DIXIELAND & RHYTHMS
Day 1 - CHICAGO. Welcome to the "Windy City." Enjoy some time at leisure to relax or do some independent exploring. Your Tour Director is on hand this evening to answer any questions. Day 2 - CHICAGO. Included sightseing. Start the day with an included sightseeing tour and see all the landmarks of this exciting city. The afternoon and evening are at leisure. Why not ride the elevator to the top of Sears Tower, stroll in Grant Park along the waterfront, or take an optional cruise on Lake Michigan" Perhaps this evening you would enjoy dinner on the Navy Pier with its collection of shops and restaurants" Day 3 - CHICAGO'ST. LOUIS. Travel across the fertile Illinois farmlands today en route to St. Louis, the "Gateway to the West." Cross the mighty Mississippi River as you enter St. Louis. Your city sightseeing includes a trip to the top of the towering GATEWAY ARCH, which commemorates the city's key role in westward expansion. Be sure to visit the museum under the arch, celebrating the famous expedition of Lewis and Clark 200 hundred years ago. Day 4 - ST. LOUIS - NASHVILLE. Start today's journey by re-crossing the Mississippi River and rolling southeast to Paducah on the Ohio River by lunch time. Late afternoon arrival in Nashville in the heart of Tennessee. Day 5 - NASHVILLE. Start the day with a sightseeing tour of Nashville's famous landmarks and the recording studios of Music Row. Afterward, visit the COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME with its glittering costumes, rare instruments, and Elvis Presley's "Solid Gold" Cadillac! Tonight, you have reserved seats for an unforgettable show at the world-famous GRAND OLE OPRY, a mecca for country musicians. Day 6 - NASHVILLE - MEMPHIS. Cross Tennessee today to Memphis, the "Home of the Blues" and a city with a distinct southern flavor. Acquaint yourself with an orientation tour on arrival. Join the optional excursion that includes a visit to famous Sun Studio, where rock "n" roll was first recorded, followed by dinner at a local Memphis restaurant. Day 7 - MEMPHIS. GRACELAND VISIT. A good portion of the day is devoted to GRACELAND, Elvis Presley's beautiful estate. Your platinum audio tour focuses on the splendid garden, private plane, and the opulent 15,000-squarefoot mansion. Return to Memphis mid-afternoon. Tonight, you may want to visit a blues club on famous Beale Street. Day 8 - MEMPHIS - AMTRAK CITY OF NEW ORLEANS TRAIN - LAFAYETTE. The City of New Orleans, the famous train of story and song, provides the locomotion for today's journey through the state of Mississippi and into the Mississippi River delta. Pass cotton fields and catfish ponds as the train enters Louisiana. In Hammond, leave the train and board a motorcoach for the short drive into the heart of Cajun country to Lafayette, first settled by French-Acadian farmers expelled from Nova Scotia by the British in the 1700s. Day 9 - LAFAYETTE - NEW ORLEANS. On to St. Martinville to see the famous oak tree of Longfellow's poem "Evangeline." Next, board your boat for a CRUISE through the winding, swampy waterways of the Atchafalaya Basin. If you are lucky, you might spot alligators basking on the banks. Then across bayou country into New Orleans. Day 10 - NEW ORLEANS. The trip ends today with guests departing on individual schedules. Transfers to the New Orleans airport are included. |
