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2017 - Around the Gulf of Venice

September 6- 16, 2017

Around the Gulf of Venice is a 10-day exploration of the layered history of the northern Adriatic.  With 4 nights in Venice and 6 in Udine, this carefully curated tour is replete with riches-- Ravenna with its Byzantine era 5th and 6th century mosaics; Venice's St. Mark's Basilica and the major architectural sites around the Piazza San Marco; Andrea Palladio's 16th c. Church of the Redentore; the Correr Museum; Marciana Library--plus time to explore the Venice Biennale or the glass artisans on the island of Murano.  Farther north, in Aquilea, the Roman Forum, 4th c. mosaics, and the Patriarchal Basilica all underscore the significance of its location on the Adriatic, while the renaissance and baroque era palazzi of the region speak of the Venetian influence over this northern region.  Special private hospitality will punctuate this small-group tour.

 

2018 - "A Scotch Tasting"--Sampling the Best of Scotland

August 11-21, 2018

“A Scotch Tasting"--Sampling the Best of Scotland is a tour designed to immerse the inquisitive traveler in a wide swath of Scottish culture--from the oldest inhabited house in Scotland to the 21st c. Scottish Parliament and from the rolling landscape of the Lowlands to the fabled mystery of the Isle of Skye.  With in-depth visits to cultural centers of Edinburgh and Glasgow, visitors will depart having sampled Scotland at its best. 

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2016 - Architecture of the Scottish Borders

May 18 - 24, 2016

Roger White, FSA, who will guide our tour of the Scottish Borders describes the tour this way: “The houses featured really cover the full span of country house types and periods in the region, from the medieval/16th century ones like Traquair, through Georgian (including Robert Adam, of course) and Scottish Baronial (Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford, the original Scottish Baronial prototype) to Manderston—the Edwardian swansong of the country house.

The contents at the two big ducal houses, Bowhill and Floors Castle, are exceptional by any standards, and to my mind the real plum is Mertoun - not well known because not open, but in a lovely position on the banks of the Tweed and a rare example of a house by Sir William Bruce, Scotland's first true classical architect. It contains the Duke of Sutherland's 'second eleven' pictures (the first eleven are in the National Gallery of Scotland), which includes a perfect matching pair of Claudes, some excellent Dutch pictures, and delectable Guardis.”