London, Paris and Rome (Pompeii, Sorrento,
Capri)....Brief Itinerary
Day 1 Flight
Overnight flight to Great Britain
Day 2 London Walking tour of through the heart of London
includes the banks of the River Thames, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square,
Covent Garden
Day 3 London Guided sightseeing of London takes you past Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, Whitehall, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and visit St. Paul’s Cathedral
Day 4 Canterbury * Paris
Visit Canterbury’s
cathedral, the seat of the Church of England.
English Channel crossing
See the White Cliffs of Dover
Arrival in Paris
Day 5 Paris
Guided sightseeing of Paris
Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Conciergerie
Optional to Versailles
Dreamhouse of Louis XIV
Day 6 Paris Walking
tour through the opera district and the Place de la Concorde
Visit to the Louvre See masterpieces including the Mona Lisa
Night train to Pisa
Day 7
Pisa * Florence
See the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Transfer to Florence The
birthplace of the Italian language, the Renaissance and opera
Guided tour of Florence Giotto’s Bell Tower, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Signoroa, Santa Croce
Day 8 Florence * Rome
Transfer via Assisi
Stop in Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis and St. Clare
Arrival in Rome
Walking tour of the Spanish Steps area and Piazza Navona
Day
9 Rome
Guided excursion Vatican City, tour St. Peter’s Basilica & Sistine
Chapel
Guided sightseeing of Rome includes the Colosseum, the Forum, Piazza Venezia,
the Vittoriano monument, Trevi Fountain
Day 10 Home
or
Extension
Guided sightseeing Pompeii
Visit ruins of villas, ancient temples and Stabian Baths
Arrival in Sorrento
Experience Italy’s favorite resort, which overlooks the bay of Naples
Day 11 Sorrento*Rome
Journey by rowboat (weather permitting) into the shimmering Blue
Grotto
Guided sightseeing of Capri***Transfer to Rome***Spend the night in
Rome
Day 12 Home Return flight home
Requested tour:
London, Paris and Rome (12 days)
Optional 2 day extension:
Sorrento and Capri (price includes extension)
Requested tour date:
July of 2003
Requested departure city:
Baton Rouge
Registration Fee
$95
Accepting
registration payments now
Program Fee
$2055
Departure Fees*
$108*
(*Subject to change.)
Total for Students
$2258
Adult
Supplement
$305
____
Total
for Adults
$2563
Optional
Insurance is available. Please
consult the registration booklet. Additional
insurance information will follow. It
is not necessary to include insurance payments at this time.
Optional
Excursions (Travelers are
responsible for selected optional fees.)
Versailles
$40 (estimated)
*Airport fees are subject to change. Refer to the Booking Conditions in the EF program brochure for payment plans and deadlines. Please be aware that EF reserves the right to make changes in the itinerary as well as make price adjustments if deemed necessary.
**A supplement will be added for any flight leaving on Friday, Saturday or Sunday in either direction
***It is important to note that if there are not enough
travelers for our requested itinerary, EF may opt to schedule a similar but
different itinerary. Prices will be
adjusted accordingly. Please note
that there must be enough registered participants who request the extension to
Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri for the extension to run. If the extension does not run, monetary compensation will be
made or we may opt to run it as a small group with an additional fee.
*****Please note that I have requested to travel at the end of July. EF cannot confirm the exact departure date at this time. Please let me know if there is a date in July that I must avoid in order for you to travel with us.
******Our tour director can arrange some night options that are not included in the tour. These options will involve an added expense on tour if you choose to participate. Some “extras” may include but are not limited to…top of the Eiffel Tower, Seine River Boat Ride, Moulin Rouge or other night entertainment.Day
1 Flight
Overnight
flight to Great Britain*Enjoy jet accommodations as you fly across the Atlantic.
Day
2 London
* Arrival in London
Touch
down in London., Europe’s largest city. After
clearing customs you are greeted by your EF Tour Director, who will remain with
you throughout your stay. A private motorcoach takes you to your comfortable hotel for
check-in.
EF
walking tour of London* Stroll through the heart of London on our EF walking
tour, which begins along the banks of the River Thames.
As you walk along the ancient embankment, note that these shadowy waters
gave the city its name, which derives from Llyn-Dyn, Celtic for “city of the
lake.” Pass the fomer home of
writer Rudyard Kipling, walk along the Strand, and see the spot from which all
distances to London are measured. Enter
Trafalgar Square (stepping amidst the world’s most famous pigeons and pause at
the Nelson monument, a symbol of Britain’s once unrivaled naval power.
Continue on to Leicester Square, where duelists once fought to the death.
Then saunter through London’s tiny Chinatown, in colorful, cosmopolitan
Soho. Your walk ends at chic Covent
Garden, where street performers (or “buskers”) and stylish passers-by amuse
the lively crowds.
Day
3
Guided sightseeing of London
Your
guided tour takes you past the major landmarks of England’s regal capital.
Enjoy a photo stop at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
Pass Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Downing Street (home
of Britain’s Prime Minister), and Hyde Park, the “lungs of London.”
You will also see the changing of the guard at the gates of Buckingham
Palace (seasonal). If the Royal
Standard flag is flown at full mast, the queen is in residence.
On your tour through the City of London, the metropolis’
one-square-mile core, you will learn about London’s Great Fire of 1666 and
visit St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Day
4 London
* Paris
Visit
to Canterbury*Journey through the Garden of England (the hop fields of Kent) to
Canterbury, the destination city of Chaucer’s pilgrims in the legendary Canterbury Tales. Make a brief visit to the
town’s magnificent cathedral (the seat of the Church of England) and see where
four of the king’s knights murdered Archbishop Thomas a Becket in 1170 as part
of a long-running debate over the powers of church and state.
English
Channel crossing * Transfer to Dover, where you will board a fast ferry to cross
the English Channel. Look for the
famous White Cliffs of Dover as you leave the English shore—they inspired the
cliff scene in Shakespeare’s King
Lear. Four hundred years later, Churchill utilized a vast network
of secret tunnels hidden within the rock to hide Allied troops during WWII.
Arrival
in Paris * Upon arrival in Calais, continue on to Paris, cosmopolitan City of
Light.
Day
5 *
Paris
Guided
sightseeing of Paris*Discover the city on the Seine: from the imposing Arc de Triomphe, commemorating Napoleon’s
Grande Armee to the Ile de la Cite, birthplace of Paris.
Take a drive down the elegant Champs-Elysees.
Pass the Conciergerie, where prisoners of the Revolution spent their
final days, and see Les Invalides, Luis XIV’s grand retirement home for
wounded soldiers. You will also see
the Ecole Militaire, where Napoleon graduated to Lieutenant and was told he’d
go far if circumstances allowed. Next,
make a photo stop at the Eiffel Tower to marvel at the 6,000-ton centerpiece for
the 1889 World’s Fair. Learn why
this impressive, yet controversial, symbol of Paris was spared the wrecking ball
in 1909.
Visit
to the Notre Dame Cathedral * Victor Hugo once described the sculptured façade
of Notre Dame as “a vast symphony in stone.”
However, had it not been for the creation of his famous hunchback,
Quasimodo, the cathedral might never have returned to her former glory.
Hugo’s novel. The Hunchback
of Notre Dame
(1831), helped inspire a 23-year restoration of the cathedral that began in
1841. Step inside to admire her
stained-glass rose windows and seemingly weightless vaulted ceilings.
Built between 1163-1361 over the remains of an ancient Roman temple, it
was here that Joan of Arc was tried in 1455, and Napoleon crowned himself
emperor in 1804.
Optional
excursion to Versailles * Join an optional excursion to Versailles, dreamhouse
of Louis XIV. Here the Sun King
held court in the most lavish style imaginable.
At one point, 1,000 nobles were attended by 4,000 servants inside the
palace, while 15,000 soldiers and servants inhabited the annexes.
Tour the Royal Apartments, walk through the historic Hall of Mirrors, and
stroll through the elegantly landscaped gardens, designed by Andre Le Notre.
(Please note: Because of the
extreme popularity of Versailles, guided visits of the interior cannot be
guaranteed during peak seasons. In
this case, your group will hear a presentation from your guide before entering
the palace.) On occasions when
Versailles is closed (as in every Monday) you will instead take in the regal
splendor of Chateau de Fontainebleau, a 12th-century royal residence
that was a favored hunting palace for Napoleon and other rulers of France.
Day
6 Paris
* Night Train
EF
walking tour of Paris * Join our walking tour of the chic Opera district and the
haute couture boutiques of Rue du Faubourg St. Honore.
Stroll past the official residence of the president of France and through
Place de la Concorde, the city’s largest public square, built to
honor Louis XV. The next
Louis was not so lucky—he was beheaded here during the Revolution, along with
Marie Antoinette. Continue through
the geometric gardens of theTuileries as you make your way to Place Vendome, a
vast square wrapped in 17th-century facades.
Pass the Ritz hotel at no. 15, a favorite haunt of Hemingway.
Visit
to the Louvre * Built to defend the city in the 13th century, the
Louvre safeguards one of the world’s greatest art collections.
Enter the museum through world-renowned architect I.M. Pei’s 1989
modernist glass pyramid. Inside, discover priceless antiquities from Asia, Greece, and
Rome. You will also see precious
objects from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as paintings by
European masters, including the Mona
Lisa.
Day
7
* Arrival in Pisa
In
the city’s Field of Miracles, you will see the six stories of white marble
comprising the 12th century Leaning Tower of Pisa, aslant ever since
the third floor was built. This is
where Galileo developed his laws of gravity.
Be sure to visit the adjacent marble cathedral and baptistery, which
contain exquisite marble pulpits, carved in the Gothic style by Nicola and
Giovanni Pisano.
Transfer
to Florence * Birthplace of the Italian language, the Renaissance, and opera.
Guided
walking tour of Florence * Fall under the spell of the powerful Medici family on
your guided tour. See Giotto’s
Bell Tower and the imposing marble cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo.
Stand before Ghiberti’s legendary Gates of Paradise (so dubbed by
Michelangelo), and pass the classical statues of the Piazza della Sinoria—here
you can see where Michelangelo’s David originally stood.
You will also visit Santa Croce, final resting place of Michelangelo,
Machiavelli, and Galileo. Later,
watch local artisans at work in an authentic leather workshop.
Day
8 Assisi
* Rome
Stop
in Assisi,birthplace of both St. Francis and St. Clare.
On your visit to the basilica of St.
Francis, follow the life of one of Italy’s most beloved saints through
Giotto’s artful frescoes.
Arrival
in Rome * (The Eternal City) Here
Charlemagne was crowned by the pope in A.D. 800.
EF
walking tour of Rome*Your tour director leads you through colorful, narrow
streets to see the bustling Spanish Steps, a popular hang-out for foreigners and
Italians alike. Step inside the
Pantheon, one of the best-preserved ancient buildings in Rome, commissioned by
the Emperor Hadrian around A.D. 120. This
temple to “all the gods” sports the second widest dome in Rome and the tomb
of Raphael. Then conjure up images
of chariot races as you cross Piazza Navona, site of an ancient Roman hippodome.
Day
9 Rome
Guided
excursion to Vatican City* The
world’s largest dome is located in the world’s smallest country.
See both as you tour St. Peter’s Basilica, erected in Vatican City on
the site where the saint was martyred. Enter
the basilica under the watchful eyes of the brightly dressed Swiss Guard.
Inside, admire Michelangelo’s Pieta and try to find the artist’s
signature (it is the only sculpture he ever signed). Then continue on to the Vatican Museum, where elaborate
galleries where one artistic masterpiece after another lead you directly to the
Sistine Chapel. Between 1508 and
1512, Michelangelo painted some of the world’s finest pictorial images on the
Chapel’s ceiling. This was his
first attempt at working in fresco, which he did by standing up and craning
backwards from a scaffold.
Guided
sightseeing of Rome*See the mighty Colosseum, where as many as 50,000 cheering
spectators would flock to watch gladiator battle unfold inside.
Then stroll through the grassy ruins of the ancient Forum Roman, once the
heart of the Roman Empire, and admire the enduring fragments of Rome’s
glorious past. It was here, on
March 15 (the Ides of March), 44 B.C., that Julius Caesar was assassinated.
You will also see Piazza Venezia, where the Vittoriano monument marks the
center of contemporary Rome, and the legendary Trevi Fountain—toss a coin in
to assure your return to Rome.
Day
10 Home
or Extension
Return
home * Your tour director assists with the transfer to the airport, where you
will check in for your return flight home.
Extension
Day 10 Rome*Sorrento
Guided
sightseeing of Pompeii*Alternatively, your group can plan to extend its stay two
days. Learn how wealthy Romans
lived 2,000 years ago on an excursion to Pompeii, one the richest archaeological
sites in the world. When
neighboring Mt. Vesuvius erupted in
A.
D. 79, volcanic ash completely buried the Roman resort.
Now it is fully excavated, and you can see the ruins of villas, ancient
temples, and Stabian Baths. Nearby
is the beautiful Bay of Naples, known for its magnificent views of the3
surrounding islands. Capes, and mountains.
You will also attend a local woodworking demonstration.
**Arrival
in Sorrento*Experience the unparalleled beauty of Italy’s favorite resort,
overlooking the Bay of Naples.
Day
11
Sorrento * Rome
Guided
sightseeing of Capri*Cross the Bay of Naples to the captivating Isle of Capri.
You will visit the villages of Capri by funicular and journey by rowboat
(weather permitting into the shimmering Blue Grotto, where you can admire the
luminous and translucent waters of this ancient Roman meeting place.
Transfer
to Rome*Return to Rome, where you will spend the night.
Day
12 *
Return home*Your tour director assists with the transfer to the airport, where
you will check in for your return flight home.
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