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“Champagne et
Châteaux”
Treat
yourself to the trip of a lifetime -- Paris in the Spring Champagne & Chateaux is an intimate nine-day luxury tour of cultural and historic landmarks within Paris and the Loire Valley led by French historian Celine Glon. What makes this trip unique is that acclaimed photographer Roger Moore will be at your side to help you capture the magic of Paris through the lens of your camera. Celine, a native of France, will lead you to all the must-see places and also surprise you with delightful out-of-the-way spots that only Parisians know. Because Roger believes great photographs are made in your heart and in your head (and just recorded by the camera), he will show you how to see and capture great images. You’ll be fascinated by the stories, charmed by the people and places, and impressed by your own photographs. Since only six travelers are invited on this trip, you’ll have lots of personal attention. Even if you’ve visited Paris before, you’ll see it in a new light. Your days will be full with visits to great museums, gardens, monuments and churches. You’ll stroll Paris’ broad boulevards and squares and shop in street markets and quaint villages. You’ll relive history at Versailles and in the chateaux and villages of the Loire Valley. You’ll even experience a romantic starlit dinner-cruise beneath the 33 bridges that cross the river Seine. Whether you are an experienced photographer or not sure which button to push, this hands-on tour is for you. Mark your calendar now and get ready for the experience of a lifetime!
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PRICING
FOR
COMPLETE INFORMATION CONTACT:
or
Roger Moore |
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Intinerary
May 4-12, 2007
Come with us to Paris and indulge your passion for travel and photography. Your mentors will be Roger Moore, the internationally acclaimed photographic artist and instructor, and Celine Glon, native Parisian and expert on French history and culture. Together, they will help you discover this magical city through the lens of your camera as you explore it in unusual and imaginative ways.
Day 1 - Friday May 4th
Depart from the United States and fly overnight to Paris.
Day 2 - Saturday May 5th
Arrival into Paris and transfer to your hotel in the heart of Saint Germain des Pres Hotel Pont Royal
To begin your week in the City of Light, you will have an afternoon tour to give you an overview of the places you will come to know this week – the gardens, the monuments, the museums, the broad boulevards and the harmonious squares that give this fabled city its character. You will see the great museums, the Louvre and the Orsay, and the glories of French gothic architecture, Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. Nearby is the Conciergerie, the infamous prison of the Revolution, and the Latin Quarter, home to The Sorbonne and the fashionable district of Ste. Germain des Pres, visit Napoleon’s tomb at the Invalids and we will drive through the Place de la Concorde and up the Champs Elysees, where the Arc de Triomphe stands guard over the western entrance to the city.
Evening: Dinner at the Hotel.
Day 3 - Sunday May 6th
Morning: Roger’s Educational lecture “Learning To See”
Roger Moore says that great photographs are made in your own heart and in your own head; the camera just records them. This morning he will spend time helping you see and feel what makes a great image. The ideas and suggestions Roger gives you will lay the foundations for your adventure in learning to see. Off we will go to make pictures at the colorful market along the lower rue Mouffetard in the 5th district, where we may even hear a choir singing traditional Parisian tunes. We will continue our walk up to the Pantheon and discover the extraordinary Renaissance Church dedicated to Sainte Genevieve the Patron of the Parisians.
Lunch at leisure
This afternoon, we take a walking tour to the Ile de la Cite and the Ile St. Louis the islands in the Seine that formed the heart of ancient Paris. Here you will study the delicate arches and the interplay of stone and brilliant stained glass that make Sainte Chapelle the most stunningly beautiful example of French gothic architecture. Linger here a while, tasting the Bertillon ice cream, making images, and drinking in the beauty. Later compare it to two other nearby gothic masterpieces - Notre Dame Cathedral and the prison of the Conciergerie - used to house Queen Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution.
Evening: Cruise dinner on the Seine River.
Gliding under 33 of the Seine River bridges, your guests will see some of Paris’ most famous monuments. On board a beautiful riverboat the Seine River Dinner Cruise is a perfect introduction to the ‘City of Light’. As your guests enjoy their dinner, Paris’ world famous landmarks, straight from the pages of history unfold before their eyes.
Day 4 - Monday May 7th
This morning will be a special treat. We will visit the Marais district to study and photograph the Place des Vosges, called the most beautiful square in all Europe. Townhouses dating from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, all built in the same harmonious design, are characterized by vaulted arcades and magnificently carved facades. The Marais District, which also houses the Jewish quarter, is a lively area with synagogues, bakeries and kosher restaurants, and it offers a wonderful way to photograph daily life. Also nearby, and presenting a complete contrast to what we have seen so far, is the Picasso Museum.
Lunch at leisure
The afternoon we would visit the village of Montmartre, overlooking the city from a high hill, was the traditional home of Paris’ writers and painters. It was here that the impressionists lived and painted, in the pretty little streets and squares that lend themselves so beautifully to being photographed. We’ll take the funicular up to the great Basilica, and at the top, you will find not only spectacular views of Paris, but also the often forgotten church of Saint Pierre de Montmartre. Wander around the main square of the village; have your portrait drawn, and enjoy a glass of wine in the famous old Place du Tertre.
Today, and every day, Roger will be available as your personal photographic consultant to help you with both technical and aesthetic aspects of making beautiful photographs.
Dinner is on your own this evening
Day 5 - Tuesday May 8th
Today will be the highlight of the trip – a full day to the chateaux of the Loire Valley.
We’ll go by the TGV (the fast train) to the ancient town of Tours, and from there to the incomparable Chateau de Chenonceau, whose graceful arches span the River Cher, a perfect harmony of water, greenery and trees. You will be able to study the Chateau from every angle, learn its history, and capture its spirit in your photos.
A lovely lunch will be served in l’Orangerie de Chenonceau, after which you will visit the Clos-Luce where Leonardo De Vinci spent his last three years before he died or take a walk in the beautiful city of Amboise and enjoy the well known candy shop where you can get the best caramel. In the late afternoon, we will return to Paris, tired but exhilarated.
Again, Roger will be available throughout the day to help you design your photographs and get the results you are looking for.
Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 6 - Wednesday, May 9th
Abbaye de Royaumont
Photographing the beautiful old Abbaye de Royaumont, in the forests north of Paris, will be one of the most remarkable experiences of your week. King Louis IX (St. Louis), founded Royaumont in 1228 for monks of the Cistercian order. During the convulsions of the French Revolution, the Abbey was transformed into a cotton mill and then in 1869 into a novitiate by nuns who undertook the first extensive restoration. The Abbaye is a harmony of arches and gardens and its cloister refectory is among the most beautiful in existence. Roger will be giving each of you suggestions and pointers as you work to create wonderful images.
The ancient cloister will be the perfect counterpoint for our picnic lunch. We’ll return to Paris in the afternoon, and those who wish may visit the Rodin Sculpture Museum. The contrast of works such as “The Thinker”, the “Gates of Hell”, or “The Burghers of Calais”, highlighted against the backdrop of the garden will make thoughtful and inspiring images. Again, Roger will be with you at all times for advice and consultation.
Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 7 - Thursday May 10th
Monet’s
House in Giverny.
This morning we will drive along the banks of the Seine to Giverny, Claude Monet’s home and gardens - the inspiration for so much of his work. The house perfectly preserves the 19th century country atmosphere, where so many of the Impressionists came to share their ideas and their techniques. Here, too, you will find the famous bridge over the lily ponds that he interpreted so many times.
Lunch at Le Moulin de Fourges
In keeping with the spirit of Giverny, we will have a leisurely lunch in the 18th century Le Moulin de Fourges.
We’ll return to Paris in the afternoon and Celine will take those who wish on a tour of her favorite nooks and crannies – Paris’ hidden passages.
We will start at the Palais Royal – the former royal palace – and here you will discover one of the hidden treasures, the Palais Royal Gardens. Today the gardens also feature restaurants, art galleries and specialty shops along the arcades, which maintain a strong literary history. Among its most famous residents have been Jean Cocteau Colette and Jean Marais. Continue to Les Galeries, which represent a new pedestrian area for shops, workshops, and apartments. This area had fallen into disuse, but has been dramatically renovated, and now houses an eclectic mixture of small shops selling anything from designer jewelry to rare books. The Galeries all have high vaulted roofs of iron and glass, and one of the most charming, the Galerie Vivienne, has a mosaic floor.
Roger will stay with you as you make photographs in these always changing and always challenging historical spots.
Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 8 - Friday May 11th
Versailles Palace and Gardens
By 9:30 AM this morning your best images – your “Magnificent Seven” - must be delivered to Roger as jpg files no larger than 640 pixels in length in order to include them in our Déjà Vu slide show and critique (described below). Don’t worry if these terms seem like a foreign language now - Roger will help you get them just right.
We’ll spend the morning at the Palace of Versailles - a monument to the greatness of France during the Golden century and reflecting the glory of Louis XIV, the Sun King.
You will visit the Royal Chapel, where the doomed Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette, and walk through their Grand Apartments, the Drawing Rooms, and the Throne Room, and finally, the Hall of Mirrors, where the Versailles Peace Treaty was signed, ending World War I. Finally, you will wander through the great gardens, filled with pools, fountains, grottos, statues, and the Grand Canal, which was the greatest triumph of Le Notre, the designer.
This afternoon will be free for whatever you wish – and it could be for a private lesson with Roger.
This evening we will all come together for a last lovely dinner at Restaurant Alcazar to share our best photos of the week. We call it “Déjà vu” —a slide show and critique of the best images that each of us has made during the week. Each of us will contribute seven of our most meaningful images combined into one magnificent slide show. We get the pleasure of seeing again all the places, people and things we have experienced during the week, and more importantly we get to see them through each other’s eyes. If you are like most of our travelers, this evening will be one of your favorite experiences of the week
Day 9 -- Saturday May 12th
You will be transferred back to the airport this morning, as almost everyone will have early flights back home.
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Who will be leading this Adventure?
Roger Moore – Your Photographic Guide and Tutor
Why do clients go with Moore? They wouldn’t settle for anyone less. He’s got the artist’s eye, the teacher’s patience and the explorer’s experience.
“Moore puts out art that tugs at a cord so deep within you that it is difficult to walk away from one of his compositions.” -- Mark Kayne, Focus Photographic Gallery in Carmel, Calif.
Has Roger been there,
done that? · He’s ridden camels across the Thar Desert in India. · Photographed a 1,900-year-old “house of ill repute” in Ephesus, Turkey. · Was the first American seen by many villagers near the Amur River in the Russian Far East. · Hunted the Spectacled Caiman crocodile in canoes at night on the Rio Negro of Brazil. · Photographed the bowels of the medinas of ancient Moroccan cities. · Fished for Piranha in the Amazon River. · Survived a blizzard in the Colorado Rockies while stranded without food or heat. · He has photographed the world’s most valuable copper and cobalt mining operations in the Congo with the accompaniment of armed security guards. · He has guided people through the upper and the middle Amazon, exposing them to the natural beauty of that mighty river and its sweltering jungles.
What’s he like? Roger is a colorful character with amazing stories to tell and great photos to back them up. Peek at some of his images on his Web site at www.rogermoorephotography.com/ecard
Professional training? Roger first set foot in a darkroom when he was a military officer at the Pentagon in 1967. Now he’s as comfortable in his “digital darkroom” as he is in his “chemical darkroom.” He has continued to develop his “photographic eye” through scores of workshops and seminars and countless hours behind the lens. He has studied at the Nikon School and Hasselblad University. Roger studied fine art photography with Joyce Tenneson, the respected New York photographic artist, and with Greg Gorman, the famous L.A.commercial photographer. He refined his photographic printing skills through personal study and hands-on experience with Howard Bond and John Sexton, both of whom are world-renowned fine art photographers and masters of the craft.
Celine Glon – Your Cultural Guide
Celine, Glon, your Champagne and Chateaux Cultural Guide throughout the week, was born and raised in France and is a Certified Parisian Tour Guide and an expert in the history and culture of France. Her talent is “to make the present meaningful and to make the past come alive.” She is currently making French history fascinating for students as a lecturer at Southern Methodist University in Dallas (TX).
Celine says, “While in high school I hated history, I found it boring. Instead, I was interested in traveling – I wanted to pack my stuff and leave my home town of Lyon, France. Of course, my parents were very much against this, so my brother and I decided to create a student Meeting, Exchange and Discovery Association. With the help of some teachers, we found 10 other students who wanted to work on a project to cross the Algerian desert. We located sponsors and made a movie to be shown in schools to encourage students to cross the frontiers and discover other cultures. I’ll never forget that trip and the beautiful starlit desert nights. I was hooked on travel.
“Then, I spent a year in America as an au pair in Cleveland. My goal was to improve my English, but I also met my husband there! We moved to Paris where I studied art and French history. I was inspired by my history teacher who became my role model. I wanted to share and teach history just like he did. For eight years I have done just that as a tour guide, working mainly with Americans coming to France.”
Celine’s tours are fascinating and unique. For instance, see Versailles with her and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into the King’s court. You’ll learn the etiquette, hear the court secrets, and learn that history is about so much more than events and dates. As Celine says, “History is about daily life, food, hygiene, romance, and the stories which help to make the past come to life.”
With the Champagne and Chateaux trip, you’ll discover the France of today and of the past!
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FOR
COMPLETE INFORMATION CONTACT:
or Roger Moore |