CONTINENTAL INTRODUCTION WITH LONDON EXTENSION - 2010

17 days incl. travel, or 16 days from Paris to London (HYT)

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Vacation Overview

This trip gives you a satisfying taste of the heart of Europe. Enjoy 2-night stays in Paris, Rome, Venice, and Amsterdam, and single-night stays in Lucerne, Lugano, Florence, Munich, and Germany’s Rhineland. Guided sightseeing introduces you to all the major sights, like Notre Dame Cathedral and a bird’s-eye view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower; the Lion Monument in Lucerne; the Baptistry’s “Gate of Paradise,” Signoria Square, and Michelangelo’s David in Florence; Rome’s Colosseum and Sistine Chapel; St. Mark’s Square, Doges’ Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs in Venice; the Olympic Stadium and Nymphenburg Palace in Munich; and a canal cruise in Amsterdam. Other highlights include Pisa’s Leaning Tower, a private boat transfer and glassblowing demonstration in Venice, Ferrara, Innsbruck, medieval Rothenburg, Cologne, and a cruise down the romantic Rhine—the best way to see Europe in two weeks! Continue to Brussels, Belgium, for an orientation before boarding the Eurostar train to London, and stay two nights and go on a sightseeing tour with a Local Guide that features a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral and time to watch the Changing of the Guard (if held).
In the rare event that the Eurostar train is unavailable, alternative services will be provided.

Special Departure:
Dec 17th departure - Christmas Eve in Rome and New Year’s Eve in London

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Continental Introduction (HY)

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story 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. "