England & Italy: Performing Arts

Depart Home for London, England

• Arrive in London, England
• Airport Transfer
• Orientation Walking Tour – The group will become oriented with their neighborhood, the public transportation systems, nearby pharmacies, markets, ATMs, etc.
• Welcome Dinner – The group will be taken for an authentic dinner with a variety of menu options to cater all diets.

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Westminster Walking Tour – Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column, The National Gallery, St. James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace, Victoria Memorial , Big Ben, Westminster Abbey , Houses of Parliament. Westminster Abbey holds monuments and tombs of everyone from Queen Elizabeth I to Charles Darwin. 
• Lunch Break
• The Globe Theater – Shakespeare’s company erected the storied Globe Theatre circa 1599 in London’s Bankside district. It was one of four major theatres in the area, along with the Swan, the Rose, and the Hope.
• Shakespeare Play – To be determined

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Travel to Stratford (approx. 2.5 hours)
  Shakespeare’s Birthplace – Explore the house where Shakespeare was born and grew up. Hear tales of Shakespeare’s family life, enjoy live theatre on demand and get up close to rare artefacts from the Trust’s world class collections as you discover how the extraordinary William Shakespeare continues to shape our lives today.
• Royal Shakespeare Theatre Musical Performance – To be determined
• Return to London

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• British Library Guided Tour – home to over 150 million items, including original manuscripts by Jane Austen, the Brontës, Lewis Carroll, Angela Carter, and James Joyce, among many others. The library also features stations that allow users to access electronic copies of rare manuscripts, including Lewis Carroll’s original Alice’s Adventures Under Ground and William Blake’s notebook.
• Lunch Break
• National Gallery Guided Tour – The collection comprises some 2,000 works, but it is regarded by many as the most representative sampling of European painting in the world.
• Classical or Contemporary Dance Show – To be determined

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Guided Tour of British Museum – hosting more than seven million objects from all continents. They illustrate and document the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.
• Lunch Break
• National Theatre of London Classical Performance – to be determined
  Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Scavenger Hunt – Solve a trail of clues on a treasure hunt-style experience across London.
• Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Airport Transfer
• Internal Flight – London to Palermo
• Historical & Cultural Walking Tour of Palermo – Palermo Cathedral, Quattro Canti, Praetorian Fountain, Piazza Marina and more…
  Sicilian Welcome Dinner – The group will be taken for an authentic sicilian dinner with a variety of menu options to cater all diets.

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Palazzo dei Normanni & Palatina Chapel – After the Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Arab dominations Sicily was conquered the Normans. The Palace of the Kings, from the 12th century, shows this unique mixture of cultures.
• Museo Salinas Guided Tour – One of the greatest archeological museums of Sicily.
• Opera at Teatro Massimo (TBC) – The biggest opera house in Italy and the third in Europe after Paris’ and Vienna’s.

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Day Trip to Segesta – Discover the ancient Greek Ruins of Segesta, its temples and its theater.
• Concert at Teatro Politeama (TBC) – One of the most prestigious institutions for classical music in Sicily.

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Ballarò Market – The oldest market of Palermo, will amaze you with its vibrant colors and traditional atmosphere.
• Concert at Santa Maria dello Spasimo (TBC) – This late gothic church, which was never completed, now hosts open air  concerts and other cultural events.
• Farewell Dinner & Program Closing

• Breakfast & Day Briefing
• Airport Transfer
• Depart from Palermo, Italy to Home