Welcome
Orientation * English Channel Crossing * French
Bistro Dinner * Paris by Night * Seine River Boat
Cruise * Brussels Grand' Place *Dutch Ricetable
Dinner * Amsterdam Canal Boat Ride * Edam Cheese
Farm * Bicycling in Windmill Country * Cologne Gothic
Cathedral * Rhine River Cruise * Traditional German
Dinner * Heidelberg Castle * Hansel & Gretel's
Black Forest * Roaring Rhine Falls * Munich Glockenspiel
* Salzburg Mozart Sights * AESU's ALPINE CENTER
* Venice Gondola Ride * Murano Glass-blowing
Workshop * Florentine Leather Workshop * ROMA Pass * Lavish
Roman Banquet * Rome's Trevi Fountain & Ancient
Illuminated Ruins * Vatican City * Pompeii Volcano
Excavations * Overnight Ship to Greece * Farewell
Toga Party *Athens Acropolis and Famous Plaka District
...AND MUCH MORE!
Day 1
Travel to London
Your Great
Escape begins with an overnight flight to "Royal London
Town."
Meals:
In-flight
Day 2
London
Explore
this exciting city or relax on your free afternoon. Attend our
welcome orientation dinner tonight, then spend the rest of the evening
at your leisure, perhaps pub crawling to Sherlock Holmes' haunts
with your new travel companions.
Meals:
In-flight, Fish & Chips dinner
Day 3
London
Big Ben,
Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus: these familiar names
become familiar places on our morning tour. During your free
afternoon, horseback ride in Hyde Park, go via double-decker
bus to Harrod's and shop for tweeds or cashmeres, see the Magna
Carta in the British Museum or have afternoon tea at Fortnum
& Mason's. After dusk, you may want to take in a West End
play or Shakespeare at the Globe Theater.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 4
London * English Channel * Paris
Travel
through southern England and Kent today. We sail across the
English Channel after boarding our ship near the white cliffs
of Dover. Arrive in Paris, "City of Lights" to ride
along grand boulevards and view the city's illuminated monuments
and fountains. We'll dine together at our French Bistro Dinner.
Afterward, depart for a romantic cruise on the glass-topped
Bateaux Mouches gliding down the Seine through the heart of
the city.
Meals:
Breakfast, French Bistro dinner
Day 5
Paris
Our local
art historian shows us unforgettable landmarks, including the
hunchback "Quasimodo's" Notre Dame Cathedral. See
Place de la Concorde, where the guillotine once stood, and the
Eiffel Tower's steel lacework.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 6
Paris * Optional Cabaret Show
Today is free for wandering
through the Louvre Museum to see the Mona Lisa, browsing among
bookstalls on the Left Bank, shopping at chic boutiques or sampling
sinfully delicious pastries at a sidewalk cafe. Evenings in
Paris are full of excitement, whether it's a can-can cabaret
or wild night club.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 7
Paris * Brussels * Amsterdam - Dutch Countryside
Motor through
champagne country to Belgium. Reaching Brussels, NATO's headquarters,
we see the Grand' Place, a perfect medieval square with ornate
guild houses of gold, the Palace of Justice, and statue of naughty
Mennekin-Pis. Continue to Amsterdam and enjoy the remainder of the day at your leisure.
Meals:
Breakfast,
Day 8
Amsterdam - Dutch Countryside
Let the
good times roll as we go biking through 13th-century Dutch fishing
villages along the IJssel Lake beaches. Watch wooden shoes being
carved and sample Edam cheese at a cheese farm. Back in Amsterdam
there will be free time this afternoon to tour the Van Gogh
or Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank house or shop for famous Delftware
china. This evening we invite you on a boat cruise on the canals of Amsterdam followed by our Dutch-Indonesian "Rice Table" dinner.
Meals:
Breakfast,Dutch- Indonesian Rice Table Dinner
Day 9
Cologne - Rhine River Curise * Heidelberg
Pass the
university city of Utrecht and the battle grounds of Arnhem.
Cross the German border into Cologne, famous for the world's
largest Gothic cathedral that took over 600 years to complete.
From here board our ship and cruise along the fabled Rhine River,
passing steeply sloped vineyards, ancient castles and the legendary
Lorelei Rock. Once ashore we motor to Heidelberg, the City of
the Student Prince. We'll climb to the ruins of the Castle of
the Palatine Elector for a bird's-eye view of the town and the
Neckar River; later we'll dine on traditional German fare.
Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner
Day 10
Black Forest - Rhinefalls * Swiss Alps
Journey
south into the mysterious Black Forest where gingerbread cottages
dot the lush, green scenery. Stop deep in the forest, with free
time to watch cuckoo clocks being made, enjoy lunch or snack
on delicious Black Forest Cake. The Rhine Falls, Europe's largest
waterfalls, come into view as we cross the Swiss border. Our
route through Zurich brings us to William Tell Country and the
world-famous resort areas surrounding Lucerne.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 11
Lucerne Area * Optional Swiss Folklore party & dinner
Roam through
scenic Lucerne's cobblestone streets beneath festive flags and
walk along the covered wooden bridges dating from 1333. See
the Lion Monument, sculpted in honor of the heroic Swiss Guard
of Louis XVI. Then catch up on your Swiss watch and chocolate
shopping. This afternoon you may want to take an excursion up
on one of the highest mountains in central Switzerland to enjoy
panoramic views that will stay with you for a lifetime. Tonight
join our optional Swiss Folklore and party dinner.
Meals:
Breakfast,
Day 12
Lucerne * Liechtenstein * Munich
Drive
to the tiny Principality of Liechtenstein where the wealthy
reigning prince still resides in an awesome castle overlooking
Vaduz. Then it’s on to the fun-filled Oktoberfest city
of Munich. After dinner there’s free time to check out
the oom-pah-pah bands at the famous Hofbrauhaus.
Meals:
Breakfast, Bavarian Dinner
Day 13
Munich * Salzburg - Austrian Alpine Center
After a
morning in Munich where we see the Glockenspiel chimes, we travel
to Salzburg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birthplace and home of
the famous summer music festival. Walk down narrow streets lined
with colorful wrought iron signs and shops in this quaint city
where the classic movie "Sound of Music" was filmed.
Continue to Europe's largest alpine sports region and be our
guest for two nights of fitness and fun while nestled in the
snow-capped Austrian mountains at our Alpine Center.
All day
today is at your leisure; go for a hike in the Alps, take a
ride on horseback through alpine meadows, or join the fun and
excitement of whitewater rafting.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 15
Austrian Lake District * Venice
The picturesque landscape of the Austrian Lake District brings us to sunny Italy’s Venice--”Sinking City in the Sea.” Walk to St. Mark’s Square, stop at a Murano glass-blowing workshop and watch famous Venetian glass being made. Join us on a romantic gondola ride this evening gliding through the intricate maze of canals beneath arched bridges passing 12th and 18th-century marble palaces.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 16
Venice, Florence
Through
the fertile Po Valley we approach Florence, Golden City of the
Renaissance and birthplace of Michelangelo. Our local art expert
shows us why Florence is considered the art capital of the world.
See the Gates of Paradise, the marble Santa Maria del Fiore
Cathedral and Giotto's Belltower. Visit the Florentine leather
workshop before embarking on free time for shopping and museums.
We’ll dine at a lovely Florentine trattoria.
Meals:
Breakfast, Tuscan Dinner
Day 17
Florence * Rome
Travel
past Chianti vineyards along the Highway of the Sun to the Eternal
City of Rome. Leisure time to relax and enjoy “La Dolce
Vita.” Visit Piazza Navona, one of the city's most beautiful
squares, designed by the Baroque master, Bernini. Stop to toss
three coins in Trevi Fountain to ensure your return to Rome
or just people-watch at a lively piazza while sampling the local
"gelati" ice cream.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 18
Rome * Vatican City
Today’s city tour takes us to the Colosseum, where gladiators were thrown to the lions, and the historical ruins of Caesar’s Forum. Then on to Vatican City – the world’s smallest state. Visit St. Peter’s Basilica housing Michelangelo’s magnificent “Pieta.” Our dinner tonight is a mouth-watering Roman Banquet complete with Italian specialties.
Meals:
Breakfast, Roman Banquet Dinner
Day 19
Rome * Sorrento * Optional Tarantella Show
Motor through sunny olive groves lining the way south to the Sorrento peninsula. Perched on the cliffs above the blue gulf of Naples, this is where Ulysses resisted the call of the Sirens in Homer’s “Odyssey.” Enjoy a free evening in Sorrento, or join an option to the famous Tarantella Show. The lively performance revolves around the history of the Kingdom of Naples with fabulous costumes, dancing and, of course, the sound of castanets, tambourines and melodies like “O sole Mio” and “Torna a Surriento” (Come back to Sorrento).
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 20
Pompeii * Overnight Ship to Greece
This morning
travel to Pompeii, the city buried in 79 A.D. by 20 feet of
ash and lava after Mt. Vesuvius' volcanic eruption. Explore
the excavated streets still bearing the marks of chariot wheels
from 2,000 years ago. A local guide will entertain us with stories
of the buried city and its discovery. Then we cross the Italian
boot and board our ferry for our overnight voyage to Greece.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 21, 22 & 23
Greek Island Center
Cruising
through aquamarine waters, our ship docks at Patras. Afterward,
motor past olive groves along the Corinthian Sea coast across
the Peloponnese to Galatas and Poros. Relax with three days
of living like a Greek god on the idyllic isle of Poros: swim,
sunbathe, or take part in optional activities such as waterskiing,
wakeboarding, parasailing, banana-boating or tubing. AESU invites
you to our Farewell Toga Party on the last night.
Meals:
Breakfast daily, welcome BBQ dinner, dinner & Farewell dinner Toga party
Day 24
Athens * Optional Greek Taverna Farewell Dinner
In the
morning we board our hydrofoil and skim across the deep blue
waves at over 32 knots. In Athens our guide shows us the perfectly
proportioned 2,400-year-old Parthenon, the Temple of Olympian
Zeus and Constitution Square. Your free afternoon may find you
wandering along the very paths of Plato, Socrates and Sophocles
or trying out your bargaining skills at Monasteraki Flea Market.
Tonight, enjoy our Farewell Dinner with traditional bouzouki
music and dancing at a typical taverna in the Plaka District
- Athens' oldest neighborhood at the foot of the Acropolis.
Meals:
Breakfast
Day 25
Travel Home
Reluctantly
we say farewell to Europe and new-found friends. Jet back
home with thoughts of planning your next European Adventure!
