Experience the Front Line with European Highlights

Transcription

1 Experience the Front Line with European Highlights Live yesterday today 3 nights Rome city tour including Vatican museum, Colosseum St Peter s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the ancient Forum 4 nights Ypres Western Front Tour includes battlefields of Messines, Australian battlefields at Salient, Hooge Crater and Passchendaele where we experience a day in the life of a soldier. 2 nights Somme - Visit the battlefields of Fromelles and Bullecourt, the village of Pozieres and wander through preserved trenches 2 nights Paris - City tour taking in Champs Elysees, the Arc De Triumphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, cruise on The Seine and ride to the top of the Eiffel tower 3 nights London Travel by Eurostar train to London to see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Imperial War Museum Includes return airfares, 14 nights accom, daily breakfasts, 3 lunches, 7 dinners, local guide in Rome, professional historian Tour Manager for the Western Front and London For a detailed itinerary or to register your interest in 2015 departures call now on: or info@pazaz.com.au Group study tour specialists Ph: (07) Mobile: D.A. Bantoft trading as All About Travel ATAS accreditation A10619 ABN:

2 France & Italy School Group 2015 DAY 1 SATURDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2015 Today we will depart Brisbane on our flight to Rome. DEPART BRISBANE DAY 2 SUNDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2015 ARRIVE ROME Our flight arrives into Rome today. On arrival we will be transferred to our hotel to check in. Dinner is included at our hotel tonight. (D) Overnight: Rome 3 nights DAY 3 MONDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2015 ROME We will explore Rome today with a local guide visiting the main sites including Vatican museums, St Peter s Basilica, The Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum and the ancient Forum. Dinner is included at a local restaurant tonight. (B, D) DAY 4 TUESDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2015 ROME We will enjoy another full day sightseeing of Rome today with a local guide. (B) DAY 5 WEDNESDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2015 ROME TO YPRES We will have this morning to further explore the sights of Rome, before being transferred to the airport for our flight to Brussels. On arrival in Brussels we will be met by our historian and coach and drive to the town of Ypres. Ypres is scene of some of the most horrific fighting of the First World War and our home for the next four nights. On arrival we will check into our hotel and enjoy dinner. (B, D) Overnight: Ypres 4 nights

3 DAY 6 THURSDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2015 YPRES Between 1914 and 1918 Ypres was the centre of four great battles, and was completely destroyed by shellfire. Today the rebuilt town is one of the iconic places on the Western Front. This morning we will take a walk around the town, visiting key sights from the war such as the magnificent Cloth Hall (pictured), St George s Chapel, St Martin s Cathedral, the Menin Gate and Ramparts Cemetery. We will then visit the outstanding In Flanders Fields Museum, a provocative collection of relics and displays that chronicles the fighting in Flanders and the personal stories of the people involved. After enjoying free time for lunch in Ypres square, we will travel south to the battlefield at Messines, a spectacular attack heralded by the explosion of 19 huge mines beneath the German lines. The Anzacs played a crucial role in the battle and we will visit the scenes of their triumph at the New Zealand Memorial and Toronto Avenue Cemetery (the only all- Australian cemetery in Belgium). We will also visit the site of the Christmas Truce, where British and German soldiers briefly laid down their arms and fraternised in no man s land on Christmas Day Also today we will visit Essex Farm. This evening we will return to the Menin Gate, where the names of 54,000 missing British and Commonwealth soldiers are recorded, for the moving Last Post ceremony. The Ypres fire brigade has performed this bugle ceremony every day and in all weather since the memorial opened in The only interruption was during the four years of German occupation during the Second World War the ceremony recommenced on the day the town was liberated. Students will have the opportunity to lay a wreath on behalf of the school during the service. (B) DAY 7 FRIDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2015 YPRES SALIENT The Ypres Salient was a bulge in the front line that curved around Ypres for most of the war. More than a million men were killed or wounded trying to gain control of this small patch of ground. Today we will explore the Australian battlefields in the Salient, places where the Anzacs made history in Our first stop will be the museum and cemetery at Hooge Crater, where we will visit the grave of Private Paddy Bugden, who won the Victoria Cross nearby in September We will then visit the 5th Australian Division Memorial at Polygon Wood and see the graves of Private Hunter and Sergeant Calder, the two Australian soldiers whose bodies were only found in 2006 and were identified using DNA testing. These are the men who featured in Mat McLachlan s documentary Lost in Flanders. Lunch is included at Cafe de Dreve, where the owner, Johan Vandewalle, will tell us about his discovery of the bodies of Private Hunter and Sergeant Calder in a Belgian field. We then get a taste of the devastation caused by four years of continuous artillery fire at the cratered landscape of Hill 60. Our final stop today is at the German Cemetery at Langemarck, where we will learn about the men on the other side of the line. As we drive back to Ypres we will see the magnificent Canadian memorial at Langemarck, marking the site where poison gas was first used in the war. (B, L)

4 DAY 8 SATURDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2015 LIFE AT THE FRONT Today will be a highlight of our Western Front Tour. This morning we will travel to the Passchendaele battlefield where we will spend a full day experiencing Life at the Front, an immersive educational program that involves each student dressing in full WWI kit and experiencing a day in the life of a soldier. Marching, grenade throwing, rifle drill and even an authentic bully beef meal will all be experienced today! We will also enjoy guided tours of the Passchendaele 1917 Museum and Tyne Cot Cemetery, the world s largest Commonwealth war cemetery. (B, L) DAY 9 SUNDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2015 YPRES TO THE SOMME Today we leave Ypres and travel south to the battlefields of the Somme. After crossing the border into France, we will stop at the very moving 1916 battlefield of Fromelles, where Australia lost 5533 men during its first action on the Western Front. Whilst here we will visit the Australian Memorial Park, VC Corner Cemetery (the only all-australian cemetery in France) and see the site of the recently discovered Australian mass grave at Pheasant Wood. We will also see the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Cemetery, where 250 soldiers exhumed from the mass grave were laid to rest in Leaving Fromelles, we will visit the magnificent Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge, and spend time wandering the maze of preserved trenches on the site. Our final stop of the day is the battlefield of Bullecourt, where Australia lost 10,000 men in two great battles in We will pay our respects to them at the Slouch Hat memorial in the centre of town and the Australian Memorial Park on the site of the German front line. After arriving in Amiens we will enjoy dinner in our hotel. A packed picnic lunch has also been included today. (B, L, D) Overnight: Somme 2 nights DAY 10 MONDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2015 SOMME 1916 & 1918 Today we will enjoy a full day visiting the sites associated with Australian courage and sacrifice on the Somme in both 1916 and Essential sites include the village of Pozieres, scene of the most costly battle in Australia s history, where 23,000 men were killed or wounded in six weeks. Nearby is Mouquet Farm, where the Australians and Germans fought a bloody action in August Also spend time exploring the British sites associated with the Battle of the Somme, including the massive 30-metre-deep Lochnagar Mine Crater, the Thiepval Memorial (where the names of 72,000 missing men are recorded) and the preserved trenches at the Newfoundland Memorial Park, Beaumont-Hamel. Our attention will then turn to the 1918 battles on the Somme, with a visit to Villers-Bretonneux, the town that was liberated by Australian troops on Anzac Day Here we will see Victoria School, Adelaide Cemetery (where Australia s Unknown Soldier lay before being reinterred in Canberra in 1993) and the imposing Australian National Memorial, where the names of nearly 11,000 Australians with no known grave in France are recorded. We will also visit the site of the crash of the Red Baron in 1918 and the scene of the great Australian victory at Hamel. We will also see the remains of trenches captured by the Australians in their victory here in September We will then return to our hotel where our evening is free. (B)

5 DAY 11 TUESDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2015 THE SOMME TO PARIS This morning we will visit the Australian 2nd Divisional Memorial at Mont St Quentin. We will see the remains of trenches captured by the Australians in their victory here in September We will then farewell the battlefields and return to Paris. On arrival we will enjoy an orientation tour of the city s key attractions before checking in to our central hotel. Our Tour Manager will provide us with a two-day Paris travel card, enabling us free use of public transport and free admission to hundreds of attractions in Paris. The rest of the day will be free to explore the sights and sounds of Paris, the City of Light. Perhaps visit the Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe or Notre Dame Cathedral. Our Tour Manager will be on hand to help guide us around the city. (B) Overnight: Paris 2 nights DAY 12 WEDNESDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2015 PARIS Today we will have another full day to explore Paris. Perhaps enjoy a cruise on the Seine, a visit to the Louvre, a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower, a visit to the Chateau of Versailles or simply stroll the avenues and boulevards of this wonderful city. After a full day s exploring, we will join together to enjoy a group dinner in a local restaurant for our last night in Paris. (B, D) DAY 13 THURSDAY, 01 OCTOBER 2015 PARIS TO LONDON This morning we will be transferred to the train station for our Eurostar train to London. On arrival in London we will be transferred to our hotel to check in. Dinner is included at our hotel this evening. (B, D) Overnight: London 3 nights DAY 14 FRIDAY, 02 OCTOBER 2015 LONDON This morning our tour manager will take us on a tour of London. Highlights include Westminster Abbey, The Cenotaph, Big Ben, St Paul s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. We will have free time for lunch, before visiting the Imperial War Museum this afternoon, home to the finest collection of military artefacts as well as archives of personal and official documents, photographs, and video material relating to the war. (B) DAY 15 SATURDAY, 03 OCTOBER 2015 LONDON Today we will have our day free to further explore London. Tonight we will have a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D) DAY 16 SUNDAY, 04 OCTOBER 2015 DEPART LONDON Sadly our tour ends today. After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and a coach will transfer us to the airport for our flight home. (B) DAY 17 MONDAY, 05 OCTOBER 2015 ARRIVE BRISBANE Our flight arrives back into Brisbane today.