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France's Finest Cruisetour

August 31 - September 14, 2016
River Cruise Tour

Optional:
Paris Pre-Trip
French Riviera Post-Trip

View  Itinerary
Post-Trip Memories

France's Finest Blog
by Terri Dion

Photos
Terri's Photo's
If you want the Viking professional photos, contact me.

Post Trip Party 
5:00 PM , Tuesday, January 10,  2017

FRANCE'S FINEST CRUISETOUR

Join two popular itineraries to create a 15-day river cruise that offers 

the ultimate journey through France. 

Drink in the colors, cuisine and wines of France’s glorious southern regions of Burgundy and Provence as you visit places like Avignon, Arles and Lyon. 


Explore the legendary French capital, Paris, and travel along the Seine through the Norman countryside to the historic Normandy beaches. Vive la France!

Travel Our World’s Terri Dion  
and Ford's World Travel representative Terry Johnson are collaborating to bring you this fabulous trip to France.  
Picture

Click on the Image below to see the itinerary. 
France's Finest Itinerary

ALL THIS IS INCLUDED
  • 14 nights in your river-view stateroom
  • 13 guided tours with audio headset
  • All onboard meals: 14 breakfasts, 12 lunches & 14 dinners, featuring regional specialties and including Welcome Cocktail Reception & Dinner
  • Complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks with onboard dinner and lunch service
  • Visit 4 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
  • Culture Curriculum: Learn about & sample a variety of French cheeses; try some Burgundian wines; see how silk printing is done today; attend lectures on Jeanne d’Arc & French Impressionists; learn to say a few words en Français; enjoy a concert of popular French tunes; visit a local market
  • All port charges
  • Free Wi-Fi, connection speed may vary

PARIS PRE-TRIP
FROM $799 PER PERSON
3 NIGHTS


FRENCH RIVIERA POST-TRIP
FROM $849 PER PERSON
3 NIGHTS9

Trip Escorts

Terri Dion (Travel Our World)
Terry Johnson (Ford's World Travel)


Pre-Trip Events


Edu

cation

Experience France at the Musical Instrument Museum,
Fee:  Included with paid museum admission,  Saturday,July and Sunday, July 10, 9 AM - 5 PM.
  • Join us for our fifth annual celebration of French music and culture! Enjoy live musical performances and hands-on activities, shop for French merchandise at the Museum Store, and indulge in a French-inspired menu in our café. Vive la France!  For more information, click this link:  ​Experience France
Spirit Tasting - French Red Wines Fee: $40 Roman Yasinsky Monday 2-4 pm 1/25/2016 *  
  • Taste a few of France's fine red wines, and enjoy a generous selection of delicious appetizers prepared by Chef Aurore at Vogue Bistro. You will learn about the wine producing regions, the wine making process, and much more.
Spirit Tasting - French White Wines Fee: $40 Roman Yasinsky Monday 2-4 pm 2/22/2016 *  
  • Taste a few of France's fine white wines, and enjoy a generous selection of delicious appetizers prepared by Chef Aurore at Vogue Bistro. You will learn about the wine producing regions, the wine making process, and much more.
D-Day and the Normandy Campaign in France Fee: $5 Dan Hartman Tuesday 12:30 - 2:30 pm 2/2/2016  *  
  • This course will exam the events of June 6, 1944, the DDay invasion of Europe and the following Normandy Campaign which lead to the liberation of Paris on August 25, 1944. An extensive visual display will include maps of the invasion plans and a photo presentation of the Normandy beaches as they look then and today.
Avignon, Home of the Popes in the South of France Fee: $5 Dan Hartman Wednesday 12:30 - 2:30 pm 2/3/2016  *  
  • This presentation will focus on the history of Avignon, France, the capital of Provenance and the move of the Popes from Rome to Avignon in the 1200s AD. It will look at what the popes did during the 80 years before they moved back to Rome and there effect on the South of France. It will also look at the area as it is today from the experience my wife and I had while we were living in the south of France. 
Western Civilization: Europe from 1859 to 1914 Fee: $20 Salvatore A. DiLiberto Tuesday 9 am - 12 noon 2/2, 2/9, 2/16, 2/23 *  
  • The year 1859 signified the beginning of a twelve year span that saw global consolidation of large nation-states. In this chapter of European History we will confine our study to those events that took place in Eastern and Western Europe, specifically, the unification of Italy, the founding of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, the formation of the German Empire, and the liberal reforms that led to the modernization of Tsarist Russia. Once these pieces, are in place, we will focus on the events that made Europe the epicenter of world affairs. Europe’s world supremacy can be summed-up in one word “Imperialism.” Europeans will dominate the globe, from Africa to the Far East. We will look at this new form of Imperialism, how it differed from 18th Century European Colonialism, and its impact on the people of these areas. It was during this time, that the United States entered the race for foreign markets and territories. As such, our discussion will include a brief segment on American Imperialism as it is inextricably connected to European efforts in Asia, the Caribbean Sea, and South America. Our study will speak to the cultural and social changes that take place in Europe, during this period, and conclude with the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War and its consequences as we arrive on the eve of World War I. 
Travel - How to Pack and More Fee: $10 Terri Dion Thursday, March 31, 1 - 3 PM
     PORA Adult Learning, 
13815 Camino del Sol, Sun City West, AZ 85375
  • There are a thousand things to do in the last few weeks before leaving for a trip. We’ll give you a blueprint to insure you don’t forget a thing! We’ll cover everything from getting a passport to packing your bag and walking out the door. Packing is often a challenge and different types of trips require different strategies, e.g. packing for a road trip is very different from packing for a safari. We’ll talk about the differences and do a live demonstration. This session assumes you’ve already planned your trip. ​  
    ​Enroll - Register On-Line or call 623-242-6864.
Grand Language Club
  • FRENCH, Beginning: Doris Lanzillotti 623-975-0653 DSL215@cox.net 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. – Mondays (Year Round)  
  • FRENCH II and Int/Adv: Marie Claude Cavazoz mcavazoz@centurylink.net French II, 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m - Tuesdays (Begins Oct. 27) Int/Adv, 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. - Tuesdays 
*  Enroll through www.grandlearning.com

The Louvre Museum Allen Reamer
     12/11/2015, 9:00 - 11:00 AM, Grand Learning, Chaparral Center.  Enroll through www.grandlearning.com.  Fee:  $5
  • The Louvre is the most visited museum, with about 10 million visitors a year, and also one of the world's largest museums covering 2 1/3 square miles. This talk will cover the history of the Louvre, from fortress to museum. With about 35,000 objects, this course will only be an overview of the collections with some in-depth talk of a few of the objects. We will continue from collection to collection, until we run out of time. 
Western Civilization- 19th Century European History CE 1815-1871 Sal DiLiberto 
   11/3 - 11/24 9:00 - 12:00 PM.   Grand Learning, Chaparral Center.  Enroll through www.grandlearning.com.  Fee:  $20
  • The collapse of Napoleon's Empire in 1815 signified the end of almost a half century of revolution and turmoil beginning first with the American Revolution, in 1776, followed by the 1789 Revolution in France. From 1800 to 1815, the ideals and ideas of both of these events were disseminated throughout Europe courtesy of Napoleon Bonaparte by treaty or by warfare. But the year 1815 also signified a new beginning for Europe that would experience nearly a century of relative peace until the advent of World War I in 1914. In this chapter of European History, we will explore the significant events, ideas, and individuals that appear from 1815 to 1871. These include the era of the Industrial Revolution first begun in late 18th century Britain, the Advent of the "Isms,” the Political and Social Reform Movements in European society, the Revolutions of the mid-century, and the Consolidation of the Nation-States of Europe. Using lecture, class discussion, readings, and audio/video sources, the course will also place an emphasis on "life at the time.”
Travel - Doing it!  Terri Dion,      12/7/2015,  1:00 - 3:00:00 PM, Grand Learning, Chaparral Center.  Enroll through www.grandlearning.com.  Fee:  $5.
  • Thinking of a winter vacation?  Or perhaps a gift of travel this holiday season?  This is the class for you.  We’ll get down to the nitty gritty of travel - transportation, shoes, toilets, money, language, food, tipping, shopping, dealing with difficult situations and being the Beautiful American instead of the Ugly American.  Terri will share tips for the novice and experienced traveler, and class participants will share their own.
Experience France at the Musical Instrument Museum, July 11 and 12, 2015.  
This event has already taken place.  I'll be watching to see if they do something similar in 2016
  • Join us for our fourth annual celebration of French music and culture! Enjoy live musical performances and hands-on activities, shop for French merchandise at the Museum Store, and indulge in a French-inspired menu in our café.Vive la France!

Socials
​

Holiday Open House for Travelers:   3:00 - 5:00 PM, December 6, 2015

Travelers Wine and Appetizer Party - Introductions,  Q&A’s –4 - 5:30 PM,  February 2, 2016

Documents Party - Cancelled

Holiday Open House for Travelers:   3:00 - 6:00 PM, Sunday, December 11, 2016

Post Trip Party - 5:00 - ?PM, Saturday, January 7, 2017

Travel and Destination Information

Click on the images below to see  short Viking videos 

Click here to see a short video of Portraits of Southern France
Portraits of Southern France
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Paris and the Heart of Normandy

Articles and Stuff

A $1,000 Day in Paris for $100
36 Hours in Provence
​
36 Hours in Paris, Right Bank
36 Hours in Paris, Left Bank
​36 hours in Nice

France Today - The International Journal French Culture and Travel
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Click on image for International New York Times - France
Breaking News Italy
Breaking News France

Rick Steves Videos

Highlights of Paris: Eiffel and Monet to Crème Brûlée

Paris: Embracing Life and Art

Paris: Regal and Intimate

Burgundy: Profoundly French

French Riviera: Uniquely Chic

Provence: Legendary Light, Wind and Wine

Normandy: War-Torn Yet Full of Life





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Paris

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