DAY 1
Board your overnight transatlantic
flight.
DAY 2Arrive in London,
England
Uniformed Globus Hosts are available to
help you make the most of your stay.
DAY 3London
Morning sightseeing with a Local Guide
includes all the famous landmarks: the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside
the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall’s mounted horseguards and the
Prime Minister’s Downing Street, Piccadilly Circus, and Buckingham Palace.
Highlights are a visit to ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL (except on Sundays) and the
ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. (Breakfast)
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Changing of the Guard
"Changing the Guard dates to Henry VII
(reigned 1485-1509) and was designed to show military discipline as well
as ceremony. The tall bearskin hats were introduced in the 18th century to
make the soldiers look taller and thus more frightening, and they were
adopted for ceremonial use in 1832. The ceremony we know today started in
the late 1800s and involves real soldiers who fulfill all military duties,
guarding the Queen being just part of their service." |
 |
"Story of Mary, Queen of Scots"
"Crowned Queen of Scotland at
less than a year of age in 1543 and heralded as the true Queen of England
by many Catholics at age 15, as well as the Queen Consort of France at 16,
Mary, Queen of Scots was charismatic, shrewd, courageous and beautiful.
She loved archery, riding horses, hunting and hawking and played golf,
billiards, cards and chess. Despite her passion for fun, she entered the
world’s stage at a time of especially heated conflict between Catholics
and Protestants. It was this conflict that drove the intrigue, plotting
and backstabbing that dominated much of her life. In 1568, Mary, Queen of
Scots, was unjustly accused of complicity in the murder of one husband and
later imprisoned in England for 19 years, not because she was guilty of a
crime but because her freedom would have been a threat to the English
throne. At age 44, she was executed for treason in a plot to kill
Elizabeth I, a conviction that was purely political. Despite the fact that
Mary and Elizabeth I were blood cousins, queens of contiguous countries
reigning at the same time and inextricably bound by political rivalry,
Mary and Elizabeth never met. Only in death did they become close: Both
are buried in Westminster Abbey." |
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Houses of Parliament
"Big Ben may be the most famous feature
of the Houses of Parliament, but equally impressive is the hammerbeam
ceiling of Westminster Hall. The Hall dates back to 1097 and, at that
time, the roof was supported by pillars. During the reign of King Richard
II (14th century), however, it was replaced by the hammerbeam roof seen
today. This roof – its beauty and sustainability – is even more impressive
when you know its history. It was built with beams made from trees that
were ancient at the time, reputedly acorns, dating back to the 6th century
(or earlier). If only these walls (beams, rather) could
talk!" |
 |
Buckingham Palace
"Amid the splendor of modern cities it’s
hard to imagine what places looked like before they became what we know
today. In a previous incarnation, the ground where Buckingham Palace now
stands was a mulberry garden cultivated by King James I as food for
silkworms. The silk industry he hoped to nurture never materialized, and
eventually a roadhouse was built there, followed in due course by the
Blake House, Goring House and Arlington House.Originally known as the
Buckingham House, built as a townhouse by the Duke of Buckingham in 1709,
the estate was acquired by King George III in
1762." |
[CULTURAL]
DAY 4London–Brussels,
Belgium–Amsterdam, Holland
Meet your Tour Director and traveling
companions and transfer to the railway station to board the EUROSTAR TRAIN to
Brussels, Belgium. From here, a comfortable drive will bring you to Amsterdam,
Holland. Tonight, enjoy a welcome dinner at your hotel. (Breakfast,
Dinner)
[STORIES]
[CULTURAL]
DAY 5Amsterdam
A Local Guide shows you the 700-year-old
capital, and the highlight is a CANAL CRUISE to see the patrician mansions,
gabled façades, and humpback bridges. Next, visit a major DIAMOND CENTER and
appreciate how a rough mineral is transformed into a sparkling jewel. Balance of
the day is at leisure, and later, you may wish to join an optional excursion to
Volendam. (Breakfast)
[PHOTOS]
[STORIES]
[CULTURAL]
DAY
6Amsterdam–Rhineland, Germany
A passing glance at the Dutch region
best known as the locale of A Bridge Too Far on the way to Germany. Stop in
Cologne to visit the awesome twin-spired gothic CATHEDRAL. The afternoon’s
highlight is a romantic RHINE CRUISE past castle-crested cliffs, terraced
vineyards, and trim, half-timbered towns. (Breakfast, Dinner)
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A Short Wine Guide
"Historically, Germany’s wine has suffered
with an “inferiority complex” fueled by the reputation of wine powerhouses
France and Italy. And in modern times, they’ve tacked of “how to compete
with a Bordeaux or a Chianti” by improving quality, while keep prices
reasonable. Finally, German vintners are starting to reap the rewards. The
world famous Riesling region, centered on the Rhine and its tributaries
and in eastern Germany near Dresden, is the biggest success story to come
out of Germany’s 13 wine growing regions. White grapes form 80 percent of
the harvest, but reds are on the rise, as well as the general reputation
of German wines." |
[CULTURAL]
DAY 7Rhineland–Lucerne,
Switzerland
A scenic day! This morning, stop in
the lush valleys and pine-clad hills of the BLACK FOREST, renowned for its
cuckoo clocks. On the Swiss border, take your pictures of the thundering RHINE
FALLS, then, continue to picture-book Lucerne. Tonight, maybe join a Swiss
Folklore Party? (Breakfast)
[STORIES]
[CULTURAL]
DAY
8Lucerne–Liechtenstein–Innsbruck, Austria
Admire Thorwaldsen’s LION MONUMENT,
walk through the Old Town, and cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the
Jesuit Church. Time to shop for Swiss watches or climb lofty Mount Pilatus.
Then, leave Switzerland and stop in the Principality of Liechtenstein before
continuing to Innsbruck in the Austrian Tyrol. Take pictures of Emperor
Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. (Breakfast, Dinner)
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Lion Monument
“The Lion of Lucerne” (Lowendenkmal) is a
compelling statue in the north section of Old Town dedicated to the 42
members of the Swiss Guard who were assigned to protect Louis the XVI,
Maria Antoinette and their family at the Royal Palace. When the Tuileries
was stormed on August 10, 1792 by rioting Parisians at the start of the
French Revolution, the king ordered the soldiers to lay down their arms.
They were subsequently slaughtered by the crowd and the royal family was
captured. Louis had made a big mistake. In 1821 Danish sculpture Berthel
Thorwaldsen finished the sculpture, a 30-foot likeness of a wounded and
dying lion with a broken lance in its heart and his paw resting atop the
fleur-de-lys shield of the Bourbon king. The Latin inscription translated
“To the bravery and fidelity of the Swiss.” |
[CULTURAL]
DAY 9Innsbruck–Venice,
Italy
Across spectacular Brenner Pass to
Italy. Enter Venice in style by PRIVATE BOAT to ST. MARK’S SQUARE. Admire the
byzantine basilica, lavish Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. Watch skilled
GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects, then, time to explore or to join an
optional gondola ride. (Breakfast, Dinner)
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Bridge of Sighs
"The world’s most poetically-named bridge, Il
Ponte dei Sospiri, the Bridge of Sighs, was built in 1614 so that
prisoners of the Venetian state could be transferred in secret from the
Doge’s Palace to the so-called Nuovi Prigioni, or New Prisons. The wistful
name was actually conceived by the English poet Lord Byron in the early
1800s that imagined the horror of prisoners taking their last glimpse of
Venice before going underground to captivity. " |
[CULTURAL]
DAY 10Venice–Rome
A scenic drive across the Apennine
Mountains and through the vine- and olive-clad Tuscan hills, home of the popular
Chianti wines, brings you to the “Eternal City.” (Breakfast)
[PHOTOS]
[STORIES]
[CULTURAL]
DAY 11Rome
Sightseeing with your Local Guide
starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for
Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and
BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where
Roman legions marched in triumph. Time for independent activities and optional
excursion possibilities. (Breakfast)
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The Roman Forum
"Visitors can be a little confused by the
Roman Forum; at first glance, it is a rather lifeless array of marble
fragments. But we must remember that in ancient times, this space was far
more than the temples and monuments whose ruins we can explore today. It
was filled with bustling, noisy life as the popular crossroads of the city
– the predecessor, in fact, of the modern Italian piazza. Every morning at
dawn, average Romans would escape their cramped, dark apartment blocks
(called insulae, or “islands”) and spent their days outdoors.
" |
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Vatican Museums
"In the early 1500s, Rome was full of
neglected ruins from the days of the ancient Empire, which still contained
artworks buried amongst the rubble. The Renaissance had seen a sudden
growth of interest in all things classical, and the popes – cultivated men
who were in touch with the intellectual currents of the day – were the
richest art collectors in Italy. They began offering substantial cash
rewards for any sculptures, until Rome was scoured by freelance treasure
hunters on the hunt for pagan masterpieces. The most dramatic discovery
occurred in 1506, when a Roman father-and-son team of excavators reported
a promising find near the ruined Baths of Titus. The artist Michelangelo
himself excitedly hurried over to help with the work, followed by the
pope’s official agent, Guiliano da Sangallo. When the excavators brushed
away the dirt of 1,000 years, they found an enormous marble sculpture,
perfectly intact, of a muscular Trojan hero being attacked by giant
snakes. Guilano cried out in amazement, “This is the very Laocoön
described by (the ancient Roman author) Pliny!” The sculpture was carted
off to the Vatican Museum." |
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The Colosseum
"Thanks to Hollywood recreations such as
Gladiator, nothing symbolizes the cruelty of Imperial Rome as much as the
Colosseum. In truth, the games held there were even more extreme and
theatrical than modern film directors dare to suggest. A day at the
Empire’s most famous arena was a total entertainment package, mixing bouts
of savage violence with solemn religious pageantry, sexual titillation,
slapstick comedy and kitschy stage shows." |
[CULTURAL]
DAY
12Rome–Florence–Tuscany
An easy morning drive back north to
Florence. Enjoy a walking tour with a Local Guide and visit the ACADEMY OF FINE
ARTS with Michelangelo’s celebrated David, the magnificent CATHEDRAL, Giotto’s
Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and SIGNORIA
SQUARE. (Breakfast, Dinner)
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La Piazza Della Signoria
"What’s the best vantage point to
ponder the most illustrious town square in Florence, the Signoria? An
outdoor table in the venerable Caffè Rivoire – preferably over a
delicious, if not painfully expensive cioccolata con pane, a dark and
mud-thick hot chocolate. Late at night, when the crowds have gone, you can
search the long shadows and imagine that very little has changed here
since the 1400s. The Signoria is the most elegant sculpture garden in
Europe. Masterpieces include the splendid Neptune Fountain by Ammannati,
Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli and a precise copy of Michelangelo’s
David, all strategically poised in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. This
grand public space has been the centerpiece of Florence since the 15th
Century, the golden age when the city was established as the most
beautiful in Europe. Eminent merchants in their ostentatious finery met
here to discuss business in the midst of Florence’s raucous daily
life." |
[CULTURAL]
DAY
13Tuscany–Pisa–Nice, France
In Pisa, take pictures of the Leaning
Tower. Continue along the Mediterranean coast past a string of Italian and
French Riviera resorts to Nice. Later, an optional outing is available to Monte
Carlo. (Breakfast)
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Pisa
"It was the most perfect experiment in the history of
science. Holding both a cannon ball and a small musket ball, the
30-something Pisa native Galileo Galilei scaled the steps of his city’s
famous Leaning Tower, and held them dramatically over the edge. Eight
stories below, the town’s most learned scholars and priests were gathered
as observers. They watched as the two balls dropped to the ground at the
same speed – disproving, with a single stroke, the ancient idea that
objects fall at different rates depending on their weight and size. This
archaic concept, which had been espoused by the ancient Greek author
Aristotle, had been accepted without question for more than 2,000 years,
Galileo’s great innovation was to put it to a practical test of
observation. Unfortunately, this famous story is probably not true.
Galileo never wrote about it himself – it was recounted in a late
biography penned by his secretary, Vincenzo Viviani. Most historians now
believe that it was Galileo’s imaginative disciples who invented the
Leaning Tower tale in order to make the theory so clear that even a child
could understand it. " |
[CULTURAL]
DAY 14Nice–Paris
Transfer to the railway station and board
the high-speed TGV TRAIN to Paris. You may wish to try out one of Paris’ fine
restaurants and to explore the “City of Light.” (Breakfast)
[PHOTOS]
[STORIES]
[CULTURAL]
DAY 15Paris
Discover the world capital of chic and
style with a Local Guide and admire its most famous sights: the Opéra, Louvre,
Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, and Champs-Elysées. For a bird’s-eye
view, take the elevator to the second floor of Paris’ most famous landmark: the
EIFFEL TOWER. An optional excursion to the baroque Palace of Versailles is
available, and tonight, a lively cabaret show might just be the ticket.
(Breakfast)
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French Fashion
There’s more than one way to conquer the world.
The flabby, charismatic “Sun King,” Louis XIV, knew that he could impress
the French people with his insanely lavish royal lifestyle, but he also
wanted to make his mark on Europe. Throughout his 55 year rule in the 17th
Century, he campaigned vigorously to establish Paris as the continent’s
capital of style, promoting its gourmet food and wine, haute couture,
cutting-edge perfumes, opulent furnishings and exquisite jewelry. Every
new innovation required Louis’ personal imprimatur, making him the world’s
first fashion dictator. Author Joan DeJean claimed in “The Essence of
Style” that Louis’ devotion to elegance has shaped the culture of
indulgence today – “Without the Sun King’s program for defining France as
the land of luxury in glamour, there would never have been a Stork Club, a
Bergdorf Goodman, a Chez Panisse or a Christophe of Beverly
Hills.” |
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Notre Dame Cathedral
Europe’s most famous cathedral, whose
twin Gothic towers loom above France’s most beloved river, the Seine,
actually owes a lot of its international success to the author Victor
Hugo. Back in 1831, when Hugo wrote his classic novel about a hunchbacked
bell-ringer at Notre Dame who falls in love with a beautiful gypsy, the
medieval cathedral had fallen on hard times. During the Revolution in
1789, it had been seized, looted of its treasures and converted into an
atheistic “Temple of Reason.” Even worse, after the monarchy was restored
in 1815, Notre Dame was used as riverside warehouse – its once-splendid
glass windows now dimmed and its facades decaying pathetically above the
Île de la Cité. But Parisian’s indifference to their landmark ended
suddenly in 1831, when Victor Hugo published his romantic novel the
“Hunchback of Notre Dame,” (called “Notre-Dame de Paris” in French). The
book was an international bestseller and lured armies of tourists to Paris
in search of its Gothic cathedral setting. Hugo used this groundswell of
public interest to lobby the French government for renovations of his
beloved Notre Dame. From 1845 to 1864, repairs were indeed carried out –
the clogged medieval streets nearby were cleared, revealing the marvelous
edifice we see today. |
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Louvre
Today, a thick pane of bullet-proof security glass
keeps artlovers a safe distance from the most famous painting in the
world, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, Wife of Francesco
Giacondo,” known in French as “La Joconde” and English as the “Mona Lisa.”
But back in 1911, it was simply hung on the walls of the Musée du Louvre
like any other canvas. That was until a former museum employee named
Vincenzo Perrugia strolled into the gallery before opening hours on August
21, noticed the room was empty, took down the Mona Lisa and walked out of
the Louvre with it under a painting smock. When the loss was finally
noticed, the police were mystified. For two years, the whereabouts of the
masterpiece was unknown, while French detectives made various wild
guesses. (It had been stolen by the Germans. By anarchists. By evil
geniuses. By lunatics.) They actually arrested the country’s top art
critic, Guillame Apollinaire, then let him free. Then, out of the blue in
1913, an Italian art dealer in Florence was contacted by a man calling
himself “Leonardo” who claimed to have the Mona Lisa and wanted to see it
hang in the Uffizi, Italy’s top art museum. Although he found it hard to
believe that the thief could be so reckless, the dealer tipped off the
police and agreed to meet the strange Leonardo in a Milan hotel room.
There, the nondescript fellow opened his suitcase, emptied out his socks
and underwear, opened up a false bottom in the case to reveal the Mona
Lisa – and was immediately arrested. |
[CULTURAL]
DAY 16
Your homebound flight from Paris arrives
the same day.
(Breakfast)