#escorted_tours

[awesome-adventures]

This Company is Sending a Local Hero - and their Nominating Travel Advisor - On a Life-Changing Trip to Africa

Until June 30th, travel advisors can nominate a person from their community they feel deserves recognition.

Courtesy of African Travel Inc., a sister travel company to luxury Insight Vacations, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Red Carnation Hotels among other outstanding travel providers, the chosen hero and their guest will receive the ultimate 8-night escape to South Africa and Botswana, experiencing Red Carnation’s Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa and the new Xigera Safari Lodge as well as the Chobe Game Lodge.

 The advisor who nominates the winning hero will receive their own complimentary spot on an African Travel educational journey to South Africa, Kenya or Tanzania.

For over 40 years, African Travel has created luxury, handcrafted safaris ensuring immersive and authentic cultural encounters across the continent with exceptional service by local experts every step of the way.

(Chobe Game Lodge is an elegant, five-star, fully Ecotourism-certified safari lodge and the only property located inside the world-renowned Chobe National Park)

From now until June 30th, 2020, travel advisors can nominate a person who they feel deserves recognition for going above and beyond in their community. African Travel wants advisors to share their stories, whether it’s about an essential worker on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic or a co-worker helping their community heal.

 Advisors nominate local heroes by briefly explaining how their hero has positively impacted the people, planet and wildlife in their local community, which reflects African Travel’s philosophy to TreadRight.

 The TreadRight Foundation was established by The Travel Corporation’s family of brands, that includes African Travel, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Trafalgar Tours, Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold, among others. The foundation sets the standard on sustainability for those travel companies, and executes its mission to #MakeTravelMatter.

 TreadRight supports community-based projects worldwide that safeguard the planet, people and wildlife. To date, the foundation has supported 55+ sustainable tourism projects in 280+ communities worldwide, that have included WWF, Conservation International, WildAid and The National Trust in the UK, while current initiatives include WE.org, Manitobah Mukluks Storyboot School, Wilderness Foundation Africa and Wildlife SOS. 

 This contest is in gratitude for people’s efforts to make their communities better places, a theme especially powerful during COVID, which has reinforced how ‘we are all in this together as a travel family’.

 Advisors can nominate a hero by completing the online form here.

 African Travel will shortlist the top 10 heroes and host a poll July 13-23rd, 2020 for the travel community to choose the deserving hero.

 Nominations close June 30th.

Don’t miss this opportunity to reward a deserving local hero!

[river-ocean-cruise]

Uniworld - Elevating All-Inclusive Luxury River Cruising

    As the “#1 Luxury River Cruise Line, we’re always working to give our guests an unforgettable experience both onboard and offshore. With 2020 on the horizon, we’ve been hard at work elevating every one of our travel experiences. 

From our new destination-inspired Super Ships to the onboard and offshore touches that make us unforgettable, there’s plenty of reasons to travel with Uniworld in 2020   Elevated Luxury Blending old-world elegance with modern technology and ultra-luxurious amenities, our ships are true works of art. Inspired by the very rivers they call home, each ship has a distinct color palette, custom-made fabric, original artwork and elegant furnishings. 

We believe that you deserve the best—and you’ll experience that from the moment you step onboard. We put our heart and soul into everything we do, from customer service to small details to make your trip that much more enjoyable. 

No matter what destinations you visit, you’ll experience the flavors of your destination with local, farm-to-ship cuisine prepared onboard. Our master chefs are experts at crafting elegant, elevated dishes so no matter what your taste buds crave, you’ll find it with us—whether you’re vegetarian, eating light or willing to try it all. 

Curated exclusively for Uniworld guests, our excursions are a unique way to immerse yourself in the culture, sights and cuisine of each destination. No matter where you go, there will always be plenty of activities to choose from. 

    Amazing Amenities When it comes to our onboard amenities, we take luxury to the next level. Enjoy Hermès bath and body products in all suites and Asprey products in all other staterooms on European cruises. 

Our Wellness on the Water gives you access to a gym, pool and fitness programs such as yoga and TRX. Once you’ve worked up a sweat, indulge in five-star spa services through our Serenity River Spa.    In the next year, more than half of Uniworld’s ships will be Super Ships. That means even more suites, more five-star dining venues and more luxurious finishes, while maintaining the personalized service that promises to give each guest an extraordinary travel experience.

There’s something incredible for everyone in 2020. Choose your own Uniworld adventure today. 

[travel-shopping]

Meet the Buenos Aires Designer Whose Shoes Have Transformed Tango

There's no visit to Argentina's capital without experiencing tango. It is both music and an unmistakable dance, perhaps the most sensual dance in the world.

Our Monograms tour of Buenos Aires included an incredible tango dinner show at El Viejo Almacen that took our breath away! A Monograms agenda allows for plenty of free time to explore our own interests (in addition to an orientation tour of the city that includes the world's widest boulevard, the cemetery where Eva Peron (immortalized in the musical Evita, and song 'Don't Cry for me, Argentina!' is interred, and tastes of the country's obsession with soccer as well as its famous way with beef and wine).

And in Buenos Aires, at the top of my personal agenda was a studio/ showroom visit to Comme il Faut, to meet the designer whose glamorous shoes single-handedly elevated tango to being as elegant as it is passionate.

Our Monograms guide gave us helpful, local expert's advice about the best way to get to the tucked-away 'Rue des Artisans' in BA's old neighborhood, where whitewashed buildings, wrought iron trim, black awnings, and jardinières on the street made me feel like I really was in Paris. No wonder Buenos Aires is called 'The Paris of South America'.

Parts of Buenos Aires may evoke Paris, but the soundtrack is all tango.And for me, the chance to meet Comme il Faut's designer and founder, Alicia Muñiz, whose limited edition shoes are wearable trophies for tango dancers and women of elegance around the world, was a personal highlight of Buenos Aires.

In this video, I share her passion for tango, her inspiration, hard work and entrepreneurial spirit that transformed tango shoes for a new generation of professional and everyday dancers, and built a creative business… from the 'foot' up.

By: Lynn Elmhirst, Producer/ Host, BestTrip TV

Start your Trip!

Copyright BestTrip.TV/Influence Entertainment Group Inc or Rights Holder. All rights reserved. You are welcome to share this material from this page, but it may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[local-events]

Europe's Capital of Music Celebrates the 250th Anniversary of This Musical Genius

You may only listen to classical music once in a while, but we’ll bet this composer’s name rings a bell.

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Germany, but spent his professional career and passed away in the music capital of Europe. 2020 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer, who in spite of becoming ill and deaf, was considered one of the greatest musical talents of all time. And Vienna is celebrating his life and works.

The Austrian capital was the epi-center of musical creativity throughout most of the era that gave us classical music’s greatest moments. Most of Beethoven’s groundbreaking premieres took place in Vienna’s iconic venues. Many of them remain today (like Vienna's State Opera House above © WienTourismus/ Christian Stemper), and Vienna continues to set the stage of the world’s rich classical music scene. Every night in the city, around 10,000 music fans are treated to live classical music at the great music institutions that debuted Beethoven’s greatest works.

In the year that marks 250 years since Beethoven's birth, Vienna celebrates the artist and his long-lasting legacy of classical music with the slogan Beethoven Belongs to Everyone.

© Schaub-Walzer / PID

 Digital Beethoven

 The Vienna Tourist Board has developed a voice application for the Amazon and Google voice assistants for the 2020 Year of Beethoven. Users discover an interactive audiobook on the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven. Recordings of all Nine of his Symphonies performed by the Wiener Symphoniker provide the soundtrack.

 The Vienna Tourist Board and the Austrian National Tourist Board also worked together to develop a smart audio guide integrated into a pair of special sunglasses. Ludwig van Beethoven takes wearers on an acoustic tour of Vienna and New York with the help of Bose frames featuring integrated loudspeakers and the new #RelatedToAustria app. In Vienna, visitors can borrow the glasses for free from the Tourist information office on Albertinaplatz.

 Beethoven Live in Vienna

 In the 2020 Beethoven year more than ever, Vienna’s orchestras and music institutions celebrate the genius composer with a full calendar of performances.

 The Vienna Philharmonic holds a Beethoven cycle at the Vienna State Opera’s Gustav Mahler Hall. The series of ten chamber music evenings runs until mid-June 2020, presenting all of the master’s vocal works.

 The Wiener Symphoniker plays many of the Beethoven performances at the Wiener Konzerthaus: the packed program for 2020 is bookended by his Ninth Symphony on New Year’s Day and a final rendition of “the Ninth” on New Year’s Eve, and includes an open-air event with public viewing areas in the Beethoven cities of Bonn (his birthplace) and Vienna.

 The Theater an der Wien, where Beethoven was engaged and lived for a time, will be the venue for a production of Fidelio, taking Beethoven’s operatic work back to the place where it was first performed.

 In 2020 the Musikverein will be celebrating Beethoven as well, along with the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester and the Wiener Akademie orchestra – in which all the performers play original instruments, recording all of Beethoven’s symphonies and piano concerts for posterity. You can research live performances during your visit to Vienna, as well as anniversary recordings, here:

 Vienna Philharmonic, www.wienerphilharmoniker.at

Vienna State Opera, www.wiener-staatsoper.at

Wiener Symphoniker, www.wienersymphoniker.at

Wiener Konzerthaus, www.konzerthaus.at

Theater an der Wien, www.theater-wien.at

Musikverein, www.musikverein.at

ORF Radio Symphonieorchester, rso.orf.at

Orchester Wiener Akademie, www.wienerakademie.at

 Beethoven in Art

Don't miss exhibits, projects and installations featuring a Beethoven theme at Vienna’s museums and art galleries in 2020:

Beethoven moves, Mar 25-Jul 5, 2020, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, www.khm.at

Inspiration Beethoven. A Symphony in Pictures from Vienna 1900. May 30, Sep 21, 2020, Leopold Museum, MuseumsQuartier Vienna, www.leopoldmuseum.org

Beethoven. World of the Man and Spark of the Gods, Dec 19, 2019-Apr 19, 2020, National Library, State Hall, Austrian National Library, www.onb.ac.at

The Great Triad of Viennese Classical Music: Haydn - Mozart - Beethoven. Similarities - Parallels - Opposites, Feb 13, 2020-Jan 27, 2021, Mozarthaus Vienna, www.mozarthausvienna.at

House of Music. The Museum of Sound, www.hdm.at

Beethoven Museum, www.wienmuseum.at

Pasqualati House, www.wienmuseum.at

Secession, www.secession.at

Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, Hofburg, Neue Burg, www.khm.at

  © John Baldessari; Courtesy of the artist, Sprüth Magers and Beyer Projects

 Beethoven in Photos

Ludwig van Beethoven moved to Vienna to advance his career in the Music Capital with the renowned Haydn when he was only 22, and lived out his life there. So there are many monuments to the famous composer in Vienna. You’ll want to post images of all things Beethoven during your visit, including these famous Beethoven locations.

Beethoven Memorial in Beethoven Park Beethovenplatz, 1030 Vienna

Unveiled in 1880, this monument was paid for in part by one of Beethoven’s high-profile colleagues from the world of music. A committed Beethoven fan, Franz Liszt used the proceeds from his last public concert on March 16, 1877 (marking the 50th anniversary of Beethoven’s death) to complete the memorial.

Beethoven Museum - Probusgasse 6, 1190 Vienna, www.wienmuseum.at

In Beethoven’s day, Heiligenstadt was a popular spa destination beyond the old city walls, although today it’s part of the city. He retreated here as therapy for his ailments. The Beethoven Museum opened in one of his former residences.

 Pasqualati House Mölker Bastei 8, 1010 Vienna, www.wienmuseum.at

Baron von Pasqualati provided cheap lodgings for his friend Beethoven to use, which the composer returned to on multiple occasions.

Theater an der Wien - Linke Wienzeile 6, 1060 Vienna, www.theater-wien.at

This theater was an important venue for concerts of all descriptions. Several of Beethoven’s works made their debuts here, including his violin concerto and Fidelio – his only opera.

Beethoven’s grave - Central Cemetery, Simmeringer Hauptstrasse 234, 1110 Vienna

Beethoven lies in rest in a grave of honor next to Franz Schubert’s final resting place, with a memorial to Mozart – who was buried elsewhere – installed between them.

© Schaub-Walzer / PID

  Include Austria's magnificent capital on a tour of the country's many charms, or visit Vienna during a port of call on a Danube river cruise.

Start your Trip!

Copyright BestTrip.TV/Influence Entertainment Group Inc or Rights Holder. All rights reserved. You are welcome to share this material from this page, but it may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.