n the da Vinci Trail
Q. I was wondering whether there are any
tours based on Dan Brown's best seller "The Da Vinci Code"? -
Tiffeni J. Goesel, Williamsburg, Va.
A. Three tour companies, at least, have grabbed
onto this Holy Grail novel's very popular coattails.
The most complete and true to the book's itinerary is On the
Trail of "The Da Vinci Code" by Beyond Boundaries
Travel, 830 North Tejon Street, Suite 150, Colorado
Springs, Colo. 80903; (800) 487-1136
According to Jeannie Barresi, the company's managing director,
the tour will begin on Aug. 21 and spend four nights in Paris, three
in London and one in Edinburgh, using a scavenger hunt format to
learn about symbols and art history.
It begins, as the book does, at the Louvre, visiting the museum
with an art historian and a social historian. Then come tours of the
Church of St.-Sulpice and of 19th-century female sculptures on
Parisian buildings. A trip in Smart Cars to the countryside,
including a stop at the Château de la Villette, follows before the
group goes to London and other key sites in the novel: Temple
Church, Westminster Abbey and King's College Library. The tour ends
in Edinburgh, visiting Rosslyn Chapel.
Ms. Barresi said the tour price is $2,999 a person, double
occupancy, including stays in four-star hotels, most meals, Smart
Car rental and Eurostar travel across the English Channel. Air fare
is extra.
A much shorter (but not cheap) option is a two-and-a-half-hour
guided visit to the Louvre from Museumpass, a company that sells
passes for museums and transportation in several cities. The tour
starts at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily except on Tuesday at the Arc de
Carrousel.
According to Laure K. Dardour, manager of Museumpass, American
guides lead participants to the Grande Galerie, where the murder in
the book takes place, then focuses on Leonardo da Vinci works,
including "Mona Lisa," depictions of Mary Magdalene and other art
related to the themes of the novel. The tour must be booked online
at http://www.lelouvre.fr/; it costs $144.99 for
one, plus $144 for each additional participant (up to six).
For those particularly interested in the spiritual, rather than
art, themes in the book, there are two tours by Body Mind
Spirit Journeys, a division of RMC Travel. Its national
director, Andrea Mikana-Pinkham, says the Mystic Templar Pilgrimage
to England and Scotland, from July 1 to 14, is being led by her
husband, Mark Amaru Pinkham, who is the author of books on the Holy
Grail and the goddess tradition.
The itinerary includes Temple Church, Rosslyn Chapel, Stonehenge;
optional ceremonies and meditations at Glastonbury and Rosslyn; and
tours of Salisbury and Winchester Cathedrals, Bath and Edinburgh.
There will also be a dinner with Ian Sinclair, preceptor of the
Scottish Knights Templar, the order of Grail protectors, and two
nights at his preceptory in Noss Head, Scotland.
From New York, the England portion costs $2,895 a person, double
occupancy, including air fare; the Scotland portion (July 9 to 14)
is $995. Ms. Mikana-Pinkham said the tour would stay at upscale
hotels like the Jurys Clifton Ford in London and the Moat House in
Edinburgh. Daily breakfast and usually a second meal is included,
she said.
Many of the same places will be visited on the Sacred Feminine
Journey to England, a tour for women only from Sept 18 to 25. This
trip also focuses on the Arthurian and Holy Grail legends, but from
a feminine point of view. The price from New York is $2,595 a
person, double occupancy, plus taxes and gratuities.
Body Mind Spirit Journeys is at No. 330, 51 Bell Rock Plaza,
Suite A, Sedona, Ariz. 86351, (800) 231-9811; http://www.bodymindspiritjourneys.com/.
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