We begin our France Quilt Tour, departing the United States on an overnight flight to PARIS AIRPORT. Dinner will be served on-board the plane. D

This morning we will arrive at the Paris Airport. Once we pass through customs, we’ll meet our guide and bus driver, We will enjoy a Panoramic Tour of Paris, and have an opportunity to drive past the Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triumph, Notre Dame, the Champs Elysees, the Louvre Museum and other recognizable sights. Upon our check-in into our first-class hotel, the remainder of the afternoon is free for you to enjoy at your leisure. A special “welcome dinner” and orientation meeting will take place this evening with our hostess, Pam Holland and Sew Many Places founder Jim West. B, D

Today, following breakfast, for those that are interested we are offering an optional private tour of the Palace of Versailles. We will meet our motor coach driver and guide, who will take us to this magnificent historical place. We will have the entire day to go on a tour of the Palace, stroll through the gardens. We will return back to our hotel where the remainder of the evening is free to enjoy at your leisure. B

Following breakfast this morning, we will check-out of our hotel and leave Paris and travel north to the town of Rouen. Rouen is the historical capital city of Normandy, located on the Seine River. Upon our arrival we will check into the Mercure Rouen Centre Cathedrale hotel. We will enjoy a leisurely walking tour. Our tour will take you to the stunning Gothic cathedral; the haunting Medieval quarter with its half-timbered, slate-tile roofs; and the Gros Horloge, a Renaissance clock tower that arches overheard, and the Vieux Marche, where Joan of Arc burned at the stake for defiance on May 30, 1431. After dinner, Pam will enlighten us with some quilt chat. B, D

This morning following breakfast we will travel to Giverny to visit Monet’s home, where he lived for 43 years, until his death in 1926. We’ll explore Monet’s house, furnished as it was when the leader of the Impressionist school lived here, including his precious collection of Japanese engravings. Strolling the gardens, we’ll see the familiar Japanese bridge and water garden shaded by weeping willows, with its pond still full of water lilies that so inspired the artists work. Later in the day re will return back to our hotel where the remainder of the day is free for you to enjoy. B

Today after breakfast we will drive to the town of Honfleur. Honfleur is a charming French harbor town recreated in numerous paintings by such artists as Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. We will enjoy a guided tour from the former smuggler’s harbor of Vieux Bassin – the most frequently painted scene in Honfluer, where the fishing village backdrop is seemingly unchanged from over 500 years ago, through the streets to St. Catherine’s Church. We will return back to our hotel later in the day where Pam will share her knowledge with more quilt chat. B

After breakfast this morning we will drive to the location where one of the most famous days in recent world history took place—the beaches at Normandy—site of the D-Day Invasion by the Allied forces during World War II. The Invasion of Normandy holds the distinction of being the largest amphibious combat operation. You’ll visit the American Cemetery at Colleville, the allied landing sites at Omaha beach, the battlefield of Pointe du Hoc and Mulberry Harbor at Arromanches, all haunting reminders of freedom hard fought for. We will return back to our hotel later this evening. B

After breakfast we will drive to Bayeux and visit the Bayeux Tapestry Museum where the Bayeux Tapestry is on display. The tapestry is a long embroidered cloth and not an actual tapestry which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England as well as the invasion. The earliest known written reference to the tapestry is a 1476 inventory of Bayeux Cathedral, but its origins have been subject to much speculation and controversy. We will return back to our hotel later in the afternoon. This evening we will all enjoy a “farewell gathering” and reminisce about our journey. B, D

After breakfast we will check-out of our hotel and return to Paris for our flight back to the United States. B