Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Dickens, and here’s your chance for a memorable holiday with Gerald Dickens, the great-great grandson of the 19th Century British novelist Charles. Dickens, an actor by trade, will tour hotels throughout the United States in December and give dramatic readings from “A Christmas Carol” sprinkled with tidbits of his famous ancestor’s life and times. Members of the Historic Hotels of America and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are sponsoring the Dickens tour, which will feature two programs, “A Tea With Scrooge” and “A Christmas Carol Feast.”
Dickens, who bears a striking resemblance to his great-great grandfather, will appear in full Victorian attire. He will perform “A Christmas Carol Feast” Dec. 3 and “A Tea With Scrooge” Dec. 2-3 at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis (800-PEABODY); “Feast” on Dec. 8 and “Tea” on Dec. 9 at the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, Ga. (800-331-9336); “Tea” on Dec. 14 at the Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pa. (717-533-2171, ext. 4054); “Tea” on Dec. 17 and “Feast” on Dec. 18 at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa in Ojai Valley, Calif. (805-640-2100); “Tea” and “Dinner” on Dec. 20 at the Regal Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles (213-612-1580); “Feast” on Dec. 21 at the Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif. (310-788-9474; Make-A-Wish Foundation); and “Tea” on Dec. 23 at the St. Paul Hotel in St. Paul, Minn. (800-292-9292). Prices and times for these events vary from hotel to hotel ($15-$25 for the teas; $35-$65 for the feasts), and reservations are required. The Make-A-Wish Foundation feast at Santa Monica’s Georgian Hotel is $65 per person or $120 per couple.
Fore the rich
If you’ve got the money, Concorde Platinum Tours of Zurich in cooperation with Concorde Golf Tours of Scottsdale, Ariz., has the golf tour to end all golf tours. You and approximately 80 fellow golfers, including 40 Europeans, will savor the world’s great courses April 3-20 in a 17-day round-the-world tour that will have you teeing off in Tucson; Maui, Hawaii; Hong Kong; Ho Chi Minh City; Madras, India; Cape Town, South Africa; Marrakech, Morocco; Paris; and New York.
The tour costs $44,900 per person double occupancy (single supplement $3,250) from Tucson and includes most meals, greens fees, the services of a physician to ease the aches and pains, and instructions from two golf pros.
The rate for non-golfers is $43,350. Similar round-the-world golf tours are scheduled for November 1998 and January 1999. Call 800-249-6007, or examine the Concorde Golf Tours Web site (www.concordegolf.com)
Exotic getaway
Everyone’s heard of the Canary Islands, but can you find them on a map? This isolated Atlantic archipelago, just 70 miles off the west coast of Africa (Columbus dropped anchor there on his way to the New World), is six hours by nonstop flight from New York.
In conjunction with Air Europa’s new weekly nonstop flight from New York to Tenerife beginning in December, Canary Islands Holidays is offering one-week getaway packages combining sun-drenched beaches, forested mountainsides and volcanic landscapes along with sailing, deep-sea fishing, golf, tennis and ample nightlife.
The one-week packages start at $699 per person double (single supplement $159) and include round-trip air fare from New York and six nights’ accommodations at resort hotels. Call 888-767-8822.
