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Cornwall, Brittany and Normandy
September 18th to October 2nd, 2001
 with Joyce James, CTC


Daily Itinerary

DAY 1: Tuesday, September 18th

Departure from Toronto on our non-stop flight to London.

Day 2: Wednesday, September 19th

From London/Heathrow airport we will travel by private coach to our hotel in Bath. En route we will visit the Salisbury Plain and have lunch in the picturesque village of Avebury

Dinner is at our hotel in Bath, where we will be staying for the next two nights. Before dinner, there will be an informal reception to meet fellow trip members and discuss the plans for our travels in England and France.

Day 3: Thursday, September 20th

After breakfast at the hotel, we will meet our local guide for a morning tour of Bath, including a visit to the Roman Baths and The Museum of Costume. In the afternoon, you may wish to visit the Jane Austen Museum, and to enjoy free time on your own. Dinner at our hotel.

Day 4: Friday, September 21st

Departure after breakfast for the fabled Celtic land of Cornwall. Our route will take us via Honiton, world famous for its lace making. We will visit Allhallows Lace Museum and the nearby shop which sells lacemaking supplies and lace.

Before leaving Devon, we will visit the restored, award-winning Coldharbour Mill, which was a working mill for 200 years and has been preserved as a unique piece of social and industrial history. There is a shop selling goods produced on machinery in the mill. 

We cross the Tamar River, the boundary between Devon and Cornwall. Our hotel is located in picturesque St. Ives, overlooking the Atlantic coast, now an active artists’ colony.

Day 5: Saturday, September 22nd

Today is leisurely, with a morning visit to the Tate Gallery in St. Ives. The afternoon is free for you to see a few of the artistic and cultural sites –you can visit the Barbara Hepworth Museum (which features the work of this famous sculptor and is located in her own garden and studio), and the pottery studio opened by Bernard Leach.

Day 6: Sunday, September 23rd

Today, enjoy a full-day guided tour of the Cornish area. Our first stop is Land’s End, the most westerly point of mainland Britain. 

We continue to Mousehole (pronounced mowsel) another idyllic village with fishing cottages built around the harbour.  As a lunch suggestion, try a Cornish pasty, the traditional meal of the tin miners.

As an alternative, you may wish to take in the sea views from the hotel and spend more time discovering St. Ives, or walk along the Coast Path with its stunning sea views.

Day 7: Monday, September 24th

We leave St. Ives after breakfast. 

En route to the ferry port of Plymouth, we will visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan in St. Austell, rediscovered in the 1980's and now Europe’s largest garden restoration. 

Our last stop before leaving Cornwall is Polperro, an unspoilt fishing village, with its narrow streets banned to cars.  We will visit the Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling and Fishing, which is mentioned in Mary Wright's book, Cornish Guernseys & Knit Frocks.



image copyright: polperro.org and oakvine.net

After dinner in Plymouth, we check in for the modern ferry of the Brittany Ferries line and our overnight trip to Roscoff in Brittany. Accommodation on board the ferry is in two-berth cabins.

Day 8: Tuesday, September 25th

After breakfast on the ferry, we dock in Brittany and meet our French coach.

Driving westwards we pass by dramatic views of the sea and stop for lunch in Brest, France’s premier naval port, before arriving at our hotel in Quimper.


Quimper has a distinctively Breton flavour and in the afternoon you will likely wish to wander the pedestrian area of Old Quimper with its attractive architecture, perhaps stopping to have a traditional crêpe and a glass of cider. 

Day 9: Wednesday, September 26th

This is a day of touring, to learn more about this scenic, charming corner of France. Along the route, we will visit: Pont-Aven, an area of inspiration for artists like Paul Gaugin, and a town devoted to art; Locronan, with its cobbled streets and originally made prosperous from the production of sail cloth; Carnac, the most important prehistoric site in Europe, and Concarneau, a walled town, built on an island in the harbour.
 

Day 10: Thursday, September 27th

This morning we will visit the oldest factory producing the highly collectible Quimper pottery.  This hand-painted pottery, originally made for wedding gifts and now exported around the world, is highly prized by collectors. 

  

In the afternoon, we suggest that you visit the Cathedral Saint Corentin and the Museum of Breton Life.

Day 11: Friday, September 28th

This morning after breakfast, we leave Quimper and travel from Brittany to Normandy. Our route takes us to St-Malo and Alençon, home of the intricate needle lace known as "the queen of lace."


   

One of the highlights of the trip is our visit to Mont-St-Michel, both a stunning sight and an amazing achievement, and justifiably called one of "the marvels of the Western World." 

Our hotel for the next three nights is in Bayeux.

Day 12: Saturday, September 29th

This morning we will visit the Bayeux Tapestry. This outstanding example of the needle arts is embroidered with coloured wool on a piece of linen 230 feet long, created in the 11th Century. It depicts the events of 1066 and the Norman conquest of England.

                                   

The afternoon is at leisure. You will have a chance to visit the Bayeux Lace Workshop and wander the pleasant streets of old Bayeux 

Day 13: Sunday, September 30th

Today we have a guided tour of the 1944 D-Day landings and the beaches associated with the Canadian and American divisions. We will also visit the town of Caen and the Peace Museum.

Later in the afternoon, we will stop for a taste of Calvados, the special apple brandy of the area.

 

 

 

Day 14: Monday, October 1st

We leave Normandy for Paris. 

There will be time for a visit to Giverny, the home and gardens of Claude Monet. The house is decorated in the colour schemes which Monet favoured, and the gardens are recognizable as the subjects of some of the artist’s most famous studies.



Our hotel in Paris is centrally located. Dinner will be a special occasion--an opportunity to relive the memories of the past two weeks.  

Day 15: Tuesday, October 2nd

After breakfast we will go to Charles de Gaulle Airport and our flight to Toronto, with
connections to other home cities.  Alternatively, enjoy an extended stay in Paris for three more memorable days. 

For more information, please contact the agency below and ask for details. 

Joyce James
e-mail Joyce James: jij@joycejamestours.com
Tel: 403-678-3861
Fax: 403-678-3871

CMH TRAVEL INC.
#2, 1000 - 7th Avenue
Canmore, AB
T1W  2S9
Canada
Tel: 403-678-6366
Fax: 403-678-6307
Toll-free: 1-877-678-6366
email CMH Travel Inc: cmhtc@telusplanet.net

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