A Special Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition Open at the Louvre Paris This Fall
Did you know that over 10 million people visited the Louvre Paris in 2018? That is nearly 30,000 people per day.
To read about our last visit to see da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, CLICK HERE.
Let me say, to visit the Louvre without a guide is sheer lunacy. You must have a guide to know what you are looking at and to get the best experience.
To explore one of our favorite guides, CLICK HERE.
The year 2019 marks the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, which is of particular importance for the Louvre, as it holds the most extensive collection in the world of da Vinci’s paintings, as well as 22 drawings.
The museum is seizing the opportunity in this year of commemorations to gather as many of the artist’s paintings as possible around the five core works in its collections: The Virgin of the Rocks, La Belle Ferronniére, the Mona Lisa (which will remain in the gallery where it is typically displayed), the Saint John the Baptist, and the Saint Anne. The objective is to place them alongside a wide array of drawings as well as a small but significant series of paintings and sculptures from the master’s circle.
This unprecedented retrospective of da Vinci’s painting career will illustrate how he placed the utmost importance on painting, and how his investigation of the world, which he referred to as “the science of painting,” was the instrument of his art, seeking nothing less than to bring life to his paintings.
The exhibition is the culmination of more than ten years of work, notably including new scientific examinations of the Louvre’s paintings, and the conservation treatment of three of them, allowing for better understanding of da Vinci’s artistic practice and pictorial technique. Clarification of his biography has also emerged through the exhaustive reexamination of archival documents. The exhibition will paint the portrait of a man and an artist of extraordinary freedom.
To ensure optimal visiting conditions for this much-awaited event, visitors will be required to make a reservation for a specific time slot for the “Leonardo da Vinci” exhibition (October 24, 2019– February 24, 2020). This shall apply to all visitors, including those entitled to free admission. The reservation service will be open as of June 18, 2019, at https://www.ticketlouvre.fr.
If you happen to be in Paris this fall and early winter, you might want to check out this special exhibit. And again, I say, hire a guide.
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Carol and I arrived in Avignon, France two nights before we began our river cruise with the Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection on the Rhône River. We spent two beautiful nights pre-cruise in the La Mirande Hotel (our very favorite in Avignon).
Avignon is one of the best preserved 14th-century cities in Europe replete with narrow cobblestone streets and buildings so close you could play Superman and jump from one to the other.
When I pulled back the drapes in our suite, I found this kitty cat staring back at me. I was careful not to alarm him so that I might get this lovely photograph. We enjoyed seeing him often throughout our stay, and he seemed to love his two-story perch so that he might see what the local pigeons were up to on the street down below.
We highly recommend Uniworld and the La MIrande Hotel. And when you book either with our travel agency, we have complimentary VIP perks for your stay. 🙂
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There are many answers to this question. However, for me, it is an image that engages the viewer’s imagination and draws them to ask questions. And of course, with photography, it’s all about the light.
On our recent Rhône river cruise with Uniworld, we were touring a 12th-century olive mill by the name of Moulin Saint-Jean. After our tasting and a short lecture about the history of this historic olive mill, we set about on a tour of the facility, and this window grabbed my eye.
If I understood the history correctly, the window was built 300 years before Christopher Columbus was even a gleam in his parents’ eyes. Not only do I find the light captivating, but what history must this window have witnessed over that long period? Who stood at this opening over the centuries and looked out over the 5,000 olive trees? What did they spend the bulk of their days doing? What were the joys and worries that consumed their lives?
As I was cataloging the travel photographs from our recent trip, I found that this photograph captured my attention for well over 5 minutes. It had me wondering and asking questions. I hope you too enjoy this photo. And I hope that this photo brought a little joy and wonder into your day.
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more. Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
Carol and I will soon be sailing with the Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection on the Rhône to experience Lyon, Avignon, Arles, the fabulous Burgundy Wine Country and much more.
We sailed this same river back in 2015. But, a week of strong rains plus the snow melt from the nearby Alps kept us from sailing and had us bopping around by bus.
While this was certainly not the experience we were hoping for, we made lemonade out of lemons and vowed to come back.
If you go to your local grocery store to purchase a ribeye for tonight’s dinner, you would find that ribeyes come in generally three different grades: Select, Choice, and Prime.
While all three are ribeyes, the experience of the Prime cut is going to be significantly different than the experience of the Select cut. The Prime cut features more marbling is generally more tender and will deliver a substantially different flavor than the Select cut. And, as you might expect, you are going to pay more to purchase a Prime cut versus a Select cut.
And, to take this example even further, a Prime cut of Wagyu beef is going to be the best of all.
The same is true of river cruises. River cruise companies come in 4-star, 4.5-star, and 5-star varieties. And while all are river cruises, the difference between the 4-star and the 5-star experience can be quite significant.
Uniworld is a 5-star river cruise experience, and while we are certain to be passing other river cruise brands as we sail up and down the Rhône, the experience that we’ll be having will be decidedly different. Let me share a few of the differences and qualities that make the Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection one of the best of the best:
One of the first differences between Uniworld and all of 4-star and 4.5-star brands is that Uniworld is completely all-inclusive. Everything is included: shore excursions, wine, beer, cocktails; gratuities, and if you’re in a suite, you will also enjoy the services of a highly trained butler.
Secondly, just like the difference between Prime and Select, every experience aboard the ship will be a notch up from the 4-star lines. The beds will be amazing, the culinary experience be delectable, the quality of the wines served onboard will be high quality, and there will be far fewer passengers onboard with you as you enjoy excellent service with a high staff-to-guest ratio.
Remarkably, we also find that many times the price to enjoy a 5-star experience is not significantly higher than a 4-star experience. It really all boils down to what type of experience you expect and enjoy when you’re traveling.
We Have Complimentary VIP Perks on Every Uniworld River Cruise
So, keep a close eye on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages over the coming weeks as we’ll be sharing photographs from our experience.
And, if you decide that you and Uniworld might be a perfect match, we have $200/person shipboard credits to add your booking when you book a fun and luxurious Uniworld river cruise with our travel agency.
To learn more, or to book a luxurious Uniworld river cruise, call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we will reach out to you.
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more. Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
Regent Seven Seas Cruises: 7-,10-,11-, or 12-night Alaska Voyages
Carol and I made our fourth Alaska cruise last summer and this time we sailed with Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
And you know what? I would gleefully go back again. Alaska is stunningly beautiful and if you take the time to get away from the crowds in port, the surrounding beauty will melt your cares away.
Here are a few standout memories from our cruise with Regent Seven Seas Cruises:
While Regent Seven Seas Cruises is a 5-star luxury cruise line, there is no need to bring along any formal wear. Men, a nice pair of slacks and a collared shirt is all that is required for dinner and there were no fancy dress-up dinners on the ship.
Amazingly, the staff remembered our names everywhere we went. Even the people that we had never met! While we scratched our heads at that, the service on Regent Seven Seas Cruises was beyond remarkable.
Absolutely everything is included in their fare. Unless you’re drinking $200 bottles of Cristal before every meal, I don’t know how you could possibly spend a dime on a Regent cruise. Even roundtrip airfare is included with every Regent Seven Seas Cruises sailing.
All of the restaurants were amazing and we especially like the Italian specialty restaurant: Setti Mari. We went back three times. And, no extra charge for specialty restaurants.
With only 700 passengers on the Regent Mariner, there we never any crowds and the ships space ratio provided us plenty of nooks and crannies to hide away with a good book.
Our complimentary Virtuoso Voyages VIP perks got us a private Virtuoso-only welcome reception and when we were in Skagway, Virtuoso Voyages guests enjoyed a private luxury car on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad with seating that more resembled Lazy Boy seating rather than the wooden benches that many endured on the journey.
If you can, go on one of their sailings that start mid-week and avoid the parade of floating cities (large cruise ships) that generally run Saturday to Saturday.
I could go on and on. Just know that now we have sailed aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we are very confident to put a heartier stamp of approval on this luxury cruise line and you are certain to hear us talking about them much more in the coming months and years. While we haven’t quite yet sailed all of the 5-star luxury cruise lines, this is our very favorite, so far.
Take a peek at the special offer Regent Seven Seas Cruises is currently running for their Alaska sailings:
Note: click the flyer below for a much larger view.
To explore other sailings and to see which of these sailings include our complimentary Virtuoso Voyages VIP Perks, CLICK HERE.
For more information, or to book one of these fun Alaska cruises, call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we will reach out to you.
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more. Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
The Roaming Boomers
A Special Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition Open at the Louvre Paris This Fall
If you go to your local grocery store to purchase a ribeye for tonight’s dinner, you would find that ribeyes come in generally three different grades: Select, Choice, and Prime.
Uniworld is a 5-star river cruise experience, and while we are certain to be passing other river cruise brands as we sail up and down the Rhône, the experience that we’ll be having will be decidedly different. Let me share a few of the differences and qualities that make the Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection one of the best of the best:
We Have Complimentary VIP Perks on Every Uniworld River Cruise
