Bank of Essex - A Virginia Community Bank

Paris, Normandy, Switzerland, Provence, and the Riviera
Departing on September 4th, 2008, for 14 Days

DAYS 1-2: ARRIVAL
Weeks, or even months of preparation come to fruition at last as you board your airplane bound for Europe and the glittering jewel at her heart, Paris, the "City of Light." Bienvenue!

You may want to start with Montmartre, Paris' highest hill and its most celebrated bohemian district. Artists still flock to the charming Place du Tertre, as they did when Toulouse-Lautrec painted the French Cancan dancers at the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Enjoy panoramic views of the city as you make your way to the Sacré-Coeur, the white-domed basilica that anchors the Parisian skyline.

DAY 3: PARIS CITY SIGHTSEEING, EXCURSION TO GIVERNY, EIFFEL TOWER ASCENT
This morning, enjoy a coach tour of the city in the company of a local guide. On the Right Bank of the River Seine, see Napoléon's Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysées, the Place de la Concorde, and the exuberant Opéra Garnier. On the Left Bank, discover the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides, the Latin Quarter, and Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

This afternoon's excursion takes you along the meandering Seine to the Normandie village of Giverney, where Claude Monet lived from 1883 until his death in 1926. Tour his carefully-designed gardens (which include the waterlily pond and the Japanese bridge often featured in his paintings), as well as the artist's famous pink house, a mecca for devotees of Impressionist art.

This evening, you'll ascend by elevator to the third level of the most famous structure ever built, la Tour Eiffel for an unforgettable panorama of Paris by night.

After the ascent, enjoy a three-course dinner with a glass of wine at the restaurant Altitude 95 on the Eiffel Tower.

DAY 4: EXCURSION TO THE D-DAY BEACHES
This full-day excursion takes you to the Normandy coast, where the D-Day operations took place on June 6, 1944. This is indeed WWII country, with bunkers and barbed wire.

Start with a visit to Arromanches 360 to view the impressive Price of Freedom, an eighteen minute film presented on nine screens in a round theater.

Spread along the coast of the English Channel are the landing beaches, such as Omaha, where you can imagine Allied soldiers scrambling up the dunes into a hail of lead. Now, just over the cliffs, stand the 9,386 military graves of the American Cemetery and Memorial, which you will visit.

DAY 5: TGV TRAIN TO BERN, DRIVE-THROUGH TOUR, TRAVEL TO LUCERNE
This morning, board the world's fastest train, the Train à Grande Vitesse, which will whisk you away through the hills of Burgundy and the Jura. Your destination: Switzerland and its capital city of Bern.

Board your coach and enjoy a drive-through tour of this picturesque "city of the bears" located in a steep-sided loop of the Aare River, and facing the mighty summits of the Bernese Alps. A famous civil servant, Albert Einstein, made momentous discoveries while he lived in this town.

Landmarks include the classy Marktgasse, the Clock Tower (which served as a town gate until 1191), the cathedral, the Federal Palace and the Bear Pit said to have inspired American writer John Irving.

Continue to Lucerne, deep in the soothing Swiss heartland and perhaps the prettiest of the Swiss lakeside cities.

DAY 6: LUCERNE WALKING TOUR, EXCURSION TO MT. PILATUS, LAKE CRUISE
Today, drive to Mt. Pilatus, where you will enjoy a cable car ascent to the summit, 6,985 feet high! Travel down the other side, through mists and tinkling cowbells, on a narrow-gauge cog-railway train (the steepest in the world utilizing this form of traction). End the outing with a boat ride back to Lucerne across the "Lake of the Four Forest Cantons."

This afternoon, your courier will lead you on a walking tour of Lucerne. Feed the ducks from the wooden Chapel Bridge. Pause at Thorwaldsen's Lion Monument near the remarkable Glacier Gardens. See the large and noble Jesuitenkirche. Shop for a watch at Bucherer's or sample some of those familiar Swiss brand chocolates, Toblerone, Lindt and Suchard, while you're in the country where they are made.

A cheese fondue dinner with a glass of wine and a Swiss folklore show are included tonight at the Stadtkeller. Brightly colored skirts, yodeling, and ten-foot mountain horns set a joyous context you'll long remember.

DAY 7: BROC, GRUYÈRES, LAUSANNE
This morning, travel to the small town of Broc for an interactive audiovisual guided tour of the Cailler Nestlé chocolate factory, an experience described by the manufacturer as "sensitive, sensual and poetic!" You will learn all about the history of chocolate manufacture and current processes.

Continue to the town of Gruyères, which stands high on a rocky crag, its ancient houses and single main street cozy within its ramparts. In the background stands the 15th-century castle of the once powerful Counts of Gruyères. Visit a local dairy factory to learn about the manufacture of the world-renowned cheese.

DAY 8: LAKE CRUISE TO CHILLON, EXCURSION TO MONTREUX, VINTNER'S
This morning, enjoy a cruise on the lake, whose reflection of the French Alps in its dark blue waters is a sight not soon forgotten. Your cruise leaves from Lausanne and takes you to the Castle of Chillon, which inspired Lord Byron to write his Romantic poem, The Prisoner of Chillon. During your visit, notice the poet's initials carved into the rock walls of the dungeon.

Next, your coach will take you to Montreux, the glamorous heart of the Vaud Riviera and a resort famous for its yearly jazz festival. Enjoy a walking tour in this place, once one of the favorite resting and writing places of Henry James.

Then, all around Lausanne, see gentle slopes with a southern exposure, which are carpeted with vineyards growing grape varieties such as Chasselas, Gamay and Pino Blac and Noir. You will visit a local vintner to get introduced to the fine wines (mostly whites) that are produced around Lausanne, in the districts of Lavaux, La Côte and Chablais (Switzerland's second largest wine-growing region), but are rarely exported.

DAY 9: GENEVA DRIVE-THROUGH TOUR, UZÈS
This morning, travel by coach to the international capital city of Geneva, situated at the western tip of Lac Léman. Calvanism, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the International Red Cross were all born there. Your coach will drive by the Place des Nations (location of the former League of Nations headquarters), the Reformation Monument, St. Peter's Cathedral and the famous Jet d'eau (the tallest fountain in the world at 476 feet!).

Continue to the picturesque town of Uzès, the seat of France's first duchy and once a Protestant stronghold. The cathedral, destroyed in the Albigensian Crusade of the 13th century, was rebuilt but destroyed again during the Religious Wars of the 16th century that opposed Catholics and Protestants. Restored in the 17th century, it was severely damaged during the French Revolution.

DAY 10: UZÈS WALKING TOUR, EXCURSION TO THE PONT DU GARD AND NIMES
This morning, a stroll through town with your courier will introduce the old houses and elegant hôtels (mansions) in the city center, the fortified ducal residence dominated by a mighty medieval keep and the Tour Fenestrelle, a round belfry that was quite unusual when it was built in the 12th century.

On Wednesday and Saturday mornings, an outdoor marché that is considered one of the best in the region livens up the arcaded central square in Uzès. Visitors and locals alike enjoy browsing through its colorful displays of fruit, vegetables, cheese, almonds, lavender, olives, and olive oil. This is a good place to plan a menu for a picnic or shop for souvenirs, as there's also a variety of goods for sale.

This afternoon's excursion takes you first to marvel at the Romans' engineering genius at the Pont du Gard, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC, which delivered 44 million gallons of water each day to the Roman city of Nemausus (Nimes), your next stop. Walk along the first level of the bridge for a close-up look at the huge blocks that form its elegant arches. Then, consider an optional visit to the outstanding museum that illustrates, through interactive exhibits, the history of the site and the construction of the bridge.

Continue to Nimes, where a walking tour will introduce the Maison Carrée (a Roman temple which Thomas Jefferson used as a model for Virginia's State Capitol Building), the Porte d'Auguste (a Roman gate built at the entrance to the Via Domitia), and the Jardin de la Fontaine, a handsome garden strewn with Roman ruins, in particular the Tour Magne, built in the 1st century BC. A visit is included to the Roman amphitheater, which is better preserved than Rome's Colosseum.

There'll be time to stroll around town and to shop for local specialties such as fragrant perfumes, fine olive oils or the attractive tissus provençaux designed in the area, from here also came the less colorful but ubiquitous "denim" or tissu de Nîmes!

DAY 11: EXCURSION TO AVIGNON, CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE AND OLIVE OIL PRODUCER
Today's excursion takes you first to Avignon, a beautiful medieval city know as la Cité des Papes for the Roman Catholic popes who took up residence here in the 14th century. You will see the imposing fortress-like Palace of the Popes. Other landmarks include the Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms, the Saint Bénézet Bridge (le fameux Pont d'Avignon!), the central Place de l'Horloge, and the charming rue des Teinturiers.

Continue to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a town located twelve miles north of Avignon. It was founded in the 14th-century as the popes' summer residence. Acres of vineyards were planted at that time. They are known nowadays for their heavenly red wines. Stop for a visit to a wine cellar that will include wine-tasting.

Return to the Uzès area, where you will stop in a small town to visit a local, family-based producer of olive oil such as the Huilerie Artisanale Soulas in Collorgues or the Moulin à Huile Paradis in Martignargues.

DAY 12: CALANQUES CRUISE IN CASSIS, NICE
This morning, travel to the port of Cassis, cradled in a cove at the foot of a cliff believed to be the highest in Europe. Cassis is the doorway to the unsurpassed and unspoiled natural beauty of the calanques, nearby fjords where crystal-clear creeks run between stark white limestone cliffs of vertiginous heights. The perfectly limpid waters are a challenge to Jaques Cousteau's warnings about the pollution of the Mediterranean Sea. See the town and its picturesque port before enjoying a cruise into the calanques over the clearest waters.

Back on the coach for a ride to Nice, the capital of the French Riviera.

This is the Côte d'Azur, famous for its sunny climate, the turquoise Mediterranean and the vedettes de cinéma who inhabit the surrounding hills.

DAY 13: EXCURSION TO MONACO AND ÈZE
This morning, set out to discover the Principality of Monaco, a fabulous display of white buildings and winding roads set into steep hillsides. See the harbor, Monte Carlo and its Grand Casino favored by the world's well-to-do, the neo-Romanesque cathedral and the Prince's Palace, where the Changing of the Guards takes place every midday. Hear about Prince Rainier and his bride from Philadelphia, Grace Kelly.

Continue along the coast to the village of Èze, perched atop a towering cliff high above the sea. Visit its Fragonard perfume factory and learn about the esoteric artistry of les "nez."

Return to Nice, where the afternoon is free to plan as you wish. You may want to relax at the beach or browse among the shops.

DAY 14: RETURN FLIGHT
Le retour, helas... The airport is nearby. Your plane awaits. This time the earth rotates towards you, allowing an arrival in the U.S. only shortly after you left Europe! You're eager to share your adventures with family and friends.

Welcome home!

INCLUDES:

Round-trip transatlantic transportation on scheduled airline.

Airport and train station transfers.

Double-room accommodations in centrally-located four-star hotels.

Services of a specially-trained passports courier throughout.

Deluxe motorcoach, with driver, per itinerary.

Hotel porterage (one bag per person).

OVERNIGHTS:

Paris - 3 Nights

Lucerne - 2 Nights

Lausanne - 2 Nights

Uzès - 3 Nights

Nice - 2 Nights

All breakfasts, one lunch and all upgraded dinners included.

View our 2007 Grecian Odyssey Slideshow!
Other successful trips run by Bank of Essex include:

2007, Grecian Oddyssey

2006, Alaskan Cruise and Tour

2005, Scandinavian Tour

2002, Australia and New Zealand

2000, Ireland, Scotland and England

1999, Italy

1998, Germany and Austria

1997, Portugal and Spain

1996, Amsterdam, Paris and London

1995, Norway, Sweden and Denmark

1994, England and Scotland

1993, England