2014 Trip Selected!

Learning how to play the alpenhorn. (2012)

After much agonizing and discussion, we have finally chosen a tour for our 2014 trip to Europe. It is always difficult to select a tour. We always try to keep a few factors in mind when making our selection. The first consideration is always enjoyment. Is this a trip that our participants are going to enjoy? What kind of new experiences are they going to have on this trip? The second factor that we consider is price. The price of air travel has skyrocketed since I started doing these trips in 2006. This has especially affected those of us looking to get to Europe from the Left Coast. Because of this, we tend to look for trips that are at least ten days long. This really gives our travelers a little more value for their travel dollar. Of course, the cost of transportation also limits our geographic reach. We try to offset this by selecting tours that offer a variety of experiences. Travel, when done correctly, is an investment in the future life of the traveler. It should be a transformative experience that opens one up to even greater experiences and opportunities in life.

A summer day at 10,000 feet (Switzerland, 2012)

So, which tour have we selected? Our tour for 2014 is called "Edelweiss" (a beautiful alpine flower). This 11-day excursion is centered around Austria, Bavaria, and Switzerland. We start off with three nights in Vienna, where we will tour the Schönbrunn Palace and learn the Vienese Waltz. Then we dart off to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, to tour a fortress high on a hill and a salt mine deep under the mountains. After our Austrian adventures we head for Munich, the capital of Bavaria, stopping along the way to tour "Mad" King Ludwig's grand palace in the middle of a lake. Our time in Munich also includes a tour of Nymphenburg Palace (the summer palace of the Wittelsbachs) and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. On the way to our final stop in Switzerland we will visit Neuschwanstein, Ludwig's most famous fairy-tale castle. We end our tour in the beautiful village of Engelberg, high up in the Swiss Alps.

Visit the trip site for more details:

Click Here for Trip Site

 

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Reflecting on a Great Trip

I can't believe that we have been home for two weeks! While I have had to continue working at that impossibly fast American pace (Seriously! Do we ever stop working in this country?), I have taken a few moments to reflect upon our two and a half weeks in Europe. This was one of my favorite trips to Europe I have ever taken. Although I did not learn how to ride a bike for the first time or learn how to swim, there were several things that we did on this trip that I have never done before. This was the first time that I have actually been down in the Catacombs of Paris. I got close last year, but ran out of time. Our trip to a Swiss alpenhut for dinner and the alpenhorn playing contest were new experiences for me. Our cable-car journey to the top Mount Titlis was also new. I've been on cable cars before, and I've been to the top of tall mountains. But this was the first time that I had to take three different cable cars to get there, and the first time that I rode a rotating cable car. Hights usually bother me, but this time I was too excited to notice how high up we really were. I was also thrilled to be able to go up to the upper floors of the Orsanmichele. I had never been up there before. Of course, I can't forget our trip to the gelato factory. What a fantastic experience! I think all other gelato may have been ruined for me. Well, not really. I love gelato!


I'd like to also extend my thanks to Patty Hutsler, our tour consultant at ACIS. She went out of her way, as usual, to make sure that we were able to keep all of our original cities on our itinerary. I'd also like to thank Thomas Randall, our fantastic tour manager, and Mauro Tonelli, who matched us up with Thomas. It's the opportunity to work with dedicated professionals like these that makes traveling with ACIS a rewarding and enriching experience for group leaders and tour participants.

I'll leave you with a few more images from our trip, for now. I hope you all had as much fun as I did, and I hope you will all consider going back on your own or as part of a study abroad program.

 

 

 

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Day 16: Rome (Our Last Day)

Rome was the perfect city for our last day in Europe. I know it is crazy to do Rome in one day. But, if you stick to the highlights of the city it is possible to get a good taste of the Eternal City. Of course, a taste of Rome only leaves you hungry for more. It also pays to have a good tour manager that can effectively manage time and get you into the major sites with no problems. Fortunately for us we have one of the best tour managers in Thomas.

Our first stop was the Vatican Museums to view the amazing classical Roman collection, the Raphael rooms, the Sistine Chapel, and, of course, St. Peter's Basilica. The classical collection is huge, and always amazes me. I think the sculpture of the classical world is some of the most beautiful in the world. The Sistine chapel is always a treat. I especially get a kick out of the guards keeping tourists in line in loud monotone voices, "Shhhhh, silencio! No photo!" St. Peter's is also an unparalleled achievement in artistic expression and architecture. Those sights are are fine, but I prefer Raphael's "School of Athens." No other painting sums up the intellectual renaissance of the 15th century quite like this. Raphael represent all of the classical learning that was reborn during the Renaissance while including portraits of great contemporary artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and a self portrait of Raphael. He truly believe that the achievements of his generation were every bit as great as those of the classical era.

The afternoon was taken up by a walking tour of central Rome. We started with the Colusseum and the Roman Forum. It's amazing to see a couple thousand years of history stacked up layers like a lasagna. Next we hiked over to the 18th-century Trevi Fountain. This fountain was built by a pope in celebration of the reopening of an ancient aqueduct to bring water into the city. We all did the stereotypical tossing of a coin over our shoulders into the fountain and making a wish, just like Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday." Then we ran over to the Pantheon, the most complete ancient Roman temple in exsitence. This temple was the inspiration for Bruneleschi's dome in Florence. After a quick gelato, we hiked over to Piazza Navona for free time and dinner.

Back at the hotel, we had a little party for Thomas to say thank you and to wish him a happy birthday (It's in a couple of days from now). Now it's time to pack our suitcases and prepare for our early wake up and our long flights back to San Diego.

 

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Day 15: Travel to Rome via Assisi

Today was another big travel day. This time our travel was broken up by a visit to the medieval hilltop town of Assisi and a lesson in making (and tasting) gelato at a gelato factory. I think most of us slept on the bus ride to Assisi. Last night was a bit rough in our hotel. The wind ensemble that played a concert in the old spa in Montecatini came back to our hotel and had a very noisy party down by the pool. At about 1:00 in the morning they all came crashing drunk up the stairs and down the hallways, knocking on all of the doors as they passed. Needless to say, this hotel will not be getting a very good review in my tour evaluation.

This is my third time in Assisi, and I never get tired of this town. It is one of the best preserved of the Italian hill towns. Its important role as a pilgrimage town adds to the sense of tranquility that defines Assisi. Assisi is the home of St. Francis, the patron saint of Italy, and one of the key figures in reviving the medieval church in the 13th century. The main purpose of our visit was to see the basilica and tomb of St. Francis. The upper basilica is covered in the amazing frescoes of Giotto describing the events of the life of the saint for an illiterate medieval populace. Giotto was about a century ahead of the Renaissance in his attempts to depict realistic humans in natural setting with a sense of depth and perspective. He didn't quite get it right, but he did inspire others to perfect these techniques. The tomb, which literally and figuratively provides the foundation for the two basilicas above, is always a very moving experience. This is a very sacred space, no matter what your religion or your feelings about religion. Candles, the only real ones allowed in the complex due to the danger of fire, are always left burning on an altar in front of the tomb. Franciscan monks are often found in this place praying before the founder of their order.

After our little pilgrimage to St.Francis and Giotto, it was time for a little fun. A twenty minute drive brought us to small gelato factory that is run by a husband and wife team of master gelato makers. They gave us an introduction to the fine art of Italian gelato. They explained to us the importance of pure, high quality ingredients (which we sampled). Then, as Thomas translated for us, they took volunteers up to the machines and taught us how to actually make gelato. Ten minutes later it was time to taste. Three more volunteers were quickly trained how to serve gelato. I think we all went a little overboard with the tasting. Four scoops can still be considered a taste, right? This may have been one of my favorite experiences on this trip.

Right now, we're enjoying a little quiet time in the hotel. Tomorrow, we are going to try to do Rome in one day.

 

 

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Day 14: Florence

The baptistery and cathedral of Florence

This morning we took a two-hour walking tour of Florence, first city of the Renaissance. I usually dread these walking tours in Florence. Many of the local guides seem to go through the motions. They don't seem to have any excitement left for their city, despite the fact that they must take a very rigorous exam in Florentine history.

Love the view!

I'm very happy to report that this tour was much different. Olivera, our local guide for the day was very enthusiastic about Florence, and knew a few secrets about touring the city. For example, on Mondays the museum that occupies the first two floors of the Orsanmichele are open. They are only open on Mondays, and on no other days. Orsanmichele is an open loggia that was closed up on all four sides and converted to a church that was dedicated to the guilds of Florence. The top two floors were added to allow the Florentines to continue using the space as a grain market. Those floors now house the statues of the patron saints of each of the guilds that once adorned the outside of the building. The very top floor gave us amazing views over the rooftops of Florence to all of the major landmarks.

Rubbing the pig's nose is supposed to bel lucky.

Our walking tour took us through the Piazza della Signoria and down to Piazza Santa Croce. This piazza is currently being used as a big theater to host a performance of Dante's Inferno by Roberto Benigni. Unfortunately, we did not come here for that. We came here to visit Misuri Leather. There was much money spent in this store, none of it by me. I have always wanted to buy a nice leather bag for work here. However, even the most modest bag in Florence is beyond my budgetary level of comfort.

Modeling jackets at Misuri Leather

The rest of day was ours to explore Florence. Some of us chose to go shopping again. Some of us chose to climb the steps up to the top of Brunelleschi's Dome. Some of us chose to haggle in one of the markets (this worked out very well). Some of us chose to drool over Ferragamo shoes.

Early 20th-century spa in Montecatini

The end of the day found us back in Montecatini. A free concert at the old spa down the street gave us the opportunity to stroll through the spa's gardens, a privilege that usually costs 7€. Tomorrow is a busy day. We drive to Rome, with a stop in Assisi.

 

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Day 13: Travel to Florence & Montecatini

Italian style in Florence

Saying goodbye to Venice is always a little hard to do. It's especially hard when your route out of Venice takes you, by ferry, along the the main waterfront in the morning. The skies were especially clear this morning, allowing a fantastic view of the alps in the distance behind the city. There was no strike to slow our exit this time. We drove right onto the first ferry and slowly made our way out of the lagoon.

Brunelleschi's Dome

Four hours later, over the Apennines and through Bolongna, and we were in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance and modern Europe. This one city, within the space of three centuries produced some of the greatest minds, artists, and writers of early modern European history; Petrarch, Giotto, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Machiavelli, Galileo. There are really too many to go on listing them here. Our purpose today was to go visit the most famous Renaissance figure still residing in Florence, the David. I really wish I could post pictures of David here, but photos are not allowed inside of the Academia. I guess it is all for the best. No photograph could do justice to this amazing piece of living marble. It has been scientifically proven that viewing the David in person causes women's pulses to rise. Michelangelo was a genius beyond measure. It has been said that he took one look at the huge block of marble that would one day become the David and immediately saw the potential locked in the stone. He believed that all he had to do was set the figure free from the stone. This attitude is very apparent when viewing his unfinished works known as the Prisoners in the gallery next door. These figure appear to be literally struggling to free themselves from the blocks of marble.

Our ride to Montecatini Alto

After a few hours of relaxing and dinner in our hotel in Montecatini, we jumped on the funicular around the corner from our hotel and took a ride to Montecatini Alto, the old medieval town high above the modern resort town. The funicular was built in 1898, but the old town is much older. In fact, we visited a 14th-century fortification located above the main square. The wind was, and still is, howling. It was absolutely spooky up there.

WW I Memorial in Montecatini Alto

Tomorrow, we head back for more time in Florence.

 

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Day 12: Venice!

The Palazzo Ducale and the Piazzetta with the Campanile in the background

Today was an absolutely perfect day to be in Venice. The morning weather was cloudy with light breeze blowin in from the Adriatic. For San Diegans, used to the gloom that dominates early mornings from May through June, this was nothing to be concerned about. In fact, this was welcomed as a way to keep the Venitian heat in check. For the Italian day trippers, however, this was a disaster that ended thier plans to head out to Venice and the Lido to soak up the sun. As a result, the crowds in Venice were not as soul-crushingly thick as they usually are.

We're still able to smile, despite the smell of the fish market.

We began our morning with a long vaporetto ride from the Lido all the way up the Grand Canal to the. Rialto bridge. Rialto is the Venitian contraction of Riva Alta, the high bank. This is where modern Venice was supposedly founded. This was one of the two centers of power in medieval Venice, the other being at Piazza San Marco. Rialto was the commercial center of Venice. We visited the still lively fruit and vegetable market (fantastic peaches) on our way to get a glimpse of the bounty of the Adriatic at the fish market. Although I was amazed at the variety of fish, octopodi, squid, shellfish, and other sea creatures available at this arcaded market, I just could not get over the overwhelming stench. It was enough to put me off of tuna for at least a year. I was thankful for our departure from Rialto and the hike back to San Marco.

He's making a horse!

After a brief stop at Piazza San Marco, we walked back behind the basilica to find what Thomas described as "the best gelato in Venice." The little gelato shop he took us to has not only the best homemade gelato in Venice, but the best gelato I have ever tasted. Most of us gave up any thoughts of having just one scoop upon seeing the tins of this amazingly rich bit of heaven in front of us. I had the hazelnut and the stracciatella (something like chocolate chip). Once we had something cold in Venice, it was time to deal in something hot, something so hot that it has mostly been moved to another island in the lagoon for fear of fire. I'm talking, of course, of the Venitian art of blowing glass. The Venitians are well known for the amazing colors of thier glass, created by by adding various metals to the glass as it was being formed in gigantic furnaces. They used metals acquired in all of their trading across their Mediterranean empire. Deep emerald green glass, for example, was created by adding copper acquired from the Egyptian port of Alexandria. My favorite part of visiting the glassworks is watching a master glassblower fashion a glass horse out of a blob of molten glass in a matter of minutes.

Rialto bridge, as seen from gondola-level

The rest of our day was devoted to exploring Venice on our own. Thomas gave each group a Venitan photo scavenger hunt list that he created. There were items on the list that were easy to acquire, like a photo of ten gondolas. There were the tougher items such as a member of your group with a black tongue, which meant that you ate a pasta dish with a sauce made of the black ink of a squid. Then there was the holy grail of the list, find Marco Polo's house (not as easy as it seems). The basic instruction that all of the small groups recieved from both Thomas and me was to simple get lost in Venice. Don't stick to the main tourist thoroughfares. Take the quieter backstreets to see where they take you. My little group, for example, found ourselves in the old Jewish Quarter of the city, Ghetto, where the city's Jewish population was locked behind big gates at night. On our way back to San Marco, we found Marco Polo's house, a rather plain looking building with a little plaque over the door that says, in the Venitan dialect, "the house of Marco Polo."

The best ride in Venice

Our final Venitian experience was a gondola ride through the smaller canals to the west of Piazza San Marco. I could definitely get used to this mode of transportation. It's much more relaxing than my daily mad dash down the I-15. All of the gondolas in Venice are still made by hand in the city. They have a slight curve built into them so that they will travel in a straight line when rowed by one gondolier. If you ever find yourself in Venice, this is one experience that you should build into your budget.

 

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