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ART HISTORY ALIVE
Newsletter
Winter 2008
 
Hi Everyone,                                                                                                                  
 
    To celebrate a decade of continued success in escorting lovely people to gorgeous places and the beginning of our new and exciting 2008 season, AHA has created a DVD entitled "Art History Alive Presents Italy", and some of our wonderful clients are in it. We would love to send you a complimentary copy to enjoy. Just drop an email with your mailing address to aha@arthistoryalive.com and it will be on its way. Additionally, in this winter newsletter we will explain what is new and fresh from AHA:
 
- The AHA DVD
 
- Weddings in Tuscany
 
- The Art History Alive Blog
 
- Upcoming Trips for 2008
 
If there were a Disc 2, "The making of Art History Alive Presents Italy", you would see two hunched bodies staring at a huge computer screen moving photographs around, setting each one to particular musical notes for hours on end. One of the more tedious things my son, Taylor, and I have ever done. Two or three days later (I really can't remember which) we emerged bleary-eyed, like moles coming out into the light, with a master that we were happy with. Happily, we were still speaking to each other.
 
The important thing about this DVD is that every photo you see was taken while traveling with Art History Alive. So, as the saying goes, "what you see is what you get" on one or our trips to Italy. It begins in Tuscany featuring the castle we call "home" in the village of Proceno, the gorgeous surrounging countryside, and moves into a wedding sequence. (More on weddings later.) There are brief segments focusing on Rome, delicious foods, and lovely friends, and finishes on the Amalfi Coast with shots of Sorrento, Positano, and Capri.
 
These are our favorite destinations in the world. I hope that you will enjoy watching this DVD as much as I do, and I hope that you will want to share it with friends and relatives that might like to take part in our travels. If you would like additional copies, just let me know and I will send them. Help me to spread the word.
 
Weddings in a castle in Tuscany. Wow, these are so beautiful, very unique, and surprisingly simple to plan. In an exciting joint venture with the owners of Castello di Proceno, I will become your "wedding planner" listening carefully to your dreams and helping to make them a reality. As your agent, I will make all of your arrangements and then arrive a week ahead of your special day, so that when you and your guests are welcomed into Castello di Proceno, everything from flowers to music, from delicious Tuscan food, to interesting side trips, are in readiness. Pictures of the beautiful result, a castle wedding, are included in my DVD.
 
I'm very excited to announce that Art History Alive will soon have its own blog. When it is completed I will contact you via email with a link to the new page. There you will find the upcoming trips for 2008 explained and illustrated, an application to sign up, articles of interest from "Castle Hopping in Tuscany" to "The Art of Italian Eating", and a bibliography of great reads for those who are readying for a trip or for those who just love to read. There will be an easy way for you to send me your comments and some food and wine pairings as well. It's going to be fun. When you receive notification that the AHA blog is up and running, I do hope that you will visit and choose to subscribe. Becoming a subscriber is free and easy, and will be explained in the email. Then, when I post a new article or a new destination itinerary, as a subscriber you will automatically receive a short email letting you know that there is something new from AHA along with a link to get you there. In this way you can check it out at your convenience simply by clicking on the link provided. I can't wait!
 
I have planned three very exclusive and "under the surface" trips for 2008:
 
May 3rd thru 11th, 2008 - California: Coast, Castle, and Cabernet - This tour is eight days spent between San Francisco, Carmel, Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and more. On our travels by private minivan along the Pacific Ocean, we will visit two of my favorite California missions and taste some of the fabulous wines coming out of California's Central Valley. One afternoon we will have a beautiful picnic lunch in a grove of giant, 1,000 year-old redwood trees that soar 180 feet above us. It is very quiet there and feels a bit like being in a cathedral. Can't wait to show you. Our hotels are small and boutique, three on the ocean, one on the famous hills of San Francisco, just steps from Chinatown, and one in the heart of Gentleman Rancher country where steak dinners abound. Price per person: $2,800.00*
 
June 3rd thru 10th, 2008 - Paris in Springtime - Eight days in this beautiful city overflowing with art and culture. Along with visiting the Louvre Museum and Notre Dame, we will have a sunny lunch in a huge garden, take an evening boat ride down the River Seine, and enjoy some shopping. One day our private car will take us out of Paris to visit the Chateau of Versailles in the morning, and then on to Monet's home and gardens in Giverny in the afternoon, just as the light is perfect. The Eiffel Tower is so spectacular, the Ile Saint Louis is so quaint, and our little French hotel is a doll house. Price per person: $3,900.00*
 
September 17th thru 29th, 2008 - The Best of Italy: Art, History, Food, and Fun - This itinerary will find some of you in Italy for two wonderful weeks this fall. We will begin in Florence with four days to explore this gem of the Renaissance. Our favorite little hotel, where we have stayed for years in the shadow of the Duomo, will welcome us back as we rest up from our visits to the David, the Pitti Palace (the home of the Medici with it's incredible collections and pretty gardens), and our shopping crawls. Long lunches in ancient buildings and warm evenings with cold gelato are all part of an AHA trip to Florence. From Florence we will drive south to our Castello di Proceno in southern Tuscany. For the following four days, using this 11th century castle as our home base, we will explore hilltowns, vineyards, and cathedrals. We will share many memorable meals and enjoy some of the best wines you'll ever taste. Between visits to Pienza, Montepulciano, Lago di Bolsena, and Sovana, your castle has a garden pool for lounging, and cobblestone streets for exploring. And then . . . . all roads lead to Rome for our final four days. Rome is the most exciting example of a living museum on earth. Everything is ancient and yet it is a modern city. Take a shower in our hotel and know that the water is tansported via a Roman aqueduct roughly 2000 years old! It is a big city and yet the historic heart is totally walkable. It can be noisy and erratic on the streets, and yet step into one of the 400 churches and feel an immediate calm come over you. All in all I find Rome thrilling beyond description! There is much to see, taste, and experience, and Rome will change you. We will walk each day and soak in the vibrations of this amazing place. We will enjoy pizza and pastas, sitting outside in family restaurants built on Roman ruins where you may need to stand up and tuck your chair in to let a little car pass behind you. This is quaint with a capital Q. Two weeks in the Best of Italy. Price per person: $7,300.00*
 
First time visitors to one of our destinations will see and gain an understanding of the "must sees" and why they are identified as such. However, for our many returning friends, we look forward to taking you a notch deeper under the surface. Why? Because that is where we like to go and we always give it our very best.
 
Art History Alive takes pride in the level of personal attention given to each and every client from your first contact with us. Maybe this is why about 80% of our client/friends return to travel with us again. AHA takes care of everything from the day we meet at our destination until the day we bid goodbye. There will be nothing for you to concern yourself with beyond, say, which wine to enjoy with lunch. You can look forward to a wonderful camaraderie that is born when a small group of six, like-minded folks embark on a great experience together. This is the best way to travel!
 
Two new California itineraries that will be added in 2009 are:
 
California Here I Come: Gold Rush Wines and Yosemite; and Aloha California: Four Days California and Four Days Hawaii. - More information to come on these, but I will say that hotels are key and two that come to mind are the Ahwahnee in Yosemite, and non other than the Royal Hawaiian in Hawaii.
 
For more information on exactly what our trips include just visit the AHA website at www.arthistoryalive.com, send me an email, or give me a call.
 
So, where do you want to go, what do you want to see, and when can we jump on a plane together? Go ahead and challenge yourself, both mentally and physically, with one or more of our stunning trips. Hope to hear from you soon.
 
Let's start planning,
Ciao,
 
Cynthia Quist
 
Art History Alive
Email: aha@arthistoryalive.com
850 Park Avenue 14B
Capitola, CA 95010
(831) 475-3807
 
    *All prices are based on double occupancy, and a group size of six. Single occupancy is available with a price suppliment. Hotels, meals, wines, museum admissions, all ground transportation, and medical insurance are included. Airfare, and roundtrip transfers from airport to hotel, and hotel to airport, are not included. AHA is happy to advise on the purchase of airline tickets and airport transfers. We know who to call.