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Itinerary
Picture yourself landing in one of Europe's most magnificent capital cities, settling into a student hotel right in the center of the city and taking in the wonders of Italian culture. Within the first couple days you will explore the splendors of Rome's Classical, Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture -- The Coliseum and the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, Saint Peter's Basilica and the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Spanish Steps, the wonders of Giotto's, Michelangelo's and Caravaggio's greatest works, the Trevi Fountain. Here you can discuss how art and architectural forms came to be and the political purposes they served. Picture yourself heading through Umbria to medieval town of Assisi and through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to a magical vineyard where you will learn about the secrets of Tuscan winemaking. Now you can enjoy something of small town culture and discuss how art forms from the capital city and Florence made their way into the countryside of Italy. After exploring the exquisite Tuscan city of Florence and the Mediterranean village of Monterosso in Cinque Terre, we will break for several days to allow you to explore Italy and parts of Southern Europe in small groups, further expanding your experience and knowledge of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque cultural movements. Finally, we will gather for a final three days of seminar in the Bavarian capital of Munich, where we will compare and contrast these art and architectural movements in their manifestations on the other side of the Alps. Here is our itinerary. Join us for the trip of your life! Program Itinerary 2007
Day by Day Day 1: Depart USA — Arrive at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport at about noon.
Day 3 -- Tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Tour of Saint Peter's Basilica and small group explorations of the sites of Rome Day 4 — Possible Mass with the Pope and more sites you have marked on your Top Ten maps. Day 5 — Early departure for the medieval town of Assisi. Day 6 — Group Mass at the tomb of Saint Francis. Noon departure for a Tuscan vineyard and olive grove, and then on to Florence, where we will stay at a hotel near the market square. Group dinner at the wonderful restaurant, Trattoria Za-Za in Florence.
Day 8 -17 — Small-Group independent Travel. Most group members will want to head to the coastal town of the Cinque Terre, about two hours west of Florence. I have reserved apartments at the hotel there. Let me know if you choose a different alternative during these two days. After the coastal experience, here are just a few of the places you can plan to visit together with one or two other group members: The beautiful Italian cities of Pisa, Venice; Switzerland and the Alpine town of Interlaken; the wonderful cities of Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague; the Romantic castles of Bavaria. I will be on hand to help you make arrangements. The books Let's Go Europe and Lonely Planet Europe are excellent resources. NOTE: If you want to stay in Interlaken, Switzerland, past group members say you MUST reserve spots at Balmer's Youth Hotel well ahead of time. It's easy: Go to http://www.balmers.com/ You can always change your arrival date if you need to, but you do not want to get caught without a place to stay!
Day 20 -- Early breakfast and 7 AM departure for 10 A.M. flight out of Munich with Northwest Airlines . Arrival in Minneapolis at 5:30 p.m. on July 31.
For your independent travel time, Eurailpass has several options for students, depending on the number of countries you want to visit. Some students go to 3 countries (Italy, Austria Germany) some add a fourth country (Switzerland). Here is the cheapest site I have found. http://www.eurail.com/?gclid=CO70xrzrvYwCFRUHWAodzRLvag It looks like anyone under 25 is eligible for the youth passes, which would mean people could probably get 4 countries, 5 days passes for about $312. Buying Eurailpass here in the US instead of in Italy will save you $100 or more.
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