MONTCREST SCHOOL 12-DAY TOUR TO ENGLAND, BELGIUM & FRANCE MARCH 8 19, 2016

Transcription

1 311 Main Street, P.O. Box 1990 Exeter, ON, Canada N0M 1S7 Tel: Fax: TICO # Suite # West Esplanade North Vancouver, BC, Canada V7M 1A5 Tel: Fax: BPCPA Registration # MONTCREST SCHOOL 12-DAY TOUR TO ENGLAND, BELGIUM & FRANCE MARCH 8 19, 2016 Preliminary Itinerary September 5, 2014 Note: It is the responsibility of all participants to be in possession of the correct documentation to travel out of the country. Failure to do so will result in participants being denied entry/boarding and returned home at the expense of the individual. Canadian Citizens require a valid passport (authorities at your destination require that passports are valid for at least 3 months beyond your return date). Ellison Travel & Tours recommends passports are valid for 6 months beyond your return date. Groups are advised to obtain notarized letters of consent for persons under 18 years of age. Non-Canadians must check entry and transit requirements. Please notify the group leader at time of booking if you will be traveling with a passport from another country so we can check requirements and advise you accordingly. Day 1 Tuesday March 8, INFLIGHT M - meet as a group at the Toronto Pearson International Airport (groups flying to international destinations are required to check in at least 3 hours prior to departure) - depart on overnight flight from Toronto to London, England (flight connection possible) - dinner served en-route Day 2 Wednesday March 9, 2016 to LONDON, ENGLAND - breakfast served prior to landing - arrive London, England; clear customs and collect your luggage (set your watches to local time) - meet your local coach and depart for central London - arrive Central London and meet your guide for a half day tour of London, you will see such sights as Westminster Abbey, Downing Street and the Horse Guards, St. James Park, Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul s Cathedral and more - stop at Covent Garden to purchase lunch - afternoon visit to Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street and Carnaby Street - meet your coach and transfer to your accommodation - check into your accommodation for a 3 night stay - retire early after a long travel day! Page 1 of 6

2 Day 3 Thursday March 10, 2016 LONDON - you will travel by Tube today - meet your guide to begin a walking tour to explore the area of the Parliament Buildings with the clock tower housing Big Ben and Buckingham Palace including a visit to see the Changing of the Guard (pending time and scheduling) - you will also participate in a scavenger hunt of Green Park and surrounding area, once part of Henry VII s hunting ground - purchase lunch (your guide will give you suggestions) - afternoon self-guided visit to the Cabinet War Rooms - this intriguing piece of 20thcentury history is a warren of cellar rooms below the Government Office building north of Parliament Square. It is where the War Cabinet first under Neville Chamberlain, then Winston Churchill - met during World War II when German bombs were falling on London - dinner at restaurant in the theatre district - attend a West End Theatre Show - following the show, return to your accommodation by Tube Day 4 Friday March 11, LONDON - board coach and depart for Leavesden - arrive at the Warner Bros. Studio located outside London - visit the Warner Bros. Studio Tour for The Making of Harry Potter, step inside and discover the actual Hogwart s Great Hall and see the props and costumes from the Harry Potter film series - following your tour purchase a light lunch at the Studio Café - board your coach and return to London - this afternoon's transportation will be by Tube - afternoon visit to the Imperial War Museum, where you will see on display engines of modern warfare, massive tanks, artillery, bombs and aircraft - dinner at the Albert Restaurant, a traditional Old English pub-style restaurant dating back to 1852 with many original Victorian furnishings, located on Victoria Street - following dinner you may wish to spend some time along Carnaby Street and Regent Street and visit the Hamley s Toy Store (open until 9:00pm) - return to your accommodation by Tube Day 5 Saturday March 12, 2016 to YPRES, BELGIUM - board coach and depart for Dover Castle - guided tour of Dover Castle and the secret tunnels, the castle was superbly positioned on top of the high cliffs, which helped defend the town from 1198 when Henry II first built the keep, right up to World War II. This is the place from which the evacuation from Dunkirk was run, and was a forward communication centre for the rest of the war. - board coach and depart for Dover dock - depart on ferry from Dover to Calais (as foot passengers) - arrive Calais and meet your local coach and depart for Ypres - arrive Ypres and check into your accommodation for a 2 night stay - dinner at your accommodation Page 2 of 6

3 - at the conclusion of dinner walk across the square to the Menin Gate where you will be met by a member of the Last Post Association and given directions for your participation in tonight s ceremony - participate in the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate this ceremony takes place every night, rain or shine, in honour of the thousands of soldiers who passed through this gate on their way to the front, never to return. The gate is inscribed with the names of 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers who perished during the World War I and have no known final resting place. - lay a commemorative wreath in their honour - following the service, walk back to your accommodation Day 6 Sunday March 13, 2016 YPRES B/L/D - meet your guide for a half day tour of the magnificent sights along the Ypres Salient - visit Essex Farm Commonwealth War Cemetery at Boezinge, for a brief stop to visit the John McCrae Memorial John McCrae was a native of Guelph, Ontario who served as a medical officer with the Canadian Army during World War I in 1915 he composed the famous poem In Flanders Fields during a break in the fighting near Ypres - visit Langemark German War Cemetery there are relatively few German cemeteries on the Western Front battlefields, but this one, despite being much smaller in area than Tyne Cot, has many more burials over 44,000 soldiers are buried here in mass graves - board coach and continue to the St. Julien Memorial an 11 metre tall brooding soldier, commemorating the famous battle that took place between April 22 nd and 24 th, 1915 it was here that Canadians achieved fame for their bravery while enduring the first gas attack in modern warfare - visit the Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial. The Tyne Cot Cemetery is the burial ground for the Allied soldiers who perished on the Ypres Salient. It is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world containing the graves of 11, 953 soldiers of various nationalities, including Canadians. During your visit, be sure to examine the surrounding stone wall which is a memorial to the missing Commonwealth soldiers who were unable to be inscribed on the Menin Gate. - lunch included at local restaurant - board coach and depart for the Flanders Fields Museum - visit the In Flanders Fields Museum for an interactive self-guided tour the four major armies fighting at the Flemish front suffered at least 55,000 casualties, the town of Ypres was destroyed this museum offers an insight into how life was for both the enlisted man and the civilian, at the front, in the trenches, and in the town itself - board coach and return to your accommodation in Ypres - dinner at your accommodation Day 7 Monday March 14, 2016 to DIEPPE, FRANCE - board coach and depart for Vimy - arrive at the Canadian National Memorial Park at Vimy Ridge and visit the battlefields, front line trenches and the Vimy Memorial and Visitors Centre - of all the sites on your tour, Vimy Ridge needs the least introduction, as this is where many historians feel Canada became a nation. Early on the morning of April 9 th, 1917 Page 3 of 6

4 the Canadian Forces, after weeks of extensive preparation, and fighting for the first time as a single unit, were able to take the Ridge from German hands, which was something that their Allies had failed to do repeatedly up to this point - board coach and depart for the town of Arras - time to purchase lunch and explore the town in chaperone groups - board coach and depart for Dieppe with a stop en-route to see the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, a National Historic Site of Canada dedicated to the commemoration of Dominion of Newfoundland Forces members who were killed during World War I - arrive Dieppe and check into your accommodation for a 1 night stay Day 8 Tuesday March 15, 2016 to CAEN or BAYEUX, FRANCE - board coach and depart for the Dieppe landing beaches - morning visit of the Dieppe landing beaches, where in August 1942, the disastrous Operation Jubilee took place, claiming over 3,000 Canadian casualties. Learn how this suicidal attack has been credited with providing the Allies with valuable information used in the later, successful landings of the D-Day invasion. - board coach and depart for Hautot sur Mer - visit the Canadian War Cemetery at Hautot sur Mer, where the Canadians killed at Dieppe are buried you will have the opportunity to lay a memorial wreath - board coach and depart for Caen - stop en-route and visit the Pegasus Bridge & Memorial, dedicated to the men of the British 6 th Airborne Division and their role during the Battle of Normandy from June to September arrive Caen or Bayeux and check into your accommodation for a 2 night stay Day 9 Wednesday March 16, 2016 CAEN - board coach and depart for Courseulles sur-mer and the Juno Beach Centre - you will be met by a young Canadian guide who will introduce you to the Centre and you will have time to enjoy a self-guided tour of the moving displays (allow approximately 1 hour to visit the Centre) - your guide will take you on a 30 minute tour of the bunker and beach, where the Canadians landed, suffered 5,000 dead and 13,000 wounded - board coach and depart for Arromanches - purchase lunch in Arromanches - afternoon visit to the D-Day Museum in Arromanches - on June 6 th, 1944 some 4,126 Allied Ships successfully achieved the greatest landing in History on the beaches of Normandy, taking the Germans by surprise. Here you will learn about the construction of the Mulberry Harbour - likened to floating roadways used for landing military equipment and supplies. - board coach and return to Caen and visit the Memorial de Caen. Much of the city of Caen was destroyed during the summer of this museum will guide you through the major battles of the 20th century, all the while respecting the Memorial's running theme: reconciliation. Page 4 of 6

5 Day 10 Thursday March 17, 2016 to PARIS, FRANCE - board coach and depart for Paris, France - arrive Paris and meet your guide for a walking tour of one of the districts/quartiers of Paris, including a visit to a bakery - Paris is home of the baguette, that golden bread stick which is a real symbol of all things French. - check into your accommodation in Paris for a 2 night stay - dinner Day 11 Friday March 18, 2016 PARIS - transportation today will be by Metro - enjoy a guided visit at Musée D Orsay, during which you will see works by such Impressionist painters as Millet, Monet, Delacroix, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Toulouse Lautrec - depart for Montmartre - arrive Montmartre with time to purchase lunch and explore - visit the gleaming white Basilica of Sacré-Coeur which stands high above Paris; around the corner from the Basilica is the Place du Tertre where artists sell their wares; you may wish to get a portrait sketched - this afternoon, walk along the Champs Élysées, Paris most famous thoroughfare, lined with cafes, cinemas and shops - visit the Arc de Triomphe and climb the Arc. Ordered by Napoleon as a memorial to the French Grand Army, the triumphal arch was begun by the architect Chalgrin in 1806 and completed in The Arc de Triomphe is built on the model of ancient Triumphal Arches, but its monumental size: 50 meters tall and 45 meters wide, is typical of the Empire architecture. After your visit, pay your respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. - farewell dinner - following dinner walk to Port de la Bourdonnais pier and check in - enjoy a 1 hour narrated evening cruise on the Bateaux Parisiens along the Seine River to discover why Paris is called the City of Lights - return to your accommodation by Metro Day 12 Saturday March 19, 2016 HOME B/M - board coach and depart for the Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport - arrive at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and check in for your flight - depart on scheduled flight from Paris to Toronto (flight connection possible) - meal served during your flight - arrive at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, clear customs and collect your luggage (set your watches to local time) - group is responsible for transportation home from the airport - Welcome Home! B - Breakfast / pb Packed Breakfast / L Lunch / pl Packed Lunch / D - Dinner / M Airline Meal / S Snack - denote meals included in tour cost Please advise your group leader in advance of any allergy and/or dietary restriction, so that we can advise our suppliers of the request. Not every location may be able to accommodate allergy and/or meal Page 5 of 6

6 requirements and for unique circumstances (gluten free, nut allergies, etc), it may be advisable to travel with an additional meal allowance. *Itinerary is tentative and subject to final confirmation* Page 6 of 6