieces by 16th and 17 century Italian artists such as Raphael, Correggio, Titian and Caravaggio.  

 

DAY           12               DEPARTURE FROM ROME

Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end we transfer to the airport for the return flight home.

 

TOTAL TOUR COSTS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF FULL PAYING PARTICIPANTS

Quote from Casterbridge Tours

 

Shepherd University 103681 B

(Subject to final airfare confirmation)

(a)  All airport taxes are included and there are no registration fees, optional excursions or adult supplements to be added.  Rooming will  be two to a room (with an occasional triple).

 

(b)  This proposal is valid until 15 June 2006 or until 75 days (30 December 2006) before departure (whichever comes first) and this tour cannot be operated in its present format with fewer than 10 full paying participants.

Participants

 

40

36

30

24

20

 

 

Price in USD

 

2,099

2,135

2,199

2,299

2,399

 

 

 

Your currency level is guaranteed up to 1 Euro = $1.23 and once final payment has been acknowledged, we guarantee there can be no price increase for any reason whatsoever.

 

What is Included:

 

*  Round trip airfare with a major carrier on scheduled flights and guaranteed dates

 

*  All airport taxes (currently $220.00 but subject to change prior to time of ticketing)

 

*  Accommodation in 3 Star and Superior 2 Star tourist class hotels with private facilities guaranteed throughout

 

*  Continental breakfast and dinners throughout your touring program

 

*  Excursions, cultural activities and admissions as specified

 

*  Transportation by private coach for airport transfers and touring, except in the capital city, where public transport is used (and the cost included) for group sightseeing

 

*  The expertise and perspective of 4 local guides during your tour

 

*  Free places in twin rooms for group leaders (as per number of full paying participants stated above)

 

*  All Taxes

This Does Not Include:

 

*  Lunches or beverages with meals

 

* Casterbridge Guide

 

*  Admissions not specified

 

*  Visas (if required)

 

*  Travel insurance - Each passenger must be covered by Health Insurance while on a Casterbridge tour (insurance coverage is gratis for all free group leaders) .  Casterbridge offers a comprehensive Travel Insurance Policy which includes full Health, Cancellation and Property coverage costing $65 for those 18 years or below on tours of 6-10 days ($95 for 11-18 days) and $90 for those aged 19-60 on tours of 6-10 days ($130 for tours of 11-18 days).  Rates can also be provided for those over 60 years of age.