Tour Manager Notes: Catholic Kings

Overview The term “Catholic Kings” — Los Reyes Católicos — refers to the joint sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabel, whose determined policies united Spain, completed the...

Tour Manager Notes: Germany

Overview As you drive through Germany, sooner or later you will have a long bus ride on the Autobahn. The excitement of fast-car spotting normally...

Tour Manager Notes: Oxford

In about 700 AD, Frideswide, daughter of King Didian was being pursued by an importunate though royal lover. In fear for her chastity she took...

Tour Manager Notes: South of France

Overview The South of France is one of the most beautiful regions of Europe, bordered on one side by the Alps and on the other...

Tour Manager Notes: Windsor

Key dates 1066 – William the Conqueror crowned King of England 1080s – Building of Windsor begins 1215 – Magna Carta 1475 – St George’s...

Tour Manager Notes: Andalucia

Overview Andalucia is the generic term given to the southern region of Spain, spanning the peninsula from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and comprising the...

Tour Manager Notes: Chartres

Overview On a clear day, Chartres Cathedral is visible from 20 km away, rising out of the wheatfields of the flat Beauce region. Its sudden...

Tour Manager Notes: Giverny

Overview In 1883 Monet arrived in Giverny, a small village about 50 miles northwest of Paris. He had spent decades moving around, chasing light, landscapes...

Tour Manager Notes: Padua

Overview Padua is known as “La Dotta” (The Learned) — its university, founded in 1221, is the second oldest in Italy after Bologna, and still...

Tour Manager Notes: Spanish Customs

The Bullfight Although the English translation of the Spanish term corrida de toros, is bullfight, the ritual is not really a fight.  Correr in Spanish...