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Since 1995 The Course sister company Course Study Tours, has been organising visits to a range of countries including Italy, Spain, France, America, Japan, India, China and Egypt.
Our tours are arranged through a bonded agent so that our participants can have the security offered by a large companies while enjoying the flexibility of an independent organisation. Our visits are lead by tutors who know the venues intimately and can offer far more than the standard tourist view. Many of those travelling with us are students attending The Course but we welcome partners and newcomers and we aim to make our tours as friendly as possible.
Starting in 2011 we are planning a series of tours to South America, exploring the wonders of the continent's art, history, literature, culture and natural beauty. Our first trip will be to Ecuador & Peru in 2011, followed by Argentina & Chile in 2012 and Brazil in 2013. We may extend this exploration into the Americas with a tour to Mexico in 2014.
For detailed information please click here, phone or e-mail us.
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Ancient Greece
11-16 May 2010, Lecturer James McDonaugh |
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This tour is an introduction to the riches of classical Greece, its architecture, sculpture, history and literature. We will also explore how wider themes of western European art and culture trace their origins to Greece. To help us understand the flowering of the arts in the 5th century BC, we examine the pre-classical civilisations, including Homer's Mycenaean heroes and the Cycladic cultures of the Greek islands.
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Puglia & Basilicata
18 - 24 October 2010, Lecturer Margaret Knight |
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The 'Heel of Italy' is a beautiful and ancient place. From the 8th century BC Puglia looked to the Near East. Levantine goods travelled to Rome from her ports and later the Arabs traded into her coastal towns. Ruled by Byzantium until the 10th century and then the Normans and the Angevans, the art and architecture of the province are fusions of eastern and western ideas, visual languages still reflected in the marvellously eccentric Puglian baroque. This tour is an introduction to 'another world, which no-one may enter without a magic key'.
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4 Days In Lisbon
6 - 9 November 2010, Lecturer Margaret Knight |
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According to myth the hero Odysseus founded Lisbon but the true story of the city on the Tagus is linked to the power of maritime trade. It was from the new docks at Belem that Vasco de Gama set out in 1497 to discover a sea route to India. His voyage, and the founding of overseas colonies, bought 200 years of prosperity to the city. The Lisbon earthquake in 1755 and Napoleon's invasion of 1807 led to a period of decline. Prosperity returned in the 19th century and the city rebuilt continuing its rich architectural adventure. Her art and architecture bear witness to a rich variety of influences. She had been a Roman port and then a Visigothic town but it was the Moors, who ruled Lisbon from the 8th to the 12th century, who left the most lasting visual legacy which combined with later styles to produce distinctive architecture and decoration. The prosperity of the 16th and 17th centuries led to the birth of a unique late Gothic style known as Manueline and, later, a rich, eclectic baroque. The entire history of Portuguese art and architecture subsequently fed into the wonderfully theatrical Romantic architecture of the 19th century. We will be exploring key parts of this rich heritage through visits to the sites and two of Lisbon's excellent Museums, the Gulbenkian and the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga. We will see the glorious Manueline architecture of the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos and the Torre de Belem and visit the Castelo da Pena at Sintra with its phantasmagoric architecture and extensive gardens. We will also explore the enigmatic, Alice in Wonderland world at Quinta da Regaleira where things are often not quite as they seem.
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Equador & Peru
28 March - 9 April 2011, Lecturer James McDonaugh |
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Over the last decade these neighbouring South American countries have become a must for the adventurous traveller. Ecuador has breathtakingly diverse landscape from jungles, to cloud forest and tropical islands, while Peru's famous Cuzco region lies in a vast Andean paradise. Exploring the wealth of natural beauty alone in these countries is a lifetime experience. But Ecuador & Peru also share great histories and wonderful art, entwining the Inca Empire and the Spanish Conquistadors. The great treasures of the Incas in Cuzco are among the most breathtaking of all the Americas, while Ecuador's capital Quito has an old colonial centre whose architecture - dating as far back as the late 1500's - makes it one of the jewels of the Andes. The meeting of the indigenous Indian cultures and the European empires in the 16th century is one of the most fascinating stories in the genesis of the modern world. In this 12 day itinerary we will explore the very best of what both countries have to offer, from the beauty of the diverse landscapes to the wonderful art and architecture in their midst. A particular theme for us will be the rich colonial culture on offer in both these Andean countries: stunning architecture, sculpture and painting - all recognisably European but with a twist of something new and exotic. Throughout the trip we will experience a magical juxtaposition of Imperial and Colonial, indigenous and Spanish art.
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