Clarkson Tours Adriatic Tour a smashing success

Welcome

Dave Phillips emailed info@clarksontravel.ca the day after returning home from our 14-day cruise tour stating the following:

“... I have done a fair amount of cruising over the past years but have never experienced such a memorable excursion as the ‘Treasures of the Adriatic’ ... I ... would rank this trip at the top of all my favourites ... the Grande Bretagne [hotel] in Athens was the ‘icing on the cake’”

We thank Dave and all 93 participants of this tour for its success. Our reunion get together is scheduled June 11, for reminiscing, and mixing with new friendships; also to receive a complimentary DVD to commemorate the voyage.

Our itinerary

This voyage contained shore excursions and musical events exclusive to Cruise Holiday of Clarkson. Musicians on board Voyages to Antiquity’s Aegean Odyssey complemented this with excellently performed concerts.

Our itinerary started in Venice; we traveled to the Croatian ports of Zadar, Split, Korcula, and Dubrovnik; then on to the Greek ports of Corfu, Katakolon, Nafplion, and finally Athens. Overall, we were treated to an education in antiquity; and to baroque, folkloric and classical musical performances in Venice, Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Athens.

Our musical events

In Venice, water taxis took us to the famous Rialto Bridge; we walked to the Scuola San Teodoro (The Great School of Teodoro) finished in 1613 and named after Saint Teodoro. There we were treated to a marvellous concert played by I Musici Veneziani an orchestra dressed in 18^th century period costumes. The concert consisted of works by Vivaldi and Albinoni.

In Split, we were entertained by a Klapa (Croatian traditional music) performance over dinner at a local restaurant. (There could still be lingering talk about the Canadian group’s conga line dancing the length of the restaurant. We were the restaurant’s only guests.)

In Dubrovnik, we were treated to the music of Mozart and of a local composer – Luka Sorkocevic – beautifully performed by the Dubrovnik Chamber Orchestra; this took place on board the Galijun ship Tirena. We enjoyed champagne at intermission against the backdrop of much conversation and the sound of waves lapping at the side of the Tirena docked against a spectacular rock-face. What a life!

In Corfu, we enjoyed an afternoon concert made up from excerpts of well known operas such as Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Pasquale, Tosca, La Traviata and more. The performers, soprano Rosa Poulimenou, baritone Pantelis Kontos and pianist Marilena Eloul, are internationally acclaimed and impressed us all. The students of the music department of the Ionian University joined the performers for a resounding finale.

In Athens, we concluded the tour with a farewell dinner and show at a restaurant in the Plaka District. We were amazed at the strength, flexibility  and balance of the dancers. Video snippet of Bill Anderson, of 96.3FM on stage wrapping up the tour.

Our shore-excursions

The sophistication and ingenuity of civilizations past were ever-present throughout this voyage. There is only one Venice; the coastal towns of Croatia are uniquely charming with crystal clear waters and their own Greek, Venetian and Romanesque histories; and there is the separate heritage of the ancient Greeks – the ancient world’s leading philosophers and thinkers. The ship’s agenda included talks by published historians providing travelers with an understanding of the region's history.

In Venice we visited the glass-making island of Murano (since 1291), then Burano (fishing and featuring gaily painted houses and lace making) and Torcello which boasts a 7^th century Byzantine Cathedral. Major works of art were available for purchase at Murano, but we needed more time for such significant acquisitions.

Each of the Croatian towns of Zadar, Split, Trogir, and Korcula are starkly beautiful, unique unto themselves and full of history. Dubrovnik is in its own class.

Zadar was already inhabited in 9^th Century BC, and today exhibits a vibrant society. It suffered in the Second World War and Balkan War; it has restored historical sites such as the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, the 9^th Century Church of St. Donatus and St. Mary's church.

For anyone planning an extended stay on the Dalmatian coast, make your centre of operations Split. The scale and structure of the palace that Emperor Diocletian built for his golden years at the turn of the 4th century is irreconcilable to the 21^st century mind. Sections of the palace serve as residences to tenants and owners alike.

Trogir, a small island and a short drive from Split has conserved its ancient and medieval buildings while putting them to use as boutiques, restaurants and the like. Trogir’s history and architecture holds significant cultural importance to the Region.

Oh what beauty, Korcula, allegedly the birthplace of Marco Polo! After our walking tour, we enjoyed some excellent pastry and coffee while looking out at the sea, speckled with sails, the Aegean Odyssey at dock, and Cunard’s Queen Victoria at tender.

In Dubrovnik, we toured the Old Town before driving to a quaint sleepy vacation resort – Cavtat. We then drove to an ancient mill in Konvale owned by the same family for over 400 years. We marvelled at the simplicity of the mill’s water-powered design and its immense grinding stone; then enjoyed exquisite bread with cheese, ham, and wine in the serene setting of a wooded area adjacent to the mill.

In Greece, we visited Corfu, Katakolon, then Nafplion, at one time the capital of Greece.

In Corfu, we visited the palace of the Empress Elizabeth of Austria and learned of her life, her beauty and her assassination. We admired the immense statue of her hero, Achilles, prominent in the garden – a sentinel over the land and coast far below.

Katakolon presented us with an understanding of the tremendously evolved sophistication of the ancient Greeks at the site where the first Olympians competed in 776 BC. The marble starting line is still prominent and some of us actually competed. The Olympic torch is once again lit here at the start of an Olympic year.

 Next was the best preserved ancient theatre in Greece, with remarkable acoustics with accommodation for over 12,000 people. We then visited the Mycenaean temple situated at the top of the mountain after entering through the Lioness Gate.

We traveled the Corinth Canal -- conceived over 2,000 years ago and finished in 1893. We then sailed to Piraeus, where we disembarked and transferred to Le Grande Bretagne hotel ... mentioned in Dave Phillips’ email as the icing on the cake.

In Athens, we toured the Acropolis and the new museum, full of artefacts. At the entrance of the museum, we looked at workers in the process of restoring an ancient village, observing them as we did through the glass floor of the museum.   We wrapped up our tour with lunch in the Plaka District and shopping.

About Cruise Holidays of Clarkson

Cruise Holidays of Clarkson is independently owned and offers group and individual leisure travel services. Its membership in the Travel Leaders Leisure Group franchise affords access to scale of demand resulting in added  value to our clients.

Cruise Holidays of Clarkson has qualified for Cruise Holidays’ President’s Circle membership in 2009 and 2010 and is recipient of Royal Bank Insurance’s award for quality business.

Our passion for culture and classical music has forged a relationship with the New Classical 96.3FM radio station where radio personalities, Bill Anderson, Jean Stilwell, and Marilyn Lightstone accompany selected voyages.

For information on group travel, see www.clarksontours,ca; for individual travel see www.clarksontravel.ca ; or call 905 855 1700 or email info@clarksontravel.ca . Or better yet, drop in at our store located at 1739 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga ON L5J 1J4; we have ample parking at back.