UAlbany Chamber Singers CONCERT TOUR Spain and France May 21-30, 2007 Itinerary Proposal #3/May 25, 2006 Monday, May 21: NYC/En route Assemble at JFK Airport and check in for your flight. Board plane and depart. Meals served on board the transatlantic flight. Tuesday, May 22: Barcelona, SPAIN/Sitges Morning ~ Arrive in Barcelona. Claim your luggage and clear customs. Meet your Ambassador Tours escort and coach drivers. ~ Transfer into the city center. A stop will be made en route at Montjuic for a beautiful view of the city below. ~ Meet your guide and begin a sightseeing tour of the city. You will see such sights as the Gothic Quarter (on foot), Gaudi’s famous unfinished Sagrada Familia Church, the waterfront and Olympic Village, and several of the Art Nouveau buildings in the Eixample quarter. Afternoon ~ Independent lunch. ~ Reboard coach and transfer to your hotel located in the town of Sitges on the pleasant Golden Coast just south of Barcelona. The town features a lovely seaside boardwalk and a beautifully preserved historic center. Check into your hotel. Time to unpack and relax. Evening ~ Dinner at a local restaurant. Wednesday, May 23: Barcelona/Montserrat/El Vendrell/Barcelona (158 kms/98 miles) 8:00 am ~ Breakfast at your hotel. 9:30 am ~ Board coach and depart for an excursion to Montserrat, site of a Benedictine Monastery, first settled in the 9th century. The Montserrat Massif, rising 4,055 ft. had 13 different hermitage sites before the arrival of Napoleon’s troops in the 19th century. It is considered one of the holiest sites in Catalonia. 10:40 am ~ You will have a guided tour of the monastery. 11:00 am ~ Free time for shopping, exploration, and independent lunch. 12:40 pm ~ The U-ALBANY CHAMBER SINGERS will sing during mass at the Montserrat Monastery Basilica (tentative). ~ Reboard coach for return to Barcelona. Afternoon ~ Independent lunch. ~ Reboard coach and continue on to the seaside town of San Salvador. You will have a visit of the beachfront home (now a museum) of the famed cellist Pau Casals. The cellist lived in the area until his exile by Franco in the 1930s. ~ Reboard coach and transfer to nearby El Vendrell. Evening ~ Dinner at a local restaurant. ~ This evening, U-ALBANY CHAMBER SINGERS will give a joint concert with the Cor Zongora de l’Escola Municipal de Musica Pau Casals at Sant Salvador Church (tentative). ~ Return transfer to your hotel in Sitges following the concert. Thursday, May 24: Barcelona Morning ~ Breakfast at your hotel. ~ Board coach for transfer into Barcelona to the Palau de la Música Catalana for a guided tour. Since its construction in 1908, the Palau has maintained its original purpose as a concert hall. The building is a masterpiece of modernist architecture. ~ Continue your discovery of Barcelona with an Art Nouveau tour of Barcelona’s Eixample district featuring Antoni Gaudi. You will visit Gaudi’s Casa Milá (La Pedrera) including the modernista interior of the apartment of the Milá family and the spectacular roofscape of chimneys resembling abstract sculpture. Afternoon ~ Independent lunch. ~ Afternoon at leisure for independent exploration and shopping. ~ You may want to visit the Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village) on Montjuic. Building styles from all over Spain are illustrated by 166 houses arranged on streets radiating from a main square. Or perhaps visit the Royal Palace including the room where Isabel and Fernando received Columbus after his triumphal return from America. ~ Return transfer to your hotel in Sitges. Evening ~ Independent dinner. Friday, May 25: Barcelona/Collioure/Arles (457 kms/283 miles) Morning ~ Breakfast at your hotel. ~ Board coach and depart Sitges. ~ Arrive in the quaint French fishing village of Collioure just south of Perpignan. The town with its pastel colored homes is dominated by the Royal Castle, the former summer residence of the Kings of Aragon. It was also a favorite haunt of Fauvist artists Matisse and Derain. Afternoon ~ Free time for independent lunch. ~ Reboard coach and continue on to Arles. 6:00 pm ~ Arrive in Arles. In addition to being a bastion of Provençal tradition and culture, the city of Arles also has excellent Roman ruins located in the heart of the old town. ~ Check into your hotel. Evening ~ Dinner at your hotel or a nearby restaurant. Saturday, May 26: Arles Morning ~ Breakfast at your hotel. ~ Meet your guide and begin a tour of Arles. Built by the Romans at the intersection of the routes linking ancient Rome with Spain and northern Europe, the town is today a UNESCO World Heritage site. ~ Remainder of day at leisure to enjoy this fascinating town. Few other towns in Provence combine the region’s charms as well as Arles. The museums are excellent and varied. And the boutiques offer Provençal artwork, pottery, and handicrafts. Afternoon ~ Independent lunch. ~ Reassemble at the hotel to prepare for evening concert. ~ Independent dinner. Evening ~ Walk to the concert venue. ~ The U-ALBANY CHAMBER SINGERS will perform at a local venue in Arles or a nearby town. This may be a joint concert with the Escandhihado Choir of Arles. Sunday, May 27: Arles/Nîmes/Avignon/Arles (118 kms/73 miles) Morning ~ Breakfast at your hotel. ~ Board coach and depart Arles. ~ Arrive in Nîmes. Entire day at leisure to explore independently this fascinating town. ~ The old town center is a small area and it is easy to walk to all the major sites. You’ll be able to view some of the best- preserved Roman ruins in the world, including the Roman amphitheater and the Maison Carrée (temple). ~ In addition, Nîmes is a very appealing and typically Provençal town (although the recently drawn lines of the administrative regions put the city not in Provence but in the neighboring region of Languedoc-Roussilon). It boasts of 336 days of sunshine a year. The pace is slow and the people are very friendly. Afternoon ~ Independent lunch in Nîmes. 5:00 pm ~ Reboard coach and depart. ~ A stop will be made at the famous Roman aqueduct, the Pont du Gard. This 2,000-year-old structure was considered by the Romans to be a symbol of the greatness of the Roman Empire. It was in continuous use, transporting water from a source near Uzes to the city of Nîmes, for 400-500 years. ~ Return to your hotel in Arles. Evening ~ Independent dinner. Monday, May 28: Arles/Nice/Menton (281 kms/174 miles) Morning ~ Breakfast at your hotel. ~ Board coach and depart Arles. You will travel through a bit of the Camargue Wildlife Preserve, a sprawling marshland inhabited by extraordinary wildlife, especially water birds. The wild bulls and white Camargue horses that roam freely embody the charm of The Camargue. ~ Before arrival in Nice, you will travel along the beautiful Riviera coastline. Afternoon ~ Arrive in Nice. ~ Time for independent lunch and to explore the market district of the old town center. Evening ~ Independent dinner in Nice. ~ Reboard coach and continue on to Menton. ~ Check into your hotel located on the waterfront. Tuesday, May 29: Menton Morning ~ Breakfast at your hotel. ~ Morning at leisure to enjoy the outdoor market on the main square of Menton or to go for a swim in the Mediterranean. Afternoon ~ Independent lunch. ~ An afternoon optional excursion may be offered to one of the nearby hilltop villages overlooking the Mediterranean sea such as Biot or Eze. ~ Return to Menton to prepare for your evening concert. Evening ~ Independent dinner. ~ The U-ALBANY CHAMBER SINGERS will give an evening concert at a local venue in Menton. Wednesday, May 30: Nice/NYC Morning ~ Breakfast at your hotel. ~ Board coach and transfer to the Nice Airport. Check in for your flight. ~ Board plane and depart Nice. (A connection may be required in a European city before continuing on to New York.) Afternoon ~ Arrive at JFK Airport.