Looking for that extra special experience in Venice? Think about a fabulous dinner prepared by one of three of Venice’s outstanding chefs. Each chef’s inspired meal is in collaboration with an art exhibit being held at one the world’s leading European museums. Three of the deluxe hotels in Venice and their executive chefs are working with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in preparing special menus that evolve around exhibits that will be at the museum until December 10, 2009. The menus will consist of dishes from recipes that relate to the theme of the exhibits. The ultimate artistic experience! Venice is only one of the remarkable cites to visit on any trip to Italy. Select Travel Service can take you there and create a customized group culinary tour that emphasizes the remarkable food and great wines in the various regions of Italy, or perhaps a custom itinerary of the renowned art in the exceptional museums throughout this exciting country. Italy has something for everyone; art, food, wine, art and of course history. And, let’s not forget the shopping!
Archive for March, 2009
Fine Dining in Venice
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009New Portrait of William Shakespeare
Monday, March 30th, 2009A painting thought to be the only contemporary portrait of William Shakespeare has been unveiled and will be on display in Stratford-upon-Avon in the unique exhibition entitled Welcome to Shakespeare Found: A Life Portrait. Up until now, the only two images are generally accepted as authentic representation of what Shakespeare looked like - an engraving in the First Folio, of 1623, by Droeshout, and the bust in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. With the emergence of the Cobbe portrait, the world is presented with a contemporary portrait that has strong claims to represent the dramatist as he appeared to his contemporaries. The painting is on display at Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust between 23rd April and 6th September 2009. Select Travel Service designs custom group tours for all type of theatre and performing arts groups. We highly recommend making time to visit the “real” face of Shakespeare as part of your itinerary.
Bicentenary of Charles Darwin
Friday, March 27th, 2009Visit Down House in Kent and join in the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the world’s most eminent scientists, Charles Darwin. It was at Down House that Darwin lived with his devoted family for 40 years, and it was here he researched and wrote his most famous and explosive of works, On the Origin of the Species. To commemorate the bicentenary, Down House has a brand new exhibition, Uncovering Origins, which charts the progression of Darwin’s ideas and the controversy they provoked. Enjoy new interactive multimedia tours covering both the family rooms and, for the first time ever, the extensive gardens known as Darwin’s ‘outdoor laboratory’.
Also experience what life at sea was like as Darwin’s epic 5-year voyage is vividly brought to life with a full-scale replica of his cramped cabin on board HMS Beagle. Darwin’s outdoor laboratory has been put forward to UNESCO as the UK’s 2009 World Heritage Site nomination. Born in Shrewsbury, Darwin studied at both Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities, and was one of the few 19th century personages to be honoured with a state funeral and buried in Westminster Abbey in London. Whether for an educational tour, or simply for a well-deserved vacation, Select Travel will happily put together a tour for you and your group, visiting any of these university towns, or indeed a visit to Down House, to discover more about this fascinating man and his theories on evolution.
Rome’s Museum of Crime
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009While the Eternal City is rightly known for its maginficent basilica and monuments, for those looking to spend a a couple of hours visiting a site off the beaten path, the Museo Criminologico might just fit the bill. Housed in a former prison, the exhibit contains three main collections. Punishment and Crimes as one might expect, details the ways criminals were punished in the past - fascinating but definitely realistic. The Spirit of Reason collection depicts the development of crime solving techniques and the beginnings of forensic applications. The third collection is the Social Control of Deviance which traces some of the most notorious of Italy’s criminals and of course constant battles against the infamous Mafia families. Its an interesting diversion from the usual sights associated with Rome and suitable for those with an interest in criminology as well as the casual visitor with a strong stomach!
New Treasure Hunts for Students
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009Keeping educational study tours interesting for younger students is often a challenge. Treasure hunts are often very effective tools in keeping students engaged, especially in some of more “serious” museums of Europe. London’s Victoria & Albert museum has just launched a new product which will give high school age groups a fun, yet informative, introduction to the V&A and its collections, as well as a great team-building exercise. Each Treasure Hunt is based on a specific theme and has 10 objects for students to find and photograph. The winner is the team to complete their Hunt in the quickest time and return with a complete set of photographs. Maps and digital cameras are supplied. Select Travel offers a range of well crafted treasure hunts for high school group tours throughout Europe, including the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and Rome’s famous monuments.
Prince Charles the Shop Keeper!
Monday, March 23rd, 2009The Prince of Wales’ has opened a new shop called Highgrove in Tetbury, Wiltshire. This most exclusive grocery store is filled with products from the Prince’s Highgrove estate. Seasonal organic vegetables just harvested from the farm, honey, chocolate, and apples from Camilla’s orchard, flowers picked from the royal estate come wrapped in brown paper bags embossed with the Prince’s feather emblem are among the goods sold. The store carries a porcelain vase to commemorate the Princes’ up coming 60th birthday, chinaware by a student at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts and watercolors that were painted by Charles’.
This is an eco-friendly business, every detail of the shop has been approved by the Prince and all proceeds will go to charities that he supports. Select Travel can incorporate a stop at the shop on many southern England custom group itineraries. This isn not your usual souvenir shop.
Borghese Gardens On Two Wheels
Friday, March 20th, 2009Veni, vidi, bicicletti — I came, I saw, I cycled. While you may not feel sufficiently confident (or crazy) to challenge the chaos of Rome’s traffic on a bicyle, the Eternal City offers some wonderful, and relatively safe places to wander around on two wheels. One such place is the gardens of Villa Borghese, the equivalent to New York’s Central Park. Villa Borghese houses Galleria Borghese, one of the city’s most impressive and famous art collections. The gardens offer a substantial area of tranquility away from the bustle of the city. You can rent a bike for approximately Euro 15 for a couple of hours and take yourself off to wander the pathways of the gardens. Select Travel offers this downtime activity as part of many of our speciality group tours to Rome and Italy.
Linz - An Austrian Gem
Thursday, March 19th, 2009Linz, Austria is in the news this year. It has been names one of two European Capitals of Culture for 2009, shared with Vilnius, Lithuania. Linz offers a range of possibilities for your stay: a walking tour, a ride on the Linz City Express, a visit to the Pöstlingberg with all its attractions, a cycle ride along the Danube, or taste the delicacies at the markets. Austria’s third largest city stands astride the Danube. It offers excellent sites for art tours. The Lentos Art Museum is considered to be one of the most important museums of modern art in Austria, with its international collection and changing exhibitions. From the classical modernism era with works by Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka, Corinth and Pechstein. Select Travel offers itineraries featuring stays in this often overlooked Austrian town.
Sport 4 All Seasons
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009Calling all sports fans! Great news for those looking to take a sports tour to Britain this year, as four of Britain’s most prestigious sporting venues have joined forces to welcome visitors to their hallowed halls. Wimbledon, Lords Cricket Ground, Twickenham and Stamford Bridge have combined to offer an open-ended voucher for admission to their sites and museums (obviously not during match days!). At Wimbledon, you can see the centre court, locker rooms and the award-winning Wimbledon museum. For cricket fans, Lords is a Mecca and the tour includes the lockers rooms, world famous ‘Long Room’ and the superb media centre. Twickenham is the home of Rugby and has recently been redeveloped to hold 85,000 – visit the World Rugby Musuem and walk through the tunnel onto the hallowed turf. Last, but not least, Stamford Bridge is the home of Chelsea FC, one of the world’s wealthiest and most successful soccer teams.
Select has a long history of arranging sporting tours at all levels. Whether you are a spectator wanting to see your favourite team in action, a team looking to compete against European opposition, or just a sports enthusiast looking to follow in the footsteps of your heroes, we have something for you.
Brussels Magritte Museum
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009Belgium is known for many great artists. Now one the most important and best known 20th century painters will have a museum of his own. The new Magritte Museum will be opening in June, 2009 in Brussels. Magritte’s adopted city.
The museum will house the largest collection of works by the renowned painter. 200 of Magritte’s great surrealist pieces, including The Domination of Lights, The Secret Payer and The Return, archival material, correspondence, photographs, drawings, posters and films made by Magritte and his friend are part of the museums collection. This is one of Europe’s most modern museums and is expected to be must visit for all art lovers.
The Magritte Museum will be just one of the outstanding museums Select Travel Service can include in a European art tour. There are many important collections to see throughout Britain and Europe, which can be part of a customized itinerary focusing on painting, sculpture, photography or crafts.