The 50th anniversary celebrations for World War II have ended, but not the interest in seeing the places where our fathers and grandfathers fought. King International Consultancy is offering two tours, “From D-Day to the Bulge” and “In Patton’s Footsteps,” with departures starting April 18 through Sept. 14.
The nine-day D-Day tour begins in London and then heads south to Portsmouth, which was a staging area for the June 6, 1944, invasion. You’ll cross the English Channel on a ferry to Le Havre and then proceed to Bayeux, which will be your base for seeing the landing beaches and other sites of D-Day interest. As you make your way to Brussels via Reims, Arlon and Liege, you’ll see the train car at Compiegne where the armistice ending World War I was signed, Bastogne, which was under siege during the Battle of the Bulge, as well as other important sites and museums associated with World Wars I and II.
Seven D-Day tours run April 18-27, May 17-26, June 1-10, July 11-20, Aug. 2-11, Aug. 31-Sept. 9 and Sept. 4-13. The tour costs $1,730 per person double occupancy (single supplement $485) for a 30-person tour with rates dropping to $1,575 for 40 persons and $1,485 if there are 50. The price includes all breakfasts and dinners, entry fees and the cross-channel ferry. Air fare to London and from Brussels is not included.
The 11-day “In Patton’s Footsteps” also starts in London with a channel crossing from Portsmouth to Cherbourg and then to St. Lo, where “Old Blood and Guts” began his breakout in July 1945. You’ll spend nights in Chartres, Paris, Metz, Arlon and Marche-en-Famenne on your way to Brussels. In addition to World War II monuments and museums, you’ll tour the French fortress towns of Verdun and Metz, which figured prominently in World War I. On the way to Brussels you’ll visit Bastogne, Gen. Patton’s grave and other historic sites.
Four Patton tours run May 11-22, July 18-29, Aug. 24-Sept. 4 and Sept. 14-25. The trip costs $1,916 per person double (single supplement $450) for 30-person tours. The prices drop to $1,765 per person for groups of 40 and to $1,672 for groups of 50. All breakfasts and dinners, entry fees and the cross-channel ferry are included. Call 561-964-2033.
Spring schedule
Tickets for the Chicago Cubs’ 15 spring training home games in Mesa, Ariz., go on sale Dec. 15 at the HoHoKam Park stadium box office. The Cubs’ first Cactus League game will be March 1 against the 1997 National League Western Division champion San Francisco Giants followed by a game the next day against the cross-town rival White Sox, who are moving from Florida to new facilities in Tucson. The Cubs’ last Cactus League game will be March 26 against the Colorado Rockies. Prices for this season’s games are $12, $11, $9, $6 and $5. To order your tickets, call the Dillard’s department store box office at 800-638-4253.
Fore fun
With only the hard-core still on the Chicagoland links, the more weatherwise golfer will be turning his head toward warmer climes–and what better place than Bermuda? The Bermuda Department of Tourism has a full-color brochure describing the island’s eight courses. including a plan, par, yardage for each hole of each course as well as greens fees and prices for lessons, cart rentals and caddies. Visitors’ greens fees range from $32 at the Ocean View Golf Course and $38 at the Southampton Princess Golf Club to $110 at the Castle Harbour Golf Club. For a brochure, call 800-223-6106.
Snow route
Flying through Paris to get to Swiss ski resorts is a viable option thanks to Rail Europe. Swiss-bound skiers can leave Paris and make it to ski resorts in or near Montreux, Aigle, Martigny, Sion, Sierra/Siders, Viege/Visp and Brig in less than six hours aboard the high-speed TGV des Neiges (Snow TGV). For further information on schedules and bookings, check out Rail Europe’s site on the World Wide Web (www.raileurope.com) or call 800-438-7245.
Foreign aid
Ever been so frustrated trying to communicate abroad that you’re ready to weep? Transparent Language has added another stellar program to its range of CD-ROM-based language tools, Survival Phrases ($39.95), which will give you the essentials to get by in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Russian. Phrases cover every imaginable situation from asking directions to changing money to asking for a change of linen. As you read the text, you may click on unfamiliar words for their meanings or have the sentence spoken by the program so you can improve your pronunciation.
Survival Phrases is available for both Macintosh and Windows.
– Have you been surfing the Net and come across a Web site in a foreign language? No problem. Transparent Language’s award-winning Easy Translator ($129) quickly translates text, e-mail and Web sites in Spanish, French and German to and from English. For sales and product information on Transparent Language products, call 800-752-1767, or check out the Transparent Language home page on the World Wide Web (www.transparent.com).
