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Egyptian Collections of EuropeEgyptian Collections of EuropeEgyptian Collections of Europe
Program Dates Will Program Dates Will Be Announced ShortlyBe Announced Shortly
Optional Vienna PostOptional Vienna Post--Tour Tour
Specialists in Archaeological and Religions Travel
6677 N. Lincoln Avenue—Suite 110—Lincolnwood, IL 60712 Phone: 800.865.5387 (Contact Persons: Janice Brannon or Waqas Mirza)
Email: [email protected]
Dear Friends,
As all you Egyptophiles know, Europe has been fascinated by ancient Egypt for over three centuries. Much of what we know today about that great culture was first discovered by scholars and adventurers who brought home not only new knowledge but actual Egyptian artifacts, some weighing several tons!--that they gathered on their travels along the Nile. The results of their enthusiastic and seemingly unquenchable interest forms what today are the major Egyptian galleries in Europe’s most important museums. Only the museums of Egypt itself can rival the rich collections in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Turin, and Vienna. And we are going to visit them all!
The itinerary offered here, arranged by Adam Vcations, is one of the few ever to visit all of these principal collections. It offers a fantastic program, with special gallery visits, on-site lec-tures by some of Egyptology's greatest authorities, plus first class accommodations and world class dining. The result is a tour guaranteed to be the experience of a lifetime.
I hope you will to join us on this grand Egyptological feast!
Hope you can join us,
Janice Brannon
Specialists in Archaeological and Religions Travel
6677 N. Lincoln Avenue—Suite 110—Lincolnwood, IL 60712 Phone: 800.865.5387 (Contact Persons: Janice Brannon or Waqas Mirza)
Museum Visits
British Museum—London Lecture by Curatorial Staff of the Egyptian Collection
(with behind the scenes access)
Egyptian Exploration Society—London
Lecture—EES’s 100 Years of Work in Egypt Tea with the Director of the Society
Sir John Soane’s Museum—London
Private Tour of the Museum
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology—London
Talk by the Curator
Louvre Museum—Paris Welcome and lecture by Guillemette Andrea-Lanoe, Curator, Egyptian Antiquities
Lunch at Tre Scalini
Neues Museum—Berlin Visit with Nefertari
The Museo delle Antichità Egizie—Turin
Vatican Museum—Rome
Sistine Chapel and Egyptian Collection
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Curator Tour of the Museum
Note: This museum visit is included only you opt for the extension to Vienna
London, EnglandLondon, England
Egyptian CollectionsEgyptian Collections
Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert Museum British MuseumBritish Museum Petrie MuseumPetrie Museum
Sir John Soane’s MuseumSir John Soane’s Museum
London Program Day One Arrive London’s Heathrow Airport—early morning arrival. Meeting and assistance upon arrival. (Hotel check-in is not until 3 p.m.) Transfer by private coach to the city center where you will begin your museum touring at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
After completing your visit to the V & A you will have time to enjoy lunch in the Georgian Restaurant in London’s famous Harrods. Time to browse the store and visit the Egypt Room.
Check-in to the Bloomsbury Hotel. This magnificent neo-Georgian listed building was designed by the renowned British architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens, and a recent major renovation has restored it to its original grandeur. It is the perfect location from which to explore the treasures of Bloomsbury, whether it's the British Museum which is lit-erally around the corner, the shopping haven of Oxford Street, the bustle of Covent Garden or the magnificent Georgian terraces of Covent Gardens.
Overnight Bloomsbury Hotel. (Meals in Flight/Lunch)
The Victoria and Albert Museum
The V & A holds over 19,000 items from the Middle East and North Africa, ranging from the early Islamic period (7th century) to the early 20th century. The collections include holdings of metalwork, ceramics, architectural woodwork and textiles, in particular from Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and the countries of North Africa. The ceramics collection is internationally the most important and comprehensive of its kind.
Day Two After breakfast at the hotel you will walk to the British Museum, located a few blocks from the hotel.
A special tour has been arrange that will give you behind the scenes access to the museum’s Egyptian collection. A docent led tour of the exhibit will be offered to those wishing a guided tour. In addition, a lecture will be given by a member of the Egyptian Collection’s staff. Lunch will be at the Court Restaurant located within the museum following the tour. Next, a short walk to the Petrie Museum.
British Museum
Lecture by Curatorial Staff Egyptian Collection
The British Museum houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyp-tian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A collection of immense importance for its range and quality, it includes objects of all periods from virtually every site of importance in Egypt and the Sudan. Together they illustrate every aspect of the cultures of the Nile Valley (including Nubia), from the Predynastic Neolithic period (10,000 BC) through to the Coptic (Christian) era (12th century AD), a time-span over 11,000 years. Egyptian antiquities have formed part of the British Museum collection ever since its founda-tion in 1753 after receiving 160 Egyptian objects from Sir Hans Sloane. After the defeat of the French forces under Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in 1801, the Egyptian antiquities col-lected were confiscated by the British army and presented to the British Museum in 1803. These works, which included the famed Rosetta Stone, were the first important group of large sculptures to be acquired by the Museum. Thereafter, the UK appointed Henry Salt as consul in Egypt who amassed a huge collection of antiquities. Most of the antiquities Salt collected were purchased by the British Museum and the Musée du Louvre. By 1866 the collection con-sisted of some 10,000 objects. Antiquities from excavations started to come to the Museum in the later 19th century as a result of the work of the Egypt Exploration Fund under the efforts of E. A. Wallis Budge. The collection stood at 57,000 objects by 1924. Active support by the Mu-seum for excavations in Egypt continued to result in useful acquisitions throughout the 20th century until changes in antiquities laws in Egypt led to the suspension of policies allowing finds to be exported. The size of the Egyptian collections now stands at over 110,000 objects.
A docent led tour of the important objects housed at the Petrie will be given by the curator or you may chose to wander on your own. Upon completing the tour of the Petrie you will have an opportunity to stop at Waterstone Books on your way back to the hotel. Waterstone has an extensive collection of Egyptian books and maps.
Balance of the day at leisure.
Overnight Bloomsbury Hotel. (B/L)
Day Three
Your day begins with a visit to the Egyptian Exploration Society. You will meet with the director of the society for morning tea and a lecture. He will report on the societies 100 year history of working in Egypt.
Transfer by bus to the Sir John Soane Museum. Special arrangements have been made for a lec-ture by the curatorial staff prior to the private museum tour.
The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Architecture
The Petrie Museum houses an estimated 80,000 objects, making it one of the greatest collections of Egyptian and Su-danese archaeology in the world. It illustrates life in the Nile Valley from prehistory through the time of the pharaohs, the Ptolemaic, Roman and Coptic periods to the Islamic period.
Return to your hotel, balance of the day at leisure. Overnight Bloomsbury Hotel. (B/L)
Sir John Soane Museum
The architect Sir John Soane’s house, museum, and library at No. 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields has been a public museum since the early 19th century. Soane demolished and rebuilt three houses in succession on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, beginning with No. 12 between 1792 and 1794, moving on to No. 13, re-built in two phases in 1808-9 and 1812, and conclud-ing with No. 14, rebuilt in 1823-24.
On his appointment as Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy in 1806 Soane began to arrange the books, casts and models in order that the students might have the benefit of easy access to them and proposed opening his house for the use of the Royal Academy stu-dents the day before and the day after each of his lectures. By 1827, when John Britton pub-lished the first description of the museum, Soane’s collection was being referred to as an ‘Academy of Architecture’.
In 1833 Soane negotiated an Act of Parliament to settle and preserve the house and collection for the benefit of ‘amateurs and students’ in architecture, painting and sculpture. On his death in 1837 the Act came into force, vesting the Museum with a Board of Trustees who were to continue to uphold Soane’s own aims and objectives. A crucial part of their brief was to main-tain the fabric of the Museum, keeping it ‘as nearly as circumstances will admit in the state’ in which it was left at the time of Soane’s death in 1837 and to allow free access for students and the public to ‘consult, inspect and benefit’ from the collections. Since 1837, each successive curator has sought to preserve and maintain Soane’s arrangements as he wished. However, over the years changes have been made and the recent five-year restoration program sought to restore Soane’s arrangements and effects where they had been lost.
The Sarcophagus of Seti I, with fragments of its lid, canopic vase from the tomb of Seti I, two Egyptian stelae, 12th-17th Dynasty, are on display. As is the Ephesian Diana: a 2nd Century Roman version of the celebrated cult statue of Diana at Ephesus. The Soane statue was probably excavated in Rome in the early 1500s and, with another in the Capitoline Museum, provided the image of the Ephesian Diana which appears in Raphael’s decorations in the Vati-can Loggia (1518-19). The Antiquarian Ulisse Aldrovandi mentions it as in the collection of Cardinal Pio da Carpi in 1550 - one of the most important 16th century Roman collections - and it was later in the famous collection of Pope Julius III in the Vigna Giulia, Rome. It was en-graved by Montfaucon in L’Antiquité Expliquée 1719 and bought by Soane at the Bessborough Sale, 1804.
Also on display is the wooden mummy case, from the Duke of Richmond’s collection at White-hall: said to be one of the first unwrapped in England.
Day Four
Today will be spent visiting important non-Egyptian sites in London. You begin the day with a visit to the Tower of London.
Constructed over 900 years ago by William the Conqueror, the Tower of London is steeped in a rich history. This fortress was ex-panded by many medieval kings and is a grand structure used by Royals through the years as a refuge and powerbase. The Tower is still home to her majesty's Crown Jewels, on display for you to see, and the infamous Beefeaters tasked with the job of guarding them.
Next, a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the seat of the Bishop of Lon-don and a major London landmark. The present St. Paul's Cathedral, which was built between 1675 and 1710, is the fourth cathedral to occupy the site, which was sacred even before Christianity arrived. The cathedral's immediate predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
As the cathedral of the capital city, St. Paul's Cathedral in London has been the spiritual focus of England ever since the first service was held in 1697. Many important events have taken place here over the years, including:
•The funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; •Peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; •The Service of Remembrance and Commemoration for September 11, 2001; •The 80th and 100th birthdays of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; •The wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Lady Diana Spencer; and the recent •Thanksgiving for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. Lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon visit to Kensington Palace, a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens. It has been the a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate). It was the official residence of Diana, princes of Wales from 1981 until her death in 1997.
Today, the Queen’s State Rooms are open to the public and you will have an opportunity to visit.
The Palace will soon complete the final stages of a £12 million transformation. You will have the op-portunity to explore the new gardens, terrace, and four redesigned visitor routes revealing both the secret and public lives of the palace inhabitants.
As a part of the opening a special exhibit of Queen Victoria’s life, told in her own words, Victoria Revealed, will be included in your visit. Tonight, a special dinner as we prepare to depart England. Overnight Bloomsbury Hotel. (B/L/D) Day Five This morning you transfer from the hotel to St. Pancras International Station for your EuroStar (First Class) train to Paris. A private car has been reserved for your group.
End London Program
Archaeological and Religious Travel Specialists 6677 N. Lincolnwood Avenue—Suite 110
Chicago, IL 60712
Paris, FranceParis, France
Egyptian CollectionsEgyptian Collections
Louvre MuseumLouvre Museum Insitut de ArabeInsitut de Arabe
Paris Program
Day Five Arrive Paris’ Gare du Nord International Station, where you will be met and assisted through your transfer to the hotel. Time to check-in to the Hotel Bucci, and enjoy a leisurely lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon departure to the Orsay Museum. The history of the museums building is quite unusual. In the center of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself should be seen as the first "work of art" in the Musee d'Or-say, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914. The Musee d’Orsay opened to the public in 1986 with a mission to show the great diversity of artistic creation in the western world between 1848 and 1914. Its collections came from three main sources:
•from the Louvre museum, for the works of artists born after 1820 or coming to the fore during the Second Republic; •from the Musee du Jeu de Paume, which since 1947 had been devoted to Impressionism; •and lastly from the National Museum of Modern Art, which, when moved in 1976 to the Pompidou, and then only kept works of artists born after 1870. You will have an opportunity to see paintings by Millet, Manet, Rousseau, Renoir, Gauguin, Cez-anne, Courbet, Degas, Matisse, and Toulouse-Lautrec to name but a few. In addition to paintings there are more than 2,200 pieces of sculpture by such artists as Rodin, Bourdelle, Claudel, and Barris. This will be a guided visit but you are welcome to wander on your own to visit those works of art your most interested in. Dinner will be served in the beautiful and historic dinning room of the Hotel D’Orsay, opened in 1900. This room is listed as a Historic Monument of France for its ancient chandeliers and its painted and gilded ceiling. Return to your hotel, the Hotel Bucci or similar. (B/D) Day Six After a leisurely breakfast you will walk to the Louvre Museum. This will be a very special day as we focus on the Egyptian Collection containing more than 50,000 objects.
Lunch at the museum. This afternoon is a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Once the tallest structure in the world, the Eiffel Tower is probably Europe’s best known landmark and Paris’ most famous symbol. The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution in 1789.
The Louvre Museum
The department of Egyptian Antiquities, comprises over 50,000 pieces, includes artifacts from the Nile civilizations which date from 4,000 BC to the 4th century. The collection, among the world's largest, overviews Egyptian life spanning Ancient Egypt, the Middle Kingdom, the New Kingdom, Coptic art, and the Roman, Ptolemaic, and Byzantine periods. The department's ori-gins lie in the royal collection, but it was augmented by Napoleon's 1798 expeditionary trip with Dominique Vivant, the future director of the Louvre. After Jean-François Champollion trans-lated the Rosetta Stone, Charles X decreed that an Egyptian Antiquities department be cre-ated. Champollion advised the purchase of three collections, the Durand, Salt and Drovetti; these additions added 7,000 works. Growth continued via acquisitions by Auguste Mariette, founder of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Mariette, after excavations at Memphis, sent back crates of archaeological finds including The Seated Scribe.
Guarded by the Large Sphinx (c. 2000 BC), the collection is housed in more than 20 rooms. Holdings include art, papyrus scrolls, mummies, tools, clothing, jewelry, games, musical instru-ments, and weapons. Pieces from the ancient period include the Gebel el-Arak Knife from 3400 BC, The Seated Scribe, and the Head of King Djedefre. Middle Kingdom art, "known for its gold work and statues", moved from realism to idealization; this is exemplified by the schist statue of Amenemhatankh and the wooden Offering Bearer. The New Kingdom and Coptic Egyptian sections are deep, but the statue of the goddess Nephthys and the limestone depic-tion of the goddess Hathor demonstrate New Kingdom sentiment and wealth.
The construction was only meant to last for the duration of the Exposi-tion, but it still stands today, despite all protests from contemporary artists who feared the construction would be the advent of structures without 'individuality' and despite the many people who feared that this huge 'object' would not fit into the architecture of Paris. Today, there is no such aversion anymore among the Parisians, and one could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it has become the sym-bol of the City of Light. Your visit will include both the 1st and 2nd levels. Return to your hotel, balance of the day is free. Overnight at the Hotel Bucci or similar. (B/L)
Day Seven Visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, or "Our Lady of Paris", a beautiful cathe-dral on the Île de la Cité in Paris. Begun in 1163 and mostly completed by 1250, Notre Dame is an important example of French Gothic architecture, sculpture and stained glass.
The Notre Dame is the most popular monument not only in Paris, but in all of France, beating even the Eiffel Tower with 13 million visitors each year. But the famous cathedral is also an active Catholic church, a place of pil-grimage, and the focal point for Catholicism in France - religious events of national significance still take place here.
The cathedral stands on the site of Paris’ first Christian church, Saint Erienna basilica, which was built on the site of a Roman temple to Jupiter.
Lunch will either be at a local outdoor restaurant where you can enjoy the street life of Paris or at the rooftop restaurant at the Instiut De Monde Arab.
Next, a visit to the Instiut Du Monde Arab. This "Institute of the Arab World" was built in the 1980s and was inaugurated on November 30, 1987 by the President of the French Republic, François Mit-terrand. The institute is intended as a "cultural bridge" between France and twenty-two Arab coun-tries. The bookstore houses a fine collection of Arabic selections. This afternoon your first stop will be to visit the Musee Rodin, first opened to the public in 1919. The building was formerly known as Hotel Biron and was built between 1727 and 1732. Nearly 300
works from Rodin's collection are on view in this mansion.
The Biron estate was put up for sale and while awaiting a buyer, tenants were allowed to occupy the Hôtel Biron from 1905. Among them were sev-eral artists, the writer Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), the painter Henri Ma-tisse, the dancer Isadora Duncan and the sculptress Clara Westhoff (1878-1954), future wife of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1921), who first told Auguste Rodin about the estate.
In 1908, the sculptor rented four south-facing, ground-floor rooms opening onto the terrace, to use as his studios. The garden that had run wild probably made a strong impression on Rodin, encour-aging him to place some of his works and part of his collection of antiques amidst its greenery. From 1911 onwards, he occupied the entire building.
The property was officially sold to the French government in 1911, to house the Department of Civil Buildings. All the occupants except Rodin were asked to leave the building. Rodin does his utmost to save the mansion and starts negotiating with the state.
“I give the State all my works in plaster, marble, bronze and stone, and my drawings, as well as the collection of antiqui-ties that I had such pleasure in assembling for the education and training of artists and workers. And I ask the State to keep all these collections in the Hôtel Biron, which will be the Musée Rodin, reserving the right to reside there all my life.” Auguste Rodin - Correspondence of Rodin, volume III, 1908-1912, letter no. 103 to Paul Escudier, late 1909
In 1916, the National Assembly voted in a law that accepted the sculptor’s three donations and allo-cated the mansion and its garden to a museum, called the Musée Rodin, where the works donated to the French nation by Rodin would be exhibited. After visiting Rodin’s works you will move to the Picasso Museum.
The museum is housed in one of the nicest mansions of the Marais district of Paris, built in the XVIIth century by Pierre Aubert Lord. The former Hotel Salt owes its name to the profession of its first owner, a salt tax collector. It has had many occupants including an educational facility where Balzac completed his secondary educa-tion. It was made a listed building in 1968, and opened its doors as the Picasso Museum In 1985.
It comprises more than 250 paintings, 160 sculptures, 1500 drawings, his entire engraving works, ceramics, etc. The sculptures are unique, and contains every-thing of note made by Picasso. Most interesting is Picasso's own art collection which includes primitive Nimba masks from New Guinea, Grebo masks, Iberian bronzes, sketches by Giorgio de Chirico and Degas, and paintings by Corot, Cezanne, Chardin, Renoir, Matisse, and others. Not to be missed are the paint-ings of his family and wives which are very touching and most endearing. During the 1930's, during the Spanish Civil War, when Picasso was going through his worst per-sonal and political crises, you will discover such portraits like Dora Maar and that of Marie-Therese. These events played an important role in Picasso's style.
A decade later, Picasso was a member of the Communist Party - his cards are on show along with a drawing entitled Staline à la Santé (Here's to Stalin), and his delegate credentials for the 1948 World Congress of Peace. The Massacre en Coree (1951) demonstrates the lasting pacifist com-mitment in his work.
Return to your hotel. Evening free to explore Paris.
Overnight Hotel Bucci or similar. (B/L)
Day Eight
Early morning transfer to Charles De Gaulle Airport for your Air Berlin flight departing at 8:45 a.m. to Berlin.
End Paris Program
Berlin, GermanyBerlin, Germany
Egyptian CollectionsEgyptian Collections
Neues MuseumNeues Museum
Neues Museum The Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, the Museum of Prehistory and Early History and various artifacts from the Collection of Classical Antiquities have been given a new home in the Neues Museum. The various collections are no longer kept strictly apart, but are instead merged together in a novel display which affords visitors a fascinating insight into the origins of humankind.
The geographical breadth, historical richness and exceptional quality of the archaeological col-lections bring to life the history of the Old World, stretching from the Near East to the Atlantic, from North Africa to Scandinavia, across several millennia at once, in the form of both the re-mains of material culture and written sources.
Traversing several collections at once, the development of pre-historical and early Eurasian cultures, ranging all the way from the Paleolithic period to the High Middle Ages, is placed on display in unparalleled breadth and depth. Renowned archaeological treasures, such as the bust of Nefertiti and the Egyptian Museum’s entire collection of Armana Art, combine with world-famous exhibits from the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, such as the skull of the Neanderthal from Le Moustier or Heinrich Schliemann’s collection of Trojan Antiquities, to form a unique panorama of the early history of humankind.
Day Nine
Arrive Berlin at 10:35 a.m. Meeting and assistance at airport, followed by transfer to your hotel. The balance of the day will be at leisure. This evening we will celebrate our arrival in Germany with a 3-course dinner at a taverne for a taste of traditional German food. Overnight at Regent Berlin or similar. (B/D) Day Ten Transfer by bus to Museum Island to visit both the Neues and Pergamon Museums. From 2003 until 2009 the museum underwent a complete renovation project. The project is now complete and you will have an opportunity to visit the new installation. Walk from the Neues to the Pergamon.
The Pergamon Museum was built between 1910 and 1930. The building originally accommodated the important excavation finds of the Berlin Museum, such as the frieze of the Pergamum Alter which was recovered between 1878 and 1886. Today it accommodates three separate museums: the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of the Ancient Near East and the Museum of Islamic Art. The monumental reconstructions of archaeological building ensembles - such as the Pergamum Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate including the Processional Way of Babylon and the Mshatta Façade - made the Pergamun Museum world-famous. Lunch at Brauerhouse Lemke, established in 1999, this brewery has been serving up food and its own home-brewed beer under a listed arc of the viaduct, one of 700 arches making up Berlin’s longest man-made structure. After lunch you will have a guided walking tour of the Brandenburg Gate and the surrounding area. Balance of the day at leisure.
This evening, dinner at Kafer Berlin, located on the top of the German Bundestag, it is the only restaurant in the world to be housed in a parliament building. The roof garden restaurant is situated directly adjacent to the glass dome and offers breathtaking panoramic views over the city. They serve modern German cuisine prepared exclusively with the freshest regional produce, and accompanied by German wines. This will be memorable way to bid farewell to Berlin.
Overnight at the Regent Hotel or similar. (B/L/D) Day Eleven After a leisurely breakfast, you will have time for a city tour of Berlin before departing to the airport for your 2:55 p.m. flight to Rome.
End Berlin Program
Rome and Turin, ItalyRome and Turin, Italy
Egyptian CollectionsEgyptian Collections
Gregorian Egyptian Museum at the Vatican MuseumGregorian Egyptian Museum at the Vatican Museum Egyptian Museum of TurinEgyptian Museum of Turin
Rome Program
Day Eleven Arrive Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at 5:00 p.m. Meeting and assistance at the airport, transfer to your hotel. Balance of the evening at leisure. Overnight hotel near the Spanish Steps. (B) Day Twelve Your morning will be filled with visits to the Vatican Museum, including the Egyptian Section, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters Basilica. The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City, which display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Julius II founded the museums in the 16th century. The Sistine Chapel and the Stanze della Segnatura deco-rated by Raphael are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums. As of November 2006, it was visited by more than 4,000,000 people for the year. The Vatican Museums trace their origin to one marble sculpture, purchased 500 years ago. The sculpture of Laocoön, the priest who, according to Greek mythology, tried to convince the people of ancient Troy not to accept the Greeks' gift of a hol-low horse, was discovered 14 January 1506, in a vineyard near the of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Pope Julius II sent Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo Buonarroti, who were working at the Vatican, to check out the discovery. On their recommendation, the pope immediately purchased the sculpture from the vineyard owner. The pope put the sculpture of Laocoön and his sons in the grips of a sea serpent on public display at the Vatican exactly one month after its discovery. The Mu-seums celebrated their 500th anniversary in October 2006 by permanently opening the excavations of a Vatican Hill necropolis to the public.
The Gregorian Egyptian Museum of the Vatican Museum
Pope Gregory XVI had the Gregorian Egyptian Museum founded in 1839. It houses monu-ments and artifacts of ancient Egypt partly coming from Rome and from Villa Adriana (Tivoli), where they had been transferred mostly in the Imperial age, and partly from private collections, that is purchased by nineteenth century collectors. The Popes’ interest in Egypt was connected with the fundamental role attributed to this country by the Sacred Scripture in the History of Salvation. The Museum occupies nine rooms divided by a large hemicycle that opens towards the terrace of the "Niche of the Fir Cone", in which there are numerous sculptures. The last two rooms house finds from ancient Mesopotamia and from Syria-Palestine.
Thanks to the extraordinary talents of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), the Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina) in Vatican City has become one of the most famous art galleries in the western world.
Michelangelo's famous Sistine ceiling depicts scenes from Genesis in dramatic and moving detail, while The Last Judgment on the end wall is striking and pow-erful. As if that were not enough, the side walls are covered with important Ren-aissance frescoes by other artists, depicting biblical scenes and contemporary popes.
But the Sistine Chapel is more than the sum of its artistic wonders: it is a sym-bolic statement of papal authority and the place in which papal elections in con-clave are held to this day.
The final stop of the morning will be St. Peter’s Basil-ica. In the 1st century AD, the site of St. Peter's Basil-ica hosted the Circus of Nero and a cemetery. Accord-ing to ancient tradition, St. Peter was martyred in the Circus and buried nearby. His simple grave was re-membered and visited by the faithful, and in 324, Em-peror Constantine began construction on a great ba-silica over the tomb. The shrine of St. Peter is still the central focus of the church today. In the mid-15th century it was decided that the old ba-silica should be rebuilt. Pope Nicholas V asked archi-tect Bernardo Rossellino to start adding to the old church. This was abandoned after a short while, but in the late 15th century Pope Sixtus IV had the Sistine Chapel started nearby. Construction on the current building began under Pope Julius II in 1506 and was completed in 1615 under Pope Paul V. Donato Bramante was to be the first chief architect. Many famous artists worked on the "Fabbrica di San Pietro" (as the complex of building operations were officially called). Michelan-gelo, who served as main architect for a while, designed the dome, and Bernini designed the great St. Peter's Square.
You will exit through the square that provides a fitting approach to the great church. De-signed by Bernini it was built between 1656 and 1667. There are two beautiful fountains in the square. In the center is a 25.5-meter-tall Egyptian obelisk, dating from the 13th Cen-tury BC that was brought to Rome to stand in Nero’s Circus. It was moved to its present location in 1585 by order of Pope Sixtus V. The task took four months and is said to have been done in complete silence on pain of death. If you include the cross on the top and the base, the obelisk reaches 40 meters.
Lunch at Tre Scalini, located in Navona Square and famous for its truffle ice-cream.
Your afternoon will be a walking tour of Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.
Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and called the most beautiful in the world. A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome.
Final stop of the day will be the Pantheon, a magnificent ancient temple in Rome that was later con-verted into the church of Santa Maria ad Martyrs. Dating from 125 AD, this is the most complete an-cient building in Rome and one of the city's most spectacular sights.
Until the 20th century, the Pantheon was the largest concrete structure in the world. Michelangelo studied its great dome before starting work on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
The Pantheon was dedicated to pan theos, "all the gods." When it became a church, it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs. The Pantheon is the burial place of sev-eral important Italians, including the artists Raphael.
Return to your hotel with the balance of the day and evening free to explore Rome.
Overnight Hotel near the Spanish Steps. (B/L)
Day Thirteen
Today will be a free day to relax and enjoy Rome. We will be on hand to assist you with arranging any special visits you may wish to take.
Overnight hotel near the Spanish Steps. (B)
Day Fourteen This morning you check-out of your hotel and depart to Turin via high-speed train. First Class space has been reserved for your train ride to Turin. Note: You will only be allowed carry-on luggage on the train, other luggage will be put in storage at the hotel to be claimed upon your return to Rome. Upon arrival in Turin you will be taken to your hotel, balance of the day and evening at leisure.
Overnight Principi Di Piemonte Hotel or similar. (B)
Day Fifteen
This morning you will walk to the Museo delle Antichita Egizie. Special arrangements have been made to meet with the curator of the collection.
After a full morning at the museum you will have lunch at a restaurant nearby, Locanda di Betty. The afternoon is free allowing you time to return to the museum and continue viewing the collection or time to explore Turin on your own. Overnight, Principi Di Piemonte Hotel. (B/L) Day Sixteen This morning a walking tour of Ducal and Royal Turin. The Dukes of Savoy ruled Savoy for centuries until they were eclipsed by Napoleon. They then came back and became the royal family. The Royal Palace, and its gardens designed by Notre who also designed the gardens of Versailles, are open to the public. The Savoys lived here from 1656 to 1865. The palace is listed as a world heri-tage site. Lunch at a local restaurant before transferring to the train station for your return trip to Rome. Upon arrival in Rome you will be transferred back to your hotel, near the Spanish Steps. Where you will reclaim your checked luggage before checking-in. This evening is free to rest before your return flight to the US. Overnight at hotel near the Spanish Steps. (B/L)
The Museo delle Antichita Egizie The Egyptian Museum of Turin
The Museo delle Antichità Egizie is the only museum other than the Cairo Museum that is dedicated solely to Egyptian art and culture. Many international scholars, since the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs Jean-François Champollion, who came to Turin in 1824, spend much time pouring over the collections. It was Champollion who famously wrote, “The road to Mem-phis and Thebes passes through Turin”. The collections that make up today’s Museum, were enlarged by the excavations conducted in Egypt by the museum’s archaeological mission between 1900 and 1935 (a period when finds were divided between the excavators and Egypt).
Day Seventeen This morning you transfer to the airport for your return flight to the US, bidding old friends and new farewell. (B)
End of Paris Program
End of Egyptian Collections Program
Optional Post Tour ExtensionOptional Post Tour Extension
Vienna, AustriaVienna, Austria
Highlights/Egyptian CollectionsHighlights/Egyptian Collections
Kunsthistorisches Museum
Day Seventeen Morning departure from Rome to Vienna. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel, the Hotel Sacher, located in the city center it is opposite the Opera House, a short walk from St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Hofburg Imperial Palace, and the elegant RingstraBe. Afternoon at leisure.
This evening dinner will be at one of Vienna's oldest inns, the Griechenbeisl. Art-ists, scholars and politicians would congregate in the Griechenbeisl to eat, drink, and reflect. The list of previous diners is long, composers Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Strauss, Brahms, the painters Waldmuller and Schwind, the opera singer Schaljapin, writers Mark Twain, Grillparzer, and Nestroy, and political per-sonalities such as Karl Lueger and Graf Zeppelin have all appreciated its fine Vi-ennese cuisine. You will order from a menu that includes wild boar, saddle of veal, rabbit, and much more. (Cost of dinner is not included in the package to allow you to order your favorite choices from the extensive menu.)
Overnight Hotel Sacher. (B) Day Eighteen After a leisurely breakfast you will visit the Kunsthisorische Museum and hear a lecture by the Head of the Department of the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection, Prof. Helmut Satzinger. The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna numbers among the most important European museum buildings put up during the 19th century. The monumental structure, built at the request of Emperor Franz Joseph I, as part of his expansion of the city in 1858, was intended to both unite and appropri-ately represent the artistic treasures that had been collected by the Habsburgs over the centuries. Construction work lasted 20 years, from when ground was first broken in 1871 to the museum build-ing’s completion in the year 1891. For the first time, most of the imperial Habsburg collections were housed under one roof, the monumental building itself being conceived as a memorial to Habsburg patronage. The architects Gottfried Semper (1803-1879) and Karl von Hasenauer (1833-1894) de-signed the building in the style of the Italian Renaissance, establishing in the spirit of historicism a link with an epoch of special significance for the arts and sciences. The magnificent architecture cre-ates a fitting setting for the artistic treasures assembled by the Habsburgs, for centuries enthusiastic patrons and collectors. The collections of the Kunsthistorische Museum are amongst the most im-portant and spectacular in the world. The 16th century Kunstund Wunderkammer (art and treasure chambers) of Archduke Ferdinand and of Emperor Rudolph II, together with the baroque collections of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm form the nucleus of the Museums magnificent collections, in which the taste and artistic preferences of these and other connoisseurs of the Imperial Family are still dis-cernible today, thus conveying a sense of the Imperial glory of the art-loving Habsburg dynasty. The Museums collections range from Ancient Egyptian and Greek and Roman Antiquities to the Collec-tions of Medieval Art to the splendid Renaissance and Baroque Collections.
Lunch at a restaurant located in the Museum Quarter. Tonight will be a very special evening. Prime seats will be reserved at the famous Wiener Staatsoper for an evening performance. (The schedule for November has not been released—the tentative schedule is for La Traviata but will not be confirmed until early June.)
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum is among the
most important collections of Egyptian antiquities in the world. The collection houses more
than 12,000 objects. They date from the Egyptian Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods
(around 3,500 BC) to the early Christian era, a span of almost 4,000 years. The objects origi-
nated from the vast geographical area encompassing Egypt, Nubia, the eastern Mediterra-
nean and Mesopotamia all the way to the Arabian Peninsula.
The display area is divided into four large themes: funerary cult, cultural history, sculpture and
relief and the development of writing. The halls feature 18th dynasty stone columns, large stat-
ues and many unique and impressive objects. Among the highlights of the museum exhibition
are the offering chapel of Kaninisut from the Old Kingdom, numerous sarcophagi and coffins,
grave goods such as shabtis and votive stelae, examples of the Book of the Dead, divine fig-
ures, pottery, objects of daily life such as clothing and cosmetic articles, and masterpieces of
sculpture such as the Reserve Head from Giza.
Head of the Department of the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Prof. Helmut Satzinger will give a brief history.
After the performance return to the hotel for a late dinner in the famous Anna Sacher Restaurant lo-cated in the hotel. Using the highest-quality regional products for all his recipes, Sacher's chef de cuisine Werner Pichlmaier offers a contemporary and light interpretation of traditional Austrian cui-sine. So that you may order your favorite menu it will be an la carte dinner. (Cost not included in the land package.)
Overnight Sacher Hotel. (B/L)
Day Nineteen This will be your last morning in Vienna. An walking tour is planned to St. Stephan’s Cathedral, the Graben with the Holy Trinity Column, the Leopold Foun-tain and the Joseph Fountain.
Next, the Imperial Apartments in the Hofbur to give you insight into the world of Austria’s most illustrious imperial couple. The nineteen rooms in the apart-ments occupied by Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, comprising studies, residential suites and reception rooms, are all furnished and decorated to the highest standards of historical authenticity.
After the tour, a typical fast lunch with “Wiener Wurstel” at the most fa-mous “Wurstelstand” in Vienna, near to the Hotel Sacher. Return to the hotel to claim your luggage and transfer to the airport at approximately 2 p.m. Late afternoon flight to the US. (B/L)
Features Included: Small group tour—limited to 14 passengers plus Adam Vacations escort Meeting, assistance, and transfer upon arrival and departure with group Services of a top English speaking guide in each country Entrance fees to all sights listed in itinerary First Class Euro Star ticket from London to Paris in private car reserved for group First Class fast train tickets to and from Rome to Turin—carry-on luggage only Curator tours at most museum Behind the scenes tour at the British Museum Private viewing and lunch at The British Academy of Film and Television Arts All airport transfers for internal flights within Europe 4 nights deluxe accommodations—Bloomsbury Hotel in London 3 nights deluxe accommodations at the Hotel Bucci or similar in Paris 2 nights deluxe accommodations at the Regent Berlin or similar in Berlin 4 night deluxe accommodations at the Inn at the Spanish Steps in Rome or similar 2 nights deluxe accommodations at the Principi Di Piemonte Hotel in Turin or similar All meals as indicated in the itinerary—includes buffet breakfast daily, 10 lunches and 4 dinners (dinner
in Paris at the historical Hotel d Orsay located within the museum, in Berlin at the Kafer Berlin located atop the Parliament Building)
Tips to hotel front desk, Maitre D at all included meals, airport and hotel porters, hospitality desk, bus driver, and tour escort
Luggage storage in Paris while you are in Turin All touring in air-conditioned deluxe motor coaches Seven Wonders escort upon arrival in London
Features Not Included: Passport fees or assistance Meals not included in itinerary, items of a personal nature, telephone, laundry, room service, beverages,
etc. Beverages not included in restaurant packages—guide will inform you before meals Tipping to guides—suggest $6-8 per day (London guide tipping is included) International airline reservations unless requested through Seven Wonders Travel and booked at an addi-
tional cost to the land package Domestic Air Berlin tickets unless purchased with your international ticket from SWT or contact us to
make your Air Berlin reservations if booking international air on your own Single Accommodations unless request and paid at single supplement rate Optional Vienna extension unless booked in addition to the basic tour
Reserve your space on the Egyptian Collections of Europe Tour Space Limited to 14 Passengers Legal name exactly as it appears on passport— (1) First Middle Last Address City State Zip Code
(2) First Middle Last
Address City State Zip Code Home Phone: Email(s): Cell Phone: Cell Phone: 1st Person Passport #: Date of Expiry: Date of Birth: Date of Issue: 2nd Person Passport #: Date of Expiry: Date of Birth: Date of Issue:
will be sharing a room with
I would like a single room
I request a roommate and understand a roommate is not guaranteed.
I request Adam Vacations to contact me about airline reservations.
Enclosed is my deposit of $___________________ to reserve _________________space(s) on the Egyptian Collections of Europe tour. A $2,000 deposit per person is required to reserve space. Make checks payable to: Adam Vacations Return this form along with your check to: Adam Vacations 6677 N. Lincoln Avenue—Suite 110 Chicago, IL 60712 Registrations will be accepted on a first come first serve basis—please mail early to confirm your space. A limited number of early booking discount available—please contact Adam Vacations for de‐tails.
For additional information, please contract Adam VacationsFor additional information, please contract Adam VacationsFor additional information, please contract Adam Vacations Telephone 8003.862.5387 • Email: [email protected] 8003.862.5387 • Email: [email protected] 8003.862.5387 • Email: [email protected]
LAND PACKAGE COST 17 Day Program
Per Person/Dbl Occupancy $ TBD Per Person/Sgl Occupancy $ TBD International Air (including domestic air in Europe) is not included in the land package. Final Payment Due August 15, 2012
PRE‐ARRIVAL & POST‐DEPARTURE HOTEL Call Janice or Waqas for quotation—800.862.5387.
EXTENSION TO VIENNA Per Person/Dbl Occupancy $ TBD Per Person/Sgl Occupancy $ TBD
OPTIONAL OPERA TICKETS IN VIENNA La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi) ‐ Premiere (best seats available) Cost is approximately $250 plus a 15% handling fee charged by the Austrian ground operator.
PRIVATE AIRPORT ASSISTANCE Arrivals/Departures other than with the group, will be quoted on an individual basis, airport ad time of arrival will determine the price.
PASSPORT SERVICE Please note that your passport must be valid for a minimum of six months beyond your re‐turn date to the US.
Adam Vacations does not offer passport assis‐tance.
Deposit Check Enclosed—$2000 per person
We will arriving early and wish to reserve _____ room(s) at the Bloomsbury for the night or nights of ____________________________
We would like upgrade our rooms at one or more locations—please contact us to discuss details.
We will staying late and wish to reserve _____ room(s) at the Inn at the Spanish Steps for the night or nights of __________________________
We will be arriving and departing on a non-Lufthansa flight and will need assistance at the airport upon arrival and departure.
I acknowledge that my passport is valid for six months beyond the re-turn date of the trip.
I would like to participate in the the tour extension to Vienna, Austria.
Signed by tour participant (1).
Signed by tour participant (2).
International Air
Please call our offices at 800.862.5387 for a quotation based upon your city of departure.
International Air booked by Adam Vacations will be at a consolidator
rates and will include Air Berlin bookings within Europe.
International Air is not included in the cost of the land package.
Cost of train tickets is included in the price of the land package.
General Information & Terms and ConditionsGeneral Information & Terms and ConditionsGeneral Information & Terms and Conditions
BOOKING Adam Vacations recommends that you call our office at 1.800.862.5387 before signing up for this journey . Our trips involve travel to remote areas of the globe and our staff are always happy to discuss the journeys and answer any questions you might have. We strive to make certain our clients are well prepared and have realistic expectations before making a decision to book a journey.
A deposit of $2,000.00 is required to secure your space on this jour‐ney. A completed registration form must accompany your deposit along with a copy of the inside front page of your passport (page with photo).
Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure, credit card pay‐ments or personal check accepted.
When your deposit is received in the Adam Vacations office you will receive an acknowledgement of your reservation, receipt for your deposit, a copy of the terms and conditions of the trip (which you sign and return to our office), a trip biography, and information on obtaining travel insurance. Travel Insurance is included in the cost of the land package.
Final documents including itinerary, airline tickets (if booked sepa‐rately from the land package and through Adam), packing list, lug‐gage tags, hotel contact list, and any other information specific to your journey will be mailed upon receipt of final payment and no later than 30 days prior to departure.
PASSPORTS AND VISA You must be in possession of a passport valid for six (6) months af‐ter the return of your departure. The EU does not require that you have a visa as an American citizen if you are staying less than 90 days in the country. If you are not a US citizen please contact our office for additional visa information.
REFUNDS AND CANCELLATIONS Adam Vacations must receive all cancellations by phone followed by a written cancellation. The following cancellation fees will apply:
More than 90 days prior to departure: 50% of deposit
89 to 45 days prior to departure: 50% of tour cost
44 to 30 days prior to departure: 75% of tour cost
Less than 30 days to departure: 100% of tour cost There is no refund for a partially completed tour or for unused ser‐vices of any kind.
TRAVEL INSURANCE Adam Vacations does issue travel insurance. Adam will provide you with a copy of your insurance plan.
RATES AND FARES/LAND PACKAGE/AIRLINE TICKETS
Rates quoted are per person based on double occupancy. Single supplements charges will be incurred by any passenger traveling without a partner. All rates shown are accurate at the time of publication, are subject to change and are based upon exchange rates that Adam Vacations feels will be in effect at the time of departure. These prices are subject to change resulting from fluctuation in exchange rates. All airline rates are subject to change prior to ticketing and carry penalties/surcharges. Flight confirmation is based upon availability. Adam Vacations has no control over any airline operations and is not responsible for schedule changes, delays or cancellations. Airline delays and any extra expenses incurred are the sole responsibility of the airline carrier.
HOTELS AND CRUISE SHIP Adam Vacations or its independent suppliers may find it neces‐sary to make substitutions in accommodations due to circum‐stances beyond their control. Substitutions are of superior or equal quality. If a substitution of equal or superior quality cannot be made, a refund will be paid for the difference.
FORCE MAJEURE Adam Vacations is not liable for acts of God, fire, weather, acts of governments or other authorities, wars, civil disturbances, riots, terrorist acts, strikes, thefts, pilferage, epidemics, quarantines, dangers incident to sea, land and air travel, and other similar inci‐dents beyond our control.
RESPONSIBILITY Adam Vacations purchases transportation, hotel and cruise ac‐commodations, restaurants and other services from independent suppliers not affiliated with Adam. Although Adam chooses the best suppliers available, the company in no way has the right to control their operations and CANNOT, THEREFORE, BE LIABLE FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, PROPERTY DAMAGE OR LOSS which may occur due to (1) wrongful, negligent or arbitrary acts of omission on the part of the supplier its employees and others not under the direct control of SWT, or (2) defects or failures of any aircraft, vessel, automotive vehicle or other equipment under the control of independent suppliers.
PACE OF TOUR—ACTIVE All tour participants must be able to walk reasonable distances unassisted, stand for periods of times necessary to listen to de‐scriptions of sites, walk on uneven and unpaved ground, board buses without assistance, and be able to take care of their own daily needs. If you think this tour may be outside your physical limits Adam Vacations recommends that you discuss the itinerary with your personal physician. Adam reserves the right to send any participant whose presence is detrimental to the pace of the tour home at their own expense. Please call our office at the numbers below to discuss the pace of the tour and let us help you in determining if this tour is right for you. The EU does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and disabled ac‐
For additional information, please contract Adam VacationsFor additional information, please contract Adam VacationsFor additional information, please contract Adam Vacations Telephone 8003.862.5387 • Email: [email protected] 8003.862.5387 • Email: [email protected] 8003.862.5387 • Email: [email protected]