Archive for the ‘Holiday’ Category

It’s Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

August 27, 2012

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – everywhere you go on this fabulous historic holiday adventure.  You’ll experience the holiday lights at Norfolk Botanical Gardens; enjoy the Star of Wonder Show at Virginia’s Living Museum; participate in Jamestown Settlement’s Christmas Celebration; visit Christmas Town at famed Busch Gardens;  partake in the Christmas Tour at Berkeley Plantation AND, after touring Colonial Williamsburg, regal in all its Christmas finery, experience the extravaganza of a lifetime as Christmas and holiday cheer abound with fireworks, music, dancing, caroling and dramatic presentations at the GRAND ILLUMINATION!  This adventure will put the spirit of the holiday in your heart and create memories to last a lifetime.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to journey in the footsteps of the Magi, seeking the identity of a mysterious star which foretold the coming of a king? Over the years, the scientific thinking has changed, archeology has revealed new clues about the lands in which these events took place, and our understanding of who the magi might have actually been has grown. As you experience the “Star of Wonder” show in the Abbitt Planetarium, you will be treated to an immersive look at the journey of the Magi, as the latest clues are examined, seeking a fuller understanding of  the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem.   This is a truly unique experience, not often duplicated.

At Christmas Town: A Busch Gardens Celebration. you will be treated to dazzling shows and one-of-a-kind gift ideas.  Gaze at more than five million, yes million, twinkling lights while enjoying Busch Gardens’ signature peppermint fudge hot chocolate. A complete Christmas Town experience includes a visit to Santa’s workshop and the parks’ 50-foot tall, light-animated Christmas tree with computerized lights that dance and change color during special evening light shows.

Berkeley Plantation, a 1726 mansion, will be beautifully decorated with fresh greenery from Berkeley’s gardens. Costumed guides will add that special touch to your holiday season with stories of Christmas at Berkeley through four centuries of history. The tour of the manor house, beautifully decorated with fresh arrangements and wreaths cut from Berkeley’s boxwood, cedar and holly trees is followed by a delightful lunch at a Colonial Tavern.

This wonderful holiday adventure holds it all – with time for shopping, a lunch cruise, dinner in an Abbey and something we Midwesterners can experience – holiday lights at the beach!!

Now you know I’m always about the food!  Well my research led me to explore the Freemason Abbey and all I can say is – go hungry!  The Abbey recently won a challenge for the best She-Crab Soup in the area so be sure to try it! She Crab Soup is a creamy crab soup with a spicy yet mild kick and it can be ordered as a cup or in a crock size.  I’d take the crock because we don’t have many restaurants here who feature such a treat!  As for dessert, there is in an outstanding apricot bread pudding drunk with brandy sauce and smatterings of raisin.  The deep dark chocolate Black Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting is quite an impressive cake as well.  It is moist and rich with flavor.  Now, what you do between soup and dessert is totally up to you – but please be adventurous!!

This escorted mini – vacations also features a guided tour of Colonial Williamsburg-America’s largest living history musuem of over 500 buildings and 180 acres of magnificent gardens. You will have free time to visit the shops in Merchants Square or discover more of Colonial Williamsburg on your own. Over 40 locally-owned shops and restaurants are waiting. At dusk the Grand Illumination Festivities begin. The Grand Illumination named because hundreds of candles are lit simultaneously in the windows of the Historic Area buildings signaling the official opening of the holiday season in the restored area. A truly awesome sight! Each door is decorated with wreaths fashioned from all natural materials such as apples, oranges, holly and sprig. A variety of traditional holiday entertainment takes place; fifes and drums provide 18th century holiday music; balladeers and musicians perform; and costumed performer’s present entertainment. If this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit – nothing will.

In the 18th century, illuminations were sometimes held to commemorate the birth of the reigning sovereign. Today the Grand Illumination in the Historic Area celebrates and commemorates its special visitors such as you. An event that is not to be missed – it is sure to be the highlight of your holiday season.  Look at this trip as a Christmas present to yourself.  Please review the full itinerary and sign up for this escorted vacation as soon as possible.  We all know Christmas will be here before we know it!  Buon Natale.

Grand Illuminaton & 100 Miles of Lights (click here for itinerary)
November 29 – December 3, 2012 (5 days, 4 nights)

Eadie – Interlude blog team

•For immediate service, please call (317) 913-0387 or email us•Share your Interlude stories and photos on this blog •Sign up for our email newsletter •RSS this blog

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Posted in Holiday, Short Getaway, Travel Infomation, Upcoming Tours | Leave a Comment »

Building Dreams, Friendships and Memories

July 13, 2010

Not only is this the theme of this year’s Tournament of Roses, but also the theme of the exciting escorted vacation to Southern California.  Enjoy an Interlude that includes the best of the best. Great food, exciting tours, shows, museums and a fabulous New Year’s Eve Party!  On New Year’s Day your reserved seats to the feted Rose Bowl Parade add icing to this fabulous party cake.

What do Hank Aaron, John Wayne, Erma Bombeck, Kermit the Frog and Emeril Lagasse have in common?  They have all been selected to serve as Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade! Past Grand Marshals have also included actors, astronauts, writers, artists, athletes and political figures.  This year you can enjoy the excitement of New Year’s morning in the tradition and pageantry of magnificent floral floats, high-stepping equestrian units and spirited marching bands at the 122nd Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

Each year, the new President of the Tournament of Roses has the privilege of selecting a theme for the upcoming festivities. The theme is used to inspire the ideas for the magnificent floral floats that will appear in the Rose Parade. The Tournament of Roses has come a long way since its early days. The Rose Parade’s elaborate floats now feature high-tech computerized animation and exotic natural materials from around the world. Although a few floats are still built exclusively by volunteers from their sponsoring communities, most are built by professional float building companies and take nearly a year to construct. The year-long effort pays off on New Year’s morning, when millions of viewers around the world enjoy the Rose Parade.  Be among those who share this experience first-hand and then enjoy the opportunity to see those floats up close the next day at the “Showcase of Floats.”  They are truly works of art and imagination.

I am always fascinated with process.  I love the beauty and pageantry, but my mind wants process … so I did a little digging.  The Rose Parade’s elaborate floats have come a long way since the Tournament’s early days. Today, float building is a multi-million dollar business and float construction begins just after the previous year’s Parade is over.  The process starts with a specially-built chassis, upon which is built a framework of steel and chicken wire. In a process called “cocooning”, the frame is sprayed with a polyvinyl material, which is then painted in the colors of the flowers to be applied later. Every inch of every float must be covered with flowers or other natural materials, such as leaves, seeds or bark. Volunteer workers swarm over the floats in the days after Christmas, their hands and clothes covered with glue and petals. The most delicate flowers are placed in individual vials of water, which are set into the float one by one.   Computerized animation has had an enormous impact on Rose Parade floats. Recent Parade floats have featured King Kong stomping through a floral jungle, a guitar-playing dinosaur, pigs dancing the hula and a 60-foot-tall talking robot, all controlled by computers. But through all the changes, the Rose Parade has remained true to its floral beginnings, and I’m told that each float is decorated with more flowers than the average florist will use in five years!

Facts to throw around while you’re watching the parade.

  • There are only 16 openings every year for the marching bands and the average number of applicants is over 50.
  • The first marching band to appear in the Rose Parade was the Monrovia Town Band in 1891, with fewer than 20 members. Today, it’s not uncommon to find a 250-member band marching in the Rose Parade.
  • Bands are selected approximately 14 months in advance to give the chosen groups time to raise the money needed for the trip to Pasadena
  • The Rose Parade’s equestrians are another link with the Parade’s past. Each Parade features over 300 horses and riders, highlighting a wide variety of breeds. Graceful Andalusians, high-stepping Peruvian Pasos, exotic Bashkir Curlies and crowd-pleasing Miniature Horses are always favorites of Rose Parade audiences.
  • Early Grand Marshals were local heroes, many of them Tournament organizers. The first Grand Marshal from outside Pasadena was San Francisco Mayor James Rolph in 1930 and it grew from there.  Last year, the honor went to  Captain Chesley Sullenberger III – the Hero of the Hudson.

An exciting escorted vacation is within your grasp.  Start the new year right and enjoy the opportunity that Interlude is presenting.  Enjoy the lights, camera and action of Hollywood, the Reagan Presidential Library, the Glory of Christmas and the Fabulous Palm Spring Follies.  We’ve even left some time on your own to pursue what interests you most!  It’s all there waiting for you – I hope you accept the invitation to start 2011 with a bang and begin by building dreams, friendships and  memories with Interlude’s holiday tour.

The Tournament of Roses Parade (click here for itinerary)
December 29 – January 3, 2011 (6 days, 5 nights)  

Eadie
– Interlude blog team  

•For immediate service, please call (317) 913-0387 or email us
•Share your Interlude stories and photos on this blog
•Sign up for our email newsletter
•RSS this blog

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Posted in Holiday, Our Experiences, Special Benefits, Travel Infomation, United States, Upcoming Tours | Leave a Comment »

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