MORAL COMPASS: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

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Jewish Berlin Tour
Jewish Buenos Aires Tour
Jewish Prague
Jewish Ghetto & Trastevere in Rome
Jewish Catacombs in Rome
Jewish Vienna Tour (new)
Jewish Culture and Food Tour of NYC
Jewish Quarter Paris Tour
Hungarian Jewish Food Tour in Budapest
Jewish Quarter Budapest Tour
Jewish Heritage Tour of London
Jewish Barcelona Tour
Jewish Amsterdam Tour
Shylock’s Venice
Sachsenhausen Camp Excursion from Berlin

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Cultural Travel, heritage travel, walking tours

Context Travel Adds Jewish Vienna to catalog of 15 Jewish Heritage Walking Tours

October 5, 2016 MoralCompass

Judenplatz, the historic Jewish Quarter of Vienna, Austria, has a museum, an archeological excavation of a Medieval synagogue, and Holocaust memorial. © 2016 Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Context Travel, which offers walking tours around the world, has added a new walking tour in Vienna to its list of 15 different Jewish history and culture tours in cities around the world, from a Jewish Buenos Aires tour to a knoshing tour of the Lower East Side

The Jewish Vienna Walking Tour is led by a small group of historians, visiting key sites in Vienna, including: the City Temple, Holocaust Memorial, and neighborhoods of notable Jewish residents like Theodor Hertzl.

Docents from the Context network around the world share their insight and views on some of the greatest Jewish Heritage sites in the world, including their favorite synagogues and critical Holocaust Memorials that you must visit if you consider yourself an informed world citizen. See:
Holocaust Memorials Around the World and Jewish Synagogues Across the World

Here are links to the 15 tours:

Founded by National Geographic writer Paul Bennett and designer Lani Bevacqua, Context Travel is a network of English-speaking scholars and professionals, including art historians, writers, architects and gastronomes, who organize and lead walking seminars in thirty-seven (37) world cities, including: Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples, Milan, Paris, London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Cartagena, Istanbul, Athens, Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Milan, Dublin, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Montreal, Melbourne, and Sydney. A certified B Corporation, Context Travel was named one of the fastest-growing American companies in 2011 by Inc Magazine. Travel + Leisure has called Context one of the top European tour companies for its innovative approach to travel and the depth of its programs. To learn more about Context, visit the website at: www.contexttravel.com.

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bike trips, Cultural Travel, cycling trips

Imagine Cycling in the Footsteps of Julius Caesar: Ride & Seek Unveils 33-Day, 2,929K London-to-Rome Bike Tour

October 5, 2016 MoralCompass

*Ride & Seek has unveiled a cycling tour of historical proportions: tracing the footsteps of Julius Caesar on a 33-day, 2,929 km journey from London to Rome.*

(Sydney, Australia) — Ride & Seek has unveiled a cycling tour of historical proportions: tracing the footsteps of Julius Caesar on a 33-day, 2,929 km journey from London to Rome. Split into two stages, the “Caesar Expedition” traverses England, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Italy on a historical, gastronomic and cultural excursion. Crossing waterways, vine-clad hills and mountain passes, this is the only tour of its kind being offered today. The two-stage Caesar Expedition is slated for June 3, 2017 to July 5, 2017 and starts at $14,276 USD for the full tour or $7,405 USD for a 17-day stage.

“Caesar is considered by many historians to be the foremost figure in Western civilization,” said Ride & Seek Co-Founder Dylan Reynolds. “Our journey with him begins at the farthest northern point he reached as the first Roman invader of Britain, and ends in Rome, the city he eventually ruled as dictator and was assassinated in 10 years later.”

Starting in London, riders head to the white cliffs of Dover before traversing the channel into France by boat. The cycling route through France includes the Champagne region and into the gastronomic heartland of Burgundy. From there, guests ride alongside Lake Geneva in Switzerland and over to Italy.

“The culinary delights on this epic tour include delicious truite ardennaise, boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin to name just a few,” said Ride & Seek Co-Founder Sam Wood. “It’s fascinating that these regions now famous for fine wine and food were once the bloody battlefields of Caesar’s epic Gallic Wars.”

The route through Italy heads towards the picturesque northern lakes of Como and Maggiore before moving up towards the stunning limestone peaks of the Dolomites. From that point on, riders experience a bit of respite descending down to Venice and along the Adriatic coast. After crossing the mythical Rubicon, once marking the boundary between Roman controlled Italy and Cisalpine Gaul, the route heads inland through the more rugged regions of Abruzzo and Molise, before heading due east to Rome.

“We’ll enjoy some relief from the hills as we follow the Adriatic Coast before heading inland to the Via Amelia and crossing the Rubicon as Caesar did uttering those fateful words, ‘The die is cast’, as he descended on Rome ,” said Wood.

For more information, visit www.rideandseek.com/epic/caesar.

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National Parks, Nature Travel

Obama Quadruples Size of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Now Largest Marine Protected Area

August 28, 2016 MoralCompass

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (photo by James Watt).

President Obama bestowed a gigantic gift on the 100^th anniversary of the National Park Service: using his powers under the Antiquities Act, he quadrupled the size of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii, creating the world’s largest marine protected area.

“Building on the United States’ global leadership in marine conservation, today’s designation will more than quadruple the size of the existing marine monument, permanently protecting pristine coral reefs, deep sea marine habitats, and important ecological resources in the waters of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands,” the White House stated.

Following this historic conservation action, the President planned to travel to Hawaii where, on August 31, he will address leaders from the Pacific Island Conference of Leaders and the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which is being hosted in the United States for the first time. On Thursday, he will travel to Midway Atoll, located within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, to mark the significance of this monument designation and highlight first-hand how the threat of climate change makes protecting our public lands and waters more important than ever.

The monument was originally created in 2006 by President George W. Bush and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. Since that time, new scientific exploration and research has revealed new species and deep sea habitats as well as important ecological connections between the existing monument and the adjacent waters. Obama’s designation will expand the existing Marine National Monument by 442,781 square miles, bringing the total protected area of the expanded monument to 582,578 square miles.

The expansion provides critical protections for more than 7,000 marine species, including whales and sea turtles listed under the Endangered Species Act and the longest-living marine species in the world — black coral, which have been found to live longer than 4,500 years. Additionally, as ocean acidification, warming, and other impacts of climate change threaten marine ecosystems, expanding the monument will improve ocean resilience, help the region’s distinct physical and biological resources adapt, and create a natural laboratory that will allow scientists to monitor and explore the impacts of climate change on these fragile ecosystems.

The expanded monument area also contains resources of great historical and cultural significance. The expanded area, including the archipelago and its adjacent waters, is considered a sacred place for the Native Hawaiian community. It plays a significant role in Native Hawaiian creation and settlement stories, and is used to practice important activities like traditional long-distance voyaging and wayfinding. Additionally, within the monument expansion area, there are shipwrecks and downed aircraft from the Battle of Midway in World War II, a battle that marked a major shift in the progress of the war in favor of the Allies.

All commercial resource extraction activities, including commercial fishing and any future mineral extraction, are prohibited in the expansion area, as they are within the boundaries of the existing monument. Noncommercial fishing, such as recreational fishing and the removal of fish and other resources for Native Hawaiian cultural practices, is allowed in the expansion area by permit, as is scientific research.

In recognition of the value of Papahānaumokuākea to Native Hawaiians, and in keeping with President Obama’s commitment to elevating the voices of Native peoples in management of our resources, Secretary of the Interior Jewell and Secretary of Commerce Pritzker also announced that the Departments will soon sign an agreement with Hawaii’s Department of Natural Resources and Office of Hawaiian Affairs providing for a greater management role as a trustee in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. This arrangement has been previously requested by Senator Brian Schatz and Governor Ige.

President Obama’s action responds to a proposal put forward by Senator Schatz and prominent Native Hawaiian leaders, in addition to significant input and local support from Hawaii elected officials, cultural groups, conservation organizations, scientists and fishermen. This step also builds on a rich tradition of marine protection in Hawaiian waters and world-class, well managed fisheries, including a longline fishing fleet that is a global leader in sustainable practices.

Among the underlying rationales for his action, Obama, in his proclamation, stated, “The ocean will always be seen as an integral part of cultural identity for the Native Hawaiian community. The deep sea, the ocean surface, the sky, and all the living things in the area adjacent to the Monument are important to this culture and are deeply rooted in creation and settlement stories. Native Hawaiian culture considers the Monument and the adjacent area a sacred place. This place contains the boundary between Ao, the world of light and the living, and Pō, the world of the gods and spirits from which all life is born and to which ancestors return after death. Long-distance voyaging and wayfinding is one of the most unique and valuable traditional practices that the Native Hawaiian community has developed and continues to advance. Once on the verge of cultural extinction, new double-hulled sailing canoes, beginning with the Hōkūle’a in the 1970s, are bringing voyaging and wayfinding to new generations. This traditional practice relies on celestial, biological, and natural signs, such as winds, waves, currents and the presence of birds and marine life. The open ocean ecosystem and its natural resources in the adjacent area play an important role within the cultural voyaging seascape within the Hawaiian Archipelago.”

In addition to protecting more land and water than any Administration in history, President Obama has sought to lead the world in marine conservation by combating illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, revitalizing the process for establishing new marine sanctuaries, establishing the National Ocean Policy, and promoting ocean stewardship through the use of science- based decision making.

Exhibits, heritage travel, Historic Preservation, Museums & Exhibits

Photo Exhibit Honoring Elie Wiesel Opens in Moscow

August 28, 2016 MoralCompass

MOSCOW, RUSSIA — Limmud FSU, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, in partnership with the Shem Olam Institute and the Nativ organization, has just opened a photographic survey of the life of Elie Wiesel, at the Israeli Cultural Center in Moscow. The exhibition will run until the end of September.

An array of VIPs participated in the opening August 25, including Russian Chief Rabbi Avraham Shayevich; Russian Jewish Congress President Yuri Kenner; Israel’s Minister of Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver; Conference of European Rabbis President Pinchas Goldschmidt; Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Secretary General Mikhail Chlenov; Israeli-Russian Business Council Chairman Dr. Temur Ben Yehuda; Prof. Ilya Altman, representing the Claims Conference in the FSU; American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s representative in Moscow, Alik Nadan; and the founder and chairman of Limmud FSU, Chaim Chesler.

Wiesel was a leading supporter of the movement to free Soviet Jewry and in 1966 wrote a highly influential book on the struggle. “It’s fitting that Elie Wiesel was honored in Moscow by the very people he helped free 50 years after writing ‘The Jews of Silence,'” said Chesler. “His memory will serve as an inspiration and a symbol of our triumph.”

Dr. Yoel Rappel, the founder and director of the Elie Wiesel Archive at Boston University, curated the exhibition, which showcases milestones in Wiesel’s life, from his youth before and during the Holocaust to his work as a novelist, journalist, Jewish leader and Nobel Prize winner.

“When I asked Wiesel how the struggle for Soviet Jewry is more important than the struggle for Holocaust awareness, he replied: ‘the Jews of Europe were exterminated physically by the Nazis; the Jews of the Soviet Union were being destroyed spiritually. The first we were unable to avoid, but we must prevent the second from succeeding,'” said Rappel.

Wiesel was born in 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania, now in Romania. He was just 15 years old when the Nazis deported him and his family to Auschwitz. His mother and younger sister perished, yet his two older sisters survived. Elie and his father were later transported to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where his father died shortly before the camp was liberated in April 1945.

“Elie Wiesel, an Auschwitz survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, was a source of inspiration for Jews around the world – and all free people. A philosopher, teacher, journalist and writer, he embodied the struggle against evil and for the right of Diaspora Jews to immigrate to Israel,” said Landver. “There is no one who will be better remembered as a fighter for humanity. Wiesel managed to break through the Iron Curtain and allow many Jews to return to the Jewish homeland.”

In 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter appointed Wiesel as chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust. In 1980, he became the founding chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Wiesel and his wife Marion established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice. He received 140 honorary degrees from institutions of higher learning all over the world.

Elie Wiesel died in New York in July.

The entire exhibition may be viewed or downloaded here.

Limmud FSU is a nonprofit founded 10 years ago by Chaim Chesler, former treasurer of the Jewish Agency, and Sandra Cahn, a philanthropist from New York. Since its inaugural conference in Moscow in 2006, Limmud FSU has created an independent educational and communal network of annual conferences and festivals, attracting more than 35,000 participants in Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Russian Far East and the Volga-Ural region), Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Israel, North America (Greater New York, the West Coast, and Canada), and Australia. Limmud FSU engages young Russian-Jewish adults, empowering them to take ownership of their identity and to connect with their communities through pluralistic, egalitarian volunteer-driven conferences of Jewish learning and culture. In this way, Limmud FSU strives to foster the next generation of young Russian-speaking Jewish leadership and so revitalize Jewish communities in the countries of the former Soviet Union, and in countries with Russian-Jewish communities, wherever they may be. Key partners include the Claims Conference, JDC, philanthropist Matthew Bronfman, Aaron Frenkel, Michal Grayevsky, Ronald Lauder, Diane Wohl, the Jewish National Fund (KKL), UJA-Federation of New York, Israel Bonds, the Jewish Agency, and others. For additional details: www.limmudfsu.org.
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Cultural Travel, heritage travel, Historic Places, Historic Preservation

American Indian Intertribal PowWow at Jamestown Settlement, Williamsburg, Oct 1-2

Kevin Locke performs Hoop Dance. Jamestown Settlement is hosting an American Indian Intertribal PowWow Oct. 1-2, 2016

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.– Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia history and culture, will present an American Indian Intertribal Powwow on Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, featuring song and dance by members of American Indian tribes, storytelling and a film presentation.

An Evening Concert & Flute Workshops With Kevin Locke

A highlight of the weekend event will be a Saturday evening performance by folk artist Kevin Locke, a world-renowned Hoop Dancer, an indigenous Northern Plains flute player and storyteller. Locke, Native American Music Award winner for 2009 Record of the Year and National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow, will perform traditional songs and original music from his 12 albums, most recently The First Flute, Open Circle, Keepers of the Dream and Dream Catcher, combining songs on flute with American Indian stories touching on the Lakota culture and sign language. At the conclusion of the evening, accompanied by Powwow singers, Locke will perform a hoop dance, an athletic healing dance in which he uses 28 hoops to form various animals and shapes. Audience members will be selected to learn and take part in this traditional hoop dance. The evening concert begins at 6:30 p.m., and admission is $10 for adults and $5 for ages 6-12.

As a Lakota and Anishinabe, Locke works with young people on American Indian reservations to ensure the survival and growth of the indigenous culture and shares the culture’s legacies with others during his world travels. Locke will offer flute workshops at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in which he will show children how to build and paint their own flute and teach them a song. Participants during the Saturday workshops will be invited to perform with Locke during the Saturday evening performance, and those participating in the Sunday workshops can take part in the Sunday daytime Powwow dancing event. Flute workshops require advance reservations and cost $40 per person on Saturday (includes museum admission to daytime event and evening concert) and $35 on Sunday (includes museum admission to daytime event). Each workshop, designed for ages 8 and older, is limited to 15 participants.

American Indian Intertribal Powwow activities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. include:

Powwow Singing & Dancing

A Grand Entry with a parade of dancers will take place at 12:30 p.m. each day in a dance circle on the museum mall, followed by an afternoon of singing and dancing until 4:30 p.m. Master of Ceremonies will be David White Buffalo, a member of the Sincagu band of the Lakota Nation, and Arena Director will be Clark Stewart of the Chickahominy Tribe. Among the featured singers will be Thunder Voices of the Lumbee, from Lumberton, N.C.; Zotigh Singers of the Kiowa, from Oklahoma; and The White Buffalo Singers of the Lakota, from Rosebud, S.D.

Film Presentation

Visitors can view the one-hour documentary film “Rising Voices” 10 a.m. and 12:30 and 3 p.m. each day to learn about the endangered indigenous language of the Lakota people at. The film is part of The Language Conservancy’s ongoing effort to preserve and revitalize languages in North America. Following the film, elders and first-language speakers from the Lakota in South Dakota and Crow in Montana will be on hand to discuss the film and facilitate children’s activities.

Storytelling

Grace Ostrum of the Accohannock will present American Indian stories at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day.

Birds of Prey

A “Birds of Prey” program, featuring falcons and other raptors, will be presented on the museum mall by Eagle Pines Falconry at 11:45 a.m. each day of the event.

‘Bartering for a Continent’ Special Exhibition

Jamestown Settlement visitors also can enjoy the “Bartering for a Continent: How Anglo-Indian Trade Shaped America” special exhibition through December 10, exploring the importance of trade between American Indians and English colonists, from the founding of Jamestown through the American Revolution, and the role of Virginia in the development of a new world of exchange in goods and commodities across the North American continent.

Basket Workshops

Powhatan Indians in the 17th century made baskets of bark, grasses and vines to carry items harvested on land and from waterways. Visitors can pre-register for a two-hour workshop at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. October 1 and 2 to discover the process of making twined baskets and take it home. Workshops are $20 per person and limited to 15 participants.

Jamestown Settlement features an introductory film, expansive exhibition galleries that chronicle the nation’s 17th-century beginnings in Virginia in the context of its Powhatan Indian, English and west central African cultures, and historical interpretation at outdoor re-creations of a Powhatan village, the three ships that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607, and a colonial fort.

The Jamestown Settlement Special Exhibition, Bartering for a Continent: How Anglo-Indian Trade Shaped America, is on view June 4 – December 10, 2016.

The American Indian Intertribal Powwow daytime event is included with admission: $17.00 for adults, $8.00 for ages 6 through 12, and children under 6 are free. Separate admission is required for the Saturday evening concert with Kevin Locke and advance reservations required for flute and basket workshops. Tickets are available at https://jyfemail.jyf.virginia.gov/eStore/.

Jamestown Settlement, located at State Route 31 and the Colonial Parkway (2110 Jamestown Road), is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information about the American Indian Intertribal Powwow, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838 or visit http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-settlement/powwow/

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Historic Places, Women's History

New Sculpture Commemorates Tennessee’s Role in Ratifying Women’s Right to Vote

*Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument (Dean Dixon photo; PRNewsFoto/Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monume)*

NASHVILLE, Tenn.– A monument celebrating Tennessee’s pivotal role in securing victory for woman suffrage was unveiled on Women’s Equality Day, Aug. 26, 2016, in Nashville’s Centennial Park.

Tennessee was the last state of the then 48 states that could possibly ratify the 19^th Amendment which granted all American women the right to vote in 1920. Editorial cartoonists called the state “The Perfect 36” since three-quarters of the states were necessary for ratification.

This privately funded $900,000 monument is sculpted by renowned Nashville artist Alan LeQuire, who created the 19^th Amendment bas relief sculpture that hangs inside the Tennessee State Capitol and Athena Parthenos inside The Parthenon at Centennial Park.

A photo hung at The Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville immortalizes the fact that the hotel was headquarters for both the Suffragettes and the anti-Suffragette movements lobbying the Tennessee Legislature, which ultimately became the last state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It features five women who were actually in Nashville during the final ratification effort – Anne Dallas Dudley of Nashville; Frankie Pierce of Nashville; Sue Shelton White of Jackson; Abby Crawford Milton of Chattanooga; and Carrie Chapman Catt, the national suffrage leader who came to Nashville during the summer of 1920 to direct the pro-suffrage forces and stayed at the Hermitage Hotel.

“There is nothing outside the state capitol building that depicts this historic event. By having this monument in Centennial Park, which has a historic connection to the suffrage movement, it will be seen by thousands of visitors,” said Paula F. Casey of Memphis, who is Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument, Inc., board president.

Casey, who helped publish The Perfect 36: Tennessee Delivers Woman Suffrage(www.theperfect36.com), said the statewide volunteer board has worked for nearly six years to get the monument completed.

“We’ve overcome a lot of obstacles to make this happen. What we had to go through pales in comparison to the struggle the suffragists went through to win the right to vote for us,” she said. “This monument is for the ages. A hundred years from now, people will be reading about these remarkable women. Public art is forever.”

For more information, go to www.tnsuffragemonument.org.

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Cultural Travel, heritage travel, international travel

The Nation Magazine Hosts Trip to Iran in December

The Nation Magazine’s December tour to Iran will be the second one this year.

The Nation Magazine is mounting a 10-night educational excursion to Iran, specially curated for a limited group of Nation readers and supporters. The trip will offer a rare opportunity to experience the people, politics, culture, and history of a country that has been at the very center of geopolitics for decades—yet that so few Americans have ever had an opportunity to visit.

The group of about 30 will fly together the evening of December 9 from New York City, and arrive at Tehran’s international airport late the following day. After settling into one of Tehran’s premier hotels, the first two days will be spent visiting the city’s preeminent museums, experiencing important historical and cultural sites, and savoring traditional Iranian food in the city’s finest restaurants and food markets.

Next, the group will fly to Shiraz, one of the oldest cities of ancient Persia, known as the “city of poets, literature, wine, and gardens.” The itinerary also visits the historic cities of Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rustam, Pasargadae, Nain, Isfahan, Kashan, and Qom. After returning to Tehran on December 17, there will be more touring of the capital city—including its famous Grand Bazaar—as well as opportunities to meet with academics and other prominent Iranians. The group returns to New York on December 20.

The trip is hosted in Iran by Charles Bittner, The Nation’s long-serving academic liaison. Bittner currently directs The Nation’s cultural- and educational-exchange program in Cuba and Iran, and also teaches in the sociology department at St. John’s University in New York City. Additionally, the group will accompanied throughout the tour by Afshin Kepasa, one of Iran’s most experienced tour guides, who has graduate degrees in modern languages and politics from the University of Tehran.

This will be The Nation’s second tour of Iran this year. Previous participants have found Iran to be a phenomenal place to visit, that its people are exceptionally hospitable and generous, and that the delegation was treated with the utmost respect and benevolence.

“Please note that the purpose of this trip is not at all political,” Bittner writes. “Rather, our objective is to experience firsthand the culture and history of this strategically important yet largely unfamiliar country.”

The all-inclusive cost of this tour is $7,265/$7,795 per person(double/single occupancy) and includes round-trip airfare from New York to Tehran; 10 nights at four-star hotels throughout Iran; a one-way flight from Tehran to Shiraz; all travel authorizations and Iranian visas; ground transportation; airport transfers; lectures; guided visits to Iran’s renowned museums and historical sites; most meals; and many other captivating activities and events.

Space is limited. For additional information or to register, contact Charles Bittner at [email protected].

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Antarctica, expeditionary cruises

Poseidon Expeditions Offers Incentives for Booking Suites for 2 Antarctica Cruises in December 2016

*Poseidon Expeditions is offering booking incentives on two December sailings to Antarctica.*

PROVIDENCE, RI– Antarctica’s ice-bound landscape is rife with activity in the ample sunlight of long austral summer days. Penguins, for example, are in a flurry of courting, nest building and egg incubation.

To witness this fascinating activity, Poseidon Expeditions, a leading provider of polar adventures in the expedition cruise industry, offers complimentary overnight camping to guests who book Deluxe, Premium and Owners suites on either of two late Fall departures. This means guests may literally awaken with the birds and watch their antics close at hand. This complimentary camping offer is a $250 per person value on top of the specially priced suites.

The balcony suites with bird’s eye view privileges also offer on new bookings only a 15 percent per person reduction off of regular rates on November 24-December 5, 2016 and December 4-16, 2016 departures of Classic Antarctic Peninsula voyages. After the discount, per person double rates start at $10,196 (Deluxe), $11,301 (Premium), and $13,936 (Owners). The suites feature private balconies and large, sliding glass doors out to the balcony. Sea Spirit’s suites are large by expedition ship standards and can easily accommodate a third person for $5,995 (on November 24) and $6,295 (on December 4). The rate includes:

One pre-voyage hotel night at the Arakur Hotel & Spa in Ushuaia;

Pre-cruise group transfers from the airport to the hotel in Ushuaia

Group transfer to the ship on day of embarkation;

Group transfer to airport or central location upon disembarkation in Ushuaia;

Shipboard accommodations;

All scheduled landings/excursions;

Complimentary camping

Leadership throughout by experienced Expedition Leader & Expedition Team;

All meals on board throughout the voyage;

Tea and coffee station 24 hours daily;

Welcome and Farewell cocktails;

Rubber boots for shore landings for the time of the cruise;

Branded Poseidon Expeditions parka;

All port fees;

Pre-departure materials;

Digital Voyage Log.

Poseidon Expeditions’ 114-passenger, deluxe expedition M/V Sea Spirit, while small and nimble enough to visit a multitude of landing sites, embraces guests with space (all-suite accommodations range from 215 to 463 square feet), two multi-purpose lounges, a well-stocked library and a restaurant serving gourmet-quality meals. Ample deck space facilitates viewing passing icescapes and wildlife. The vessel has an ice-strengthened hull, a fleet of Zodiacs and a set of retractable fin stabilizers for smoother sailing. Activities include Zodiac excursions, hiking, optional kayaking and camping, and informative presentations aboard. The ship’s expedition staff-to-passenger ratio of 1:9 is one of the best in the industry.

Typical cruises from Ushuaia, Argentina, to the Antarctic Peninsula are from 10 to 12 nights. This allows for a reasonable amount of time for daily landings, which are always subject to ice and weather conditions. Travelers often opt for extensions before or after the Antarctic cruise, or they choose a departure that includes other destinations. For example, many travelers want to include a few days in Buenos Aires where they connect with the local flights to Ushuaia, the country’s southernmost town and point of embarkation. In Ushuaia guests can visit Tierra del Fuego either pre- or post-cruise. Some itineraries include the Falkland Islands and South Georgia where they can visit the terrain made famous by explorer Ernest Shackleton, whose gravesite is in Grytviken. Guests on these itineraries can witness King Penguins, the second-largest penguin species, and nesting Wandering Albatross.

The complete 2017-18 Arctic and Antarctic schedules, rates and special offers can be found at https://poseidonexpeditions.com/. A new 80-page catalog detailing the company’s ships and activities is also available and can be requested online or through any of the Poseidon Expeditions offices.

For inquires and reservations in North America, or to request a catalog, contact the company’s Providence, RI, sales and reservation office at [email protected] or by telephone at 347-801-2610.

Poseidon Expeditions, 2ith offices in the US, UK, Germany, Russia and China, is a leading provider of polar expeditions in the cruise industry. In addition to the Sea Spirit, the company provides guests with the opportunity to travel to the geographic North Pole aboard the 50 Years of Victory, the largest and most modern nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world. Fourteen-day, top-of-the-world programs are scheduled for both the 2017 and 2018 summer seasons. The company is committed to safe and environmentally responsible polar travel. It is a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO).

Follow Poseidon Expeditions on Social Media:
Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/poseidonexpeditions
Twitter:           https://twitter.com/poseidonexp
YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/user/pxpeditions
Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/poseidonexpeditions/
Website          http://poseidonexpeditions.com/

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Culinary Travel, festivals & events, food-and-wine travel

Guernsey International Food Festival Set for Sept 23-Oct 2 Celebrates Island’s Gastronomic Heritage

Following the success of 2015’s inaugural Guernsey International Food Festival, the foodie’s paradise is back this September with more exciting culinary indulgences. This festival, taking place from Sept. 23 – Oct. 2, 2016, is a celebration of the island’s rich local produce and gastronomic heritage while paying homage to influences from the international stage.

Jean-Christophe Novelli is the celebrity ambassador, leading events across the island from farmers’ markets to cook-offs, culinary master classes, chef residencies and wine tastings. Two of Guernsey’s finest hotels, The Duke of Richmond Hotel and The Old Government House Hotel & Spa, Guernsey’s only five-star property, will be participating by showcasing the island’s bounty of gourmet food and varied hospitality.

Here are a few highlights of what visitors and guests can expect:

Curry Leaf Café Masterclass Lunch

Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25 from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Venue: The Old Government House Hotel & Spa

Tickets: $53 including welcome drink and glass of wine with lunch

Head Chef Kanthi Kiran Thamma of Brighton’s Curry Leaf Café hosts a master class lunch in The Old Government House’s Curry Room featuring classic dishes from Kerala and Southern India. While preparing the dishes, Chef Kanthi will answer general questions about Indian cuisine and describe how to re-create similar entrées at home. A three-course lunch serves as the finale, complete with a carefully selected wine pairing.

British Game Gala Dinner featuring Ridgeview Wine Estate and Blackdown Artisan Spirits

Saturday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m.

Venue: The Old Government House Hotel & Spa

Tickets: $92 including dinner and matched wines

Channel Islands Chef of the Year 2016, Simon McKenzie of The Old Government House Hotel & Spa, prepares a gala dinner featuring the best of seasonal game meats. Each dish is perfectly paired with an award-winning sparkling English wine from the Ridgeview Estate, craft spirits from Blackdown Artisan Spirits (both hailing from Sussex), and fine wine from local wine merchant Bucktrouts.

Food Lab Dinner

Tuesday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.

Venue: The Duke of Richmond Hotel

Tickets: $53 for five courses ($79 including matched wines)

Five producers, five chefs, five dishes. The festival’s most creative dining experience, randomly matching kitchen and production talent for a never-to-be-repeated gourmet meal at The Duke of Richmond.

International Chef Exchange: St. Lucia comes to Guernsey

Thursday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m.

Venue: The Old Government House Hotel & Spa

Tickets: $73 for three courses including matched wines in advance from The Old Government House Hotel

The Cliff at Cap Restaurant is one of the most highly sought-after restaurants in St. Lucia, recently hailed by the New York Times as one of the best restaurants on the island. In one of the Caribbean’s most dramatic settings overlooking the surging Caribbean Sea, the restaurant is under the direction of Executive Chef Craig Jones. His nouveau French West Indian menu elegantly presents the bounty of St. Lucia’s fresh local produce and seafood readily sourced on this tropical island. Chef Craig takes over the kitchens of Chef Simon at The Old Government House Hotel for one night only, treating guests to a mouth-watering three-course dinner with accompanying wine, including some of his Caribbean favorites such as poached lobster ravioli, pan-fried kobe with caramelized plantain and an island-spiced doughnut.

This Chef Exchange is part of a reciprocal agreement where UK chefs swapping kitchens with international chefs across the globe. Old Government House’s Chef Simon will be flying over to St. Lucia for a Taste of Guernsey weekend, taking place on the Caribbean Island in February 2017.

The Guernsey International Food Festival is preceded by Guernsey Cocktail Week from September 16 – 24, 2016. Various venues across the island, including The Old Government House Hotel and The Duke of Richmond, will produce special signature cocktails based entirely on local produce.

The Old Government House Hotel & Spa is located in the heart of St. Peter Port and offers the finest in five-star luxury. Five minutes’ walk from the picturesque quayside, this hotel is perfectly placed to explore the island and provides guests with a ‘home away from home’ boasting fine dining facilities, the stylish Crown Club , an outdoor heated swimming pool and luxurious Spa and fitness center.

Just up the road is The Duke of Richmond Hotel which offers unparalleled service in peaceful surroundings. Overlooking a quiet park, this elegant property is home to the relaxing Leopard Bar and Restaurant where guests can sit back and enjoy a range of cocktails and expertly prepared dishes, a chic monochrome Residents’ Lounge and an outdoor heated swimming pool complete with sun loungers perfect for glorious Guernsey summer days.

Room rates at The Old Government House Hotel & Spa during the festival start at $260 per room, per night, including full English breakfast, based on two people sharing. Room rates at The Duke of Richmond Hotel during the festival start at $199 per room, per night, including full English breakfast, based on two people sharing.

For details and reservations, contact:

The Old Government House Hotel & Spa at +44 1481 724921 or email [email protected]. Visit online at www.theoghhotel.com.

The Duke of Richmond Hotel at +44 1481 726221 or email [email protected]. Visit online at dukeofrichmond.com.

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