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Great Tours for a Great Cause!
All inclusive culture tours developed by Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF) and Airguide Magazine. Fly to Eastern Europe and tour the finest cultural locations while enjoying boutique wineries and other local culinary delights. Proceeds from the tours will sponsor FAF and are fully tax deductible as allowed by law. The FAF program promotes peace building through cultural exchange, works to help young people reconcile in war torn regions, and provides art therapy retreats and camps for the families of victims of 9/11.
Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF) is affiliated with the United Nations and was founded in 1973 with initial funding from Readers Digest to advance mutual understanding, cooperation and goodwill among nations through cultural and artistic exchange programs.
Web site: www.faf.org
Cultural & Epicurean Tours in Hungary & Bulgaria
Spring and Fall of 2004
Day 1: New York to Budapest flight.
Day 2: Welcome to Budapest, the Pearl of the Danube!
Day 3: Discover the secrets of Buda and Pest.
Day 4: Visit a very special place north of Lake Balaton: Herend and discover the secrets of making fine china.
Day 5: Your final day in Budapest. Spend the morning free to explore the city for yourself.
Day 6: Budapest to Sofia flight.
Day 7: A tour of the Old Town of Plovdiv, Bulgaria's cultural capital.
Day 8: Visit the Bachkovo Monastery, a prominent educational center on the Balkans during 17th and 18th centuries.
Day 9: Learn about the mysterious Thracians and their amazing cultural heritage and indulge in tasting wine of the famous Bulgarian Rose Valley.
Day 10: Discover Sofia by taking a walking tour of the Capital.
Day 11: Sofia to New York flight.
Departure Dates for 2004:
May 15, May 22, May 29, June 5, June 12, June 19, June 26
Sep. 4, Sep. 11, Sep. 18, Sep. 25, Oct. 2, Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 23, Oct. 30, Nov. 6, Nov. 13
Cost for land only: US$3,400.-
Please ask us for our preferred air travel rates for departures from North America or Western Europe
Rates are per person double occupancy and include land arrangements. All ground transportation is included, hotels are five or four star. All reservations have to be paid in full 120 days before departure date. The tours are fully tax deductible as allowed by law.
For Reservations, please submit the form below and we will contact you for the final booking and to get your full details:Cultural & Epicurean Tour in Hungary & Bulgaria
Spring and Summer of 2004
Day 1
Arrive at the airport three hours prior to your international flight. Dinner and breakfast will be served en route. Try to get some rest!
Day 2
Welcome to Budapest, the Pearl of the Danube! At the airport you will be greeted by your local guide who will assist you with the transfer to your first class hotel (Kempinski, or similar) - porterage of 2 bags is included from arrival in Budapest to your departure.
After some time to freshen up with a welcome beverage and settling into your rooms, your guide will give you a short orientation walk in the heart of the city to familiarize you with the layout of the town. Tonight's dinner - your welcome banquet - will take place in a very special setting: on board of a paddlewheel boat by spectacularly illuminated Chain Bridge, with breathtaking views to Buda's Royal Palace.
After dinner those with enough energy might want to try their luck at one of Budapest's casinos or perhaps a Jazz club in this city of noted nightlife. To everyone else, Good Night!
Budapest
Capital city Budapest (pop. 2,115,000) is really two cities, Buda and Pest, connected by the beautiful Chain Bridge. Pest is as flat as Kansas, and Buda is as hilly as San Francisco. Known as the Queen of the Danube, this 1,000-year-old city is truly one of the world's most beautiful. It combines Modern, Neoclassical, Baroque, Art Nouveau and other architectural styles with the grandeur of the flowing Duna (or Danube), which meanders through the city for 17 mi.
In the Castle District of Buda, you'll find antiques stores, shops, pretty homes, taverns, museums (including an excellent music museum), restaurants (expensive, by local standards) and many of Budapest's prime attractions in a relatively compact area. Although the Fisherman's Bastion, adjacent to the Hilton, looks as if it were once part of a fortified defensive complex, it was built at the beginning of the century simply for decorative purposes. (The Hilton, incidentally, incorporates the remains of a 13th-century abbey.) Both the Bastion and the Hilton are atop a hill, with unbeatable views of the Duna, Pest and the stunning Parliament Building. Two other must-sees are in the area: the reconstructed Royal Palace (inside are the art and history museums) and Matthias Church. If you enter the palace from the riverside, be sure to walk around to the court on the opposite side to see the hunter's fountain - it's a wonderful rendering of a forest scene. Matthias Church, meanwhile, represents the very soul of the city. You can't miss its colorful, multi-spired roof, and you'll find the church is just as stunning inside. It has a huge pipe organ.
Attractions on the Pest side include the National Museum, the glittering Opera House, the recently renovated Market Hall (a cavernous wrought-iron retail market) and the Jewish Museum (adjoining the largest functioning synagogue in Europe). Shoppers will enjoy the Vaci utca, Pest's best-known shopping street. If you tire of shopping, head to the lavish Cafe Gerbeaud (located at one end of the street), one of the city's most ornate coffee and pastry shops. Other Pest sights include Hosok tere - Heroes' Square - site of Hungary's modern revolutions. Across the street is the Museum of Fine Arts (excellent Goya and El Greco collection) and farther down is the City Park, which contains an English-style garden, the Budapest Zoo (opened in 1866) and Vajdahunyad Castle (designed in 1896, the castle represents the different architectural styles that could be found in Hungary at that time). There are more than 200 thermal springs in the city, and the Turks built several public facilities that are still in use. There's an ornate bath at the Hotel Gellert declared a national monument; the indoor thermal pool there looks like an Art Nouveau version of a Roman bath.
Day 3
After buffet breakfast at your hotel, board your motor coach to discover the secrets of Buda and Pest on the two shores of the Danube, in a guided panoramic tour of Hungary's capital city. There will be only a small amount of walking, so everyone should feel free to come along. Your tour will start on the Buda side, and will take you to visit the city's medieval Castle, it's most Beautiful Gothic Church, the Matthias Church, the Baroque Royal Palace, and the early 20th-century fortress of the Citadel.At lunchtime, we'll head for a lighthearted culinary experience at the Bagolyvar (Owl's Castle) Restaurant in the City Park. This restaurant, featuring the best of Hungary's traditional cuisine, is associated with Budapest's foremost restaurant Gundel, owned by George Lang (also the owner of Cafe des Artistes in New York). The furnishings of the restaurant evoke a middle-class dining room of the early twentieth century: the tables are covered by heavy damask tablecloths, and there are old engravings on the walls. To evoke the atmosphere of a good, traditional restaurant of the past, George Lang created a restaurant and a kitchen in which exclusively women are at work. These ladies are the 'pillars' of the Owl's Castle: they draw up the carte de jour, they buy the ingredients, they prepare and serve the dishes and the beverages. Their traditional Hungarian hospitality makes the guests feel at home.
If you like cooking, take this opportunity to prepare some typical Hungarian dishes with the expert guidance of the restaurant's cooks. Guests will receive a diploma and the recipes in English, not to mention a copy of George Lang's special Gundel cookbook!
After lunch the city tour will continue, and this time you will get to explore the treasures of the Pest side: the Heroes' Square - an open-air "exhibition" of Hungary's 1000-year history; the glittering Opera House; the impressive St. Stephen Basilica; and the large complex of the Parliament building on the bank of the Danube, just to name a few. When the tour is over we will take you back to the hotel so that you can refresh yourself. Tonight we will take a culinary journey in time, to the splendid Renaissance courts of King Matthias. Restaurant Anonymous by the pond in City Park is sure to please with its period meals, served in period dishes, accompanied by charming period music! Transfer back to the hotel after dinner.
Day 4
After buffet breakfast at your hotel, board your motor coach to visit a very special place just north of Lake Balaton: Herend. If you like fine china, you are no doubt familiar with this name, a trademark in its own right. Today you will have a chance to get acquainted with the secrets of making these delicate dishes and figures, what is more: you can try yourself at the skills in the Factory's Mini-Manufactory! After the tour and workshop, we'll dine in the Factory's exquisite restaurant, Apicius, where you get to pick the pattern for the dishes your lunch will be served in!Herend - Porcelanium
Herend is at the pinnacle of porcelain making in Hungary. The manufactory, founded by Vince Stingl and revived by Mor Fischer, now more than 175 years old, brought the production of porcelain to perfection. From 1851 onwards, its meticulous, hand-painted masterpieces of unrivalled beauty won countless gold medals at world exhibitions. Herend Porcelain soon gained the place it deserved on the tables of monarchs, princes, aristocrats, statesmen and Hollywood stars.After lunch we head back to Budapest. After some time to refresh yourself at the hotel, we will return to the Buda Castle, and indulge on a trip through Hungary's 22 wine regions, savoring excellent wines at the prestigious House of Hungarian Wines. Later on tonight, be entertained by some of Hungary's leading folk dancers and musicians while enjoying your dinner!
Day 5
Your final day in Budapest. Spend the morning free to discover the city for yourself: visit some of the museums, spend some relaxing time in one of the city's spas, go shopping for some great gifts, or just stroll down the streets bordered with beautiful buildings. Your guide will be happy to advise you and help you make any arrangements. Travelers will be provided with a 'Budapest' card that provides free use of public transit, admission to most museums and discounts at select restaurants and shops. Lunch on your own.In the evening we will return to the City Park for a farewell banquet at the Restaurant Gundel (smart dress required). This festive dinner will begin in our Lorantffy Wine Cellar, where you can taste wines made out of traditional Hungarian grapes: Egri Leanyka, Badacsonyi Keknyelu, Szekszardi Kadarka, Villanyi Kekoporto.
Following the wine tasting you will be given a guided tour of the Restaurant to introduce you to its long-standing traditions and fine interiors. Then, the highlight of your tour in Budapest:
A Five Crown Imperial Menu!
- Appetizer: Home-smoked Breast and Liver of Duck served with a Brioche Crown (This dish was created for and served at the Banquet in honor of Otto von Habsburg, May 10, 1997). Wine: Tokay Szamorodni 1990, Disznoko Vineyard
- Main course choices:
- Fillets of Pike Perch on a bed of Spinach, and vegetable pearls with a Crown of Zala Crabs and Eger Chardonnay Sauce (Offered to H.H. Pope John Paul II on September 6, 1996). Wine: Gundel's Egri Chardonnay 1997
- Bouillon of Squab with Crown of Derelye Noodles (Served to H.M. Elizabeth II, on May 3, 1993).
- Tower of Veal and Sirloin of Beef on a Bastion of Potatoes with Forest Mushrooms Hungarian Style. ((Main course of a dinner in honor of H.M. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, September 12, 1996). Wine: Gundel Bull's Blood of Eger 1994, Magnum
- Dessert: Royal Orb stuffed with Chestnuts, accompanied by a praline-sceptre. (A dessert created for H.M. Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands, on May 23, 1996). Wine: Torley Sec Champagne
- Coffee & Tea.
Day 6
After breakfast, check out of your hotel and transfer by private motorcoach to Budapest Ferihegy Airport for your flight to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Your flight time will be two and a half hours. Your guide will meet you at the Sofia airport and assist you with the ransfer to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's "cultural capital". En route, you will be provided with brief background information about Bulgaria's history and your successive tour. Check in your four-star hotel and enjoy some time to refresh yourselves. A Welcome dinner will follow.
Plovdiv
Remains of ancient, mediaeval, revival and modern culture coexist and are interwoven into the unobtrusive, irresistible and eternal beauty of this city. They do not stand in each other's way; they complement and enrich each other to make Plovdiv a synonym of Bulgarian history and a genuine world city.
Plovdiv is very, very old. The Eternal City, as Rome is conventionally called, is much younger. Athens, Carthage and Constantinople came into being later. A contemporary of Troy and having survived Mycenae, Plovdiv is a city upon layers of cities and an epoch upon layers of epochs. Plovdiv is all in one: a Thracian and classical Greek polis, the pride of Philip of Macedon, the capital of Thrace under the Roman Empire, a center of Byzantinism, a stronghold of the Bulgarians, a dream of the crusaders -- a magnificent wealth and most important city.
Day 7
After breakfast, your guide will take you on a tour of the Old Town of Plovdiv in the beautiful National Revival complex renowned by UNESCO for its unique atmosphere and traditional architecture. Visit some of the ethnographic museums and originally furnished old mansions, the old churches, the Roman sites and the famous Amphitheater. You will have the afternoon on your own to discover your favorite spot in the centuries of history and tradition.
Plovdiv could be used not only as "study guide" for the European and Ottoman empires but also as an epitome of Bulgaria's own architectural and cultural growth. The Old Town of Plovdiv is a beautiful Renaissance town built during the 19th century. Today it has survived as a unique architectural ensemble on the three hills. Its houses reveal the remarkable urban culture of Bulgarian builders, as well as their sense of harmony and creative power. The brilliant architecture with its noble, stylish simplicity could be called rightfully the Baroque of Plovdiv. The Bulgarian people have always been proud that Old Plovdiv was restored and preserved as a large open museum in order to stay for future generations. Today Old Plovdiv is an autonomous area within the modern town with a municipality of its own.
Enjoy some free time for shopping and exploring the charming galleries, craftsman shops and coffee retreats. Find out for yourself the secrets of local craftsmen by having a try at pottery making, embroidery, etc. In the evening, prepare for an exquisite dinner at a traditional restaurant in the Old Town, dining virtually amongst Roman ruins from the beginning of our era, with a wonderful wine selection and authentic Bulgarian cuisine. Plovdiv casinos, bars and clubs are at the disposal of late night stayers.
Day 8
After breakfast your guide will escort you to the Bachkovo Monastery, the second largest in Bulgaria and a prominent educational center on the Balkan peninsula during 17th and 18th centuries. You will be taken on a guided tour of the visitorsí and residential parts. After that enjoy an exceptional barbecue by the river with selected local wines from the Assenovgrad region where the rare vines of Mavrud are cultivated. You can take home and select as a present for friends varieties of local spices and jams sold in the picturesque bazaar by the monastery.
After a refreshing break in the afternoon, prepare for a wine tasting at the Boutique Todoroff Winery (near Plovdiv), which won a Second Prize for one of their wines at the wine exhibition in Paris in 2003. Enjoy the special dinner prepared in your honor by the winery hosts. You can buy a bottle or two of your favorites from the winery's selection. Return to Plovdiv for the night.
Day 9
After breakfast you will be escorted to visit a recently found Thracian cult complex (still in excavations). Learn about the mysterious Thracians and their amazing cultural heritage and historic significance during that exclusive tour. In the afternoon, indulge in tasting wine at a white-wine producing winery in the famous Bulgarian Rose Valley. (Alternatively, visit the Aenoteque of Plovdiv Fair and taste some of the prize-winning wines at the years old Vinaria annual wine exhibition, held each February in Plovdiv. Dinner at an exclusive wine and barbecue restaurant in Plovdiv.
Day 10
After breakfast, pack and transfer to the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. Check in at your five-star hotel (Sheraton, Hilton or similar). Take some time to settle in and continue your day with a walking tour of the center of the Capital. Your guide will take you to the main shopping area and show you the buildings of the Parliament, Presidency and the National Art Gallery(former Tsar's Palace) while giving you essential background information on Bulgaria's political history and present. Enjoy some free time for shopping and sightseeing. In the evening enjoy a Farewell dinner at a wine restaurant in the capital. Return to your hotel and prepare yourselves for flying back home the next day.
Note: Depending on the dates of the tour, an evening in Plovdiv or Sofia will be dedicated to a cultural event such as an opera performance with Bulgaria's world famous opera singers, some of whom you may have already heard in New York, Rome, Milan or London.
Day 11
After breakfast enjoy some free time to relax or make last visits to the shopping areas and busy coffee shops in the capital. At noon time, depart from the Sofia Airport on time for your flight.
Enjoy a meal on board and have a safe flight!Contact us today for additional information: jetset@airguideonline.com
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