THE SOUTHERN USA WASHINGTON TO NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 9-23, 2017 TOUR LEADER: DR MATTHEW LAING

Overview ‘E pluribus unum – out of many, one’. Nowhere is the motto of the United States more true than in the diverse patchwork of regions that make up the Southern United States. Academy Travel’s journey from Washington to the Deep South provides a kaleidoscope of people and experiences which defies stereotyping and is far removed from the popular notions of American culture so frequently presented through film and television. The itinerary has been carefully constructed to cover the defining history and diverse cultures of the South. The early history of European settlement is seen through visits to the first British settlements on the Atlantic and visiting sites associated with founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Part and parcel of this period is slavery, whose history and effects are best seen in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. The tumultuous years of the Civil War are also fundamental to the history and culture of the South. We visit Gettysburg, Arlington, and Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbour, where the first military action of the war occurred. In Louisiana, we meet some of the most unexpected communities living in the United States today – the Creoles, ‘Mardi Gras’ Indians (actually African Americans Cajuns. For those wishing to explore the wonderful galleries and museums of Washington, a three-night pre-tour package in Washington is available.

Your tour leader Dr Matthew Laing has a comprehensive knowledge of the history and society of the United States and has travelled the length and breadth of the country for research, personal interest and as a tour leader. Matthew has been leading tours to the US for Academy Travel since 2014. Matthew holds a PhD in political studies from the Australian National University, where his research focused on leadership and the US

presidency. He currently works as a research fellow at Monash University. In 2007 he spent six months in Washington as an intern at the US Congress and has provided expert advice on leadership to government agencies in Australia, the United States and the Netherlands.

“Matthew was a wonderful guide – interesting, attentive to our needs, generous and fun, with a sense of humour. Just ideal in all respects”

“Matthew Laing is an excellent guide- knowledgeable, patient and very efficient with a pleasant manner.” Feedback from participants on our September 2016 Frank Lloyd Wright tour.

Enquiries and bookings

For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Jemma York at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email jemma@academytravel.com.au

THE SOUTHERN USA WASHINGTON TO NEW ORLEANS

Tour dates: October 9-23, 2017

Tour leader: Dr Matthew Laing

Tour Price: $9,950 per person, twin share

Single Supplement: $3,500 for sole use of double room

Booking deposit: $500 per person

Recommended airline: Qantas

Maximum places: 20

Itinerary: Washington (4 nights), Richmond (2 nights), Charleston (4 nights), New Orleans, Louisiana (3 nights), White Castle, Louisiana (1 night)

Date published: February 7, 2017

Tour Highlights

MONTICELLO Thomas Jefferson’s Palladian villa and estate in rural Virginia is both a superb artistic statement and a fascinating insight into the early European history of the United States. Jefferson was inspired by the European Enlightenment, both in his politics and his aesthetics.

GETTYSBURG The most famous battlefield of the Civil War tells the story of North vs South and was in many ways the nation-forming ‘Gallipoli moment’ for both the southern and the northern states. As we move around the site we follow the progress of the battle. We also visit the excellent museum on site.

HISTORIC CHARLESTON This quintessentially southern city is one of the best preserved in the US, with grand merchant houses and plantation estates. Historic Fort Sumter sits on an island in Charleston Harbour and there is a great regional art gallery and an excellent food scene.

SAVANNAH This architectural gem on the Georgia coastline has a distinctly southern feel. Elegant 19th century town houses sit on a grid of 24 leafy squares, all made famous by John Berendt’s true crime novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

THE FRENCH QUARTER, NEW ORLEANS A joyous, spontaneous mix of Anglo, Creole and Black cultures, with historical sites, fine food and countless music venues, the French Quarter never fails to delight visitors. Stroll around the Quarter listening to impromptu street performances, tasting local treats and visiting historic sites.

THE SOUL OF NEW ORLEANS

Why does New Orleans have such a fabulous music scene? A peek into the city’s history reveals some of the reasons. New Orleans was founded in 1718 as part of the French Louisiana colony. The Louisiana territories were ceded to Spain in 1763 but were returned to France in 1803. France almost immediately sold the colony to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. The city differed greatly from the rest of the young United States in its ‘Old World’ cultural relationships. The Creole culture was Catholic and French-speaking. A more liberal outlook on life prevailed, with an appreciation of good food, wine, music, and dancing. Festivals were frequent, and Governor William Claiborne reportedly commented that New Orleanais were ungovernable because of their preoccupation with dancing. The colony's culture was enriched from Africa as well. As early as 1721 enslaved West Africans totalled 30% of the population of New Orleans. Many arrived via the Caribbean and brought with them West Indian cultural traditions. The influx of black Americans brought the elements of the blues, spirituals, and rural dances to New Orleans' music. Ethnic diversity increased further during the 19th century and the concentration of new European immigrants in New Orleans was unique in the South. This rich mix of cultures in New Orleans resulted in considerable cultural exchange. An early example was the city's relatively large and free "Creole of colour" community. Creoles of colour were people of mixed African and European blood and were often well educated craft and trades people. Creole of colour musicians were particularly

known for their skill and discipline. Many were educated in France and played in the best orchestras in the city. Another example is the African dance and drumming tradition, which was documented in New Orleans. By the mid-18th century, slaves gathered socially on Sundays at a special market outside the city's rampart. Later, the area became known as Congo Square, famous for its African dances and the preservation of African musical and cultural elements. Dance in Congo Square ended before the Civil War, but a related musical tradition surfaced in the African-American neighbourhoods – Mardi Gras Indians. These were black groups who dressed as American Indians for the Mardi Gras festival. Black Mardi Gras Indians felt a spiritual affinity with Native American Indians. On Mardi Gras day they roamed their neighbourhoods looking to outdo rival groups. The demonstration included drumming and call-and-response chanting that was strongly reminiscent of West African and Caribbean music. Louis Armstrong described being affected by Mardi Gras Indian processions as a youngster, and Jelly Roll Morton claimed to have been a scout for an Indian gang. New Orleans music was also impacted by the popular musical forms that proliferated throughout the United States following the Civil War. Brass marching bands were the rage in the late 1880s, and there was also a growing national interest in syncopated musical styles influenced by African-American traditions, such as cakewalks and minstrel tunes. By the 1890s syncopated piano compositions called ragtime created a popular music sensation, and brass bands began supplementing the standard march repertoire with ragtime pieces. The jazz age had begun. Adapted from www.nps.gov

Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D.

Monday 9 October Arrive Washington

The tour begins in our Washington hotel in the early evening, with drinks and a light dinner. Flights depart Eastern Australian cities in the morning, arriving in Los Angeles or San Francisco the same day. Onward flights to Washington, arrive in the late afternoon. Overnight Washington. (D)

Tuesday 10 October Washington’s southern roots

Today’s exploration of Washington focuses on some of the distinctly southern characteristics of an otherwise international capital city. We begin with some of the monument on the National Mall, including those of Jefferson, Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln, all of whom had to straddle the very different northern and southern traditions of the US. In the afternoon we visit to Arlington House, in the midst of the famous war ceremony. Once to home of Robert E Lee, the history of this house also stretches back to Washington. In the evening, after a talk, we gather for a welcome dinner in a local restaurant. (B, D)

Wednesday 11 October ‘We are met on a Great Battlefield’

A full day excursion takes us north of Washington to the famous Civil War battlefield site of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania. Here in July 1863, forces from around the country met in one of the most important engagements of the war, immortalized through Lincoln’s stirring Gettysburg Address. In the morning a local guide will take us through the stages of the battle by visiting a range of sites. After a lunch break in the attractive centre of Gettysburg, there will be time to visit the excellent museum and Vistors’ Centre before returning to Washington. (B)

Thursday 12 October Washington in Washington

George Washington is, needless to say, one of the most influential figures in American History. He was also the epitome of a southern slave plantation owner. Today, after a morning talk, we visit Mount Vernon his estate on the banks of the Potomac south of Washington. We visit the relatively modest homestead, the slave quarters and the impressive museum. This evening has been set aside to attend a performance of drama or music at the mid-century performing arts monolith, the Kennedy Center. (B)

Above: The Martin Luther King memorial, a recent addition to the National Mall in Washington. Below: The Civil War was a surprising stimulus for the visual arts, which sought to commemorate and commiserate the enormous losses. Arlington House, Robert E. Lee’s home on the National Cemetery.

Friday 13 October Jefferson’s Virginia

We depart Washington this morning and spend the day in and around Charlottesville, Virginia. Our first stop is Thomas Jefferson’s fine estate, Monticello. Jefferson viewed himself as an aesthete and spent many years in Europe, all of which shows in the refined Palladian design. In the afternoon we tour the equally impressive campus of the University of Virginia, also designed by Jefferson and considered by him to be one of his key achievements. We continue to Richmond in the late afternoon, and there is dinner in a local restaurant. (B, D)

Saturday 14 October Old Dominion

The Commonwealth of Virginia was nicknamed ‘Old Dominion’, recognizing its status as the first colonial possession established in British America. Richmond, its capital, was first explored in 1609 and went on to become the headquarters of the Confederates in the Civil War. This morning, after a talk, we tour the neo-classical state capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson. We then travel south east to the banks of the James River, close to the Atlantic. It was here in 1607 that the British first settled America, coming into contact with the Powhatan Confederacy, of whom Pocahontas was a member. We first tour the site of Jamestown, the first British settlement before calling in at Williamsburg, the first colonial capital. We return to Richmond in the afternoon. (B)

Sunday 15 October Train To the deep south

This morning we make a short visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The museum has a well-regarded collection of European and American art, including one of the best collections of art nouveau design outside France. We then transfer Richmond’s Amtrak station for our afternoon journey south to Charleston. The seven-hour trip, takes us through the countryside of North Carolina and on to South Carolina. We arrive in Charleston in the early evening. There is a dining car on the train, and a luggage service. There is dinner in our hotel tonight. (B, D)

Monday 16 October Townhouses and plantations

This morning we stroll the fine collection of the 18th and early 19th townhouses of merchants and planters on the Charleston peninsula, one of the best preserved historic districts in the USA. These large houses sit side-by-side with fine Georgian churches and more modest dwellings, such as ‘Catfish Row’, made famous by Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. This afternoon we travel along the Ashley River Road to visit the Palladian-style Drayton Hall, on one of the rice plantations which were once the backbone of Charleston’s

Above: An artist’s impression of the Jamestown settlement. Below: Art Nouveau at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Drayton Hall, outside of Charleston, SC.

economy. Observing a southern tradition, our hotel offers complimentary drinks from 5.30pm. (B)

Tuesday 17 October Regional Art and Fort Sumpter

Today we visit the Gibbes Museum of Art, an excellent regional collection of works by well-known colonial artists, displaying the artistic tastes of the 18th and 19th century ‘plantation aristocracy’. In the afternoon we join a cruise of Charleston Harbor, learning about the history of the harbor, before visiting Fort Sumter, where the first major military engagement of the Civil War took place. Dinner is in a local restaurant tonight. (B, D)

Wednesday 18 October Savannah

We spend the full day in Savannah. Savannah owes its beauty to the vision of James Oglethorpe, one of the 21 original British colonists of Georgia. Ogelthorpe laid out a street plan of 24 leafy squares. Around these squares were built fine town houses, most of which survive. Savannah’s beautiful houses and society is best known to us through John Berendt’s popular book, Midnight in the garden of good and evil. This morning we take a walking tour of the town. In the afternoon we visit the First Baptist Church. Founded in 1800, the church played a pivotal role in the ‘underground railway’, and informal network of secret routes and safe houses through which slaves escaped to the northern states. Back in Charleston, the evening is free. (B)

Thursday 19 October To New Orleans

This morning we fly from Charleston to New Orleans, via Atlanta. After checking in to our hotel in the French Quarter we take a brief walking tour. Located on the site of the original settlement of the French Mississippi Company, most of the buildings standing today are actually from the period of Spanish control of the colony (1763-1801). Our walk takes in the fine cathedral of St Louis, Jackson Square, the levee of the Mississippi River and of course Bourbon Street. Tonight we dine at Cochon, a fine restaurant serving characteristic Creole dishes. (B, D)

Friday 20 October the French Quarter

After a morning talk we visit the State Museum of Louisiana, housed in the Cabildo – the heart of Spanish colonial administration. The museum’s displays take us from the French and Spanish colonial periods to the time of the Civil War and beyond. The afternoon is free to stroll the shops and cafes of the French Quarter, take in an impromptu musical performance on the streets, or visit the Arts Center or the National World War II Museum. Tonight we attend the 8pm show at Snug Harbour, one of the city’s better known jazz venues. (B)

Above: Childe Hassam’s April, a highlight of the Gibbes Museum; The cover of John Berendt’s celebrated book bout Savannah. Below: Street musicians in New Orleans

Hotels Hotels have been selected principally for their central location. Washington, DC Hilton Garden Inn (4 nights)

www3.hilton.com Richmond, Virginia The Berkeley Hotel (2 nights)

www.berkeleyhotel.com Charleston, South Carolina French Quarter Inn

(4 nights) www.fqicharleston.com

New Orleans, Louisiana, Hotel Richelieu (3 nights) www.lerichelieuhotel.com

White Castle, Louisiana, Nottoway Plantation (1 night) www.nottoway.com

Saturday 21 October The garden district and beyond

This morning, a coach then takes to the leafy Garden District, the 19th century enclave of New Orleans non-Creole population. We also visit the Lower 9th Ward, a district devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and perhaps Tremé, home of New Orlean’s ‘Mardi Gras Indians’. The afternoon is free to relax or undertake individual sightseeing, and this evening there is the option of attending another jazz performance.

Sunday 22 October Cajun Country

A few hours west of New Orleans lies the Atchafalaya Basin, the heart of Cajun America. Descended from Canadian French trappers, the Cajuns today live a simple life and speak an unusual patois of old French and English. Late this morning we take a boat tour through one of the bayous of southern Louisiana, teeming with wildlife, including alligators. We spend the final night of the tour at Nottoway Plantation on the banks of the Mississippi. Today it is a comfortable historic hotel. (B, D)

Monday 23 October Plantations on the Mississippi

On our final day we visit two fine examples of antebellum sugar plantations not far from New Orleans. Oak Alley is best known for its grand white columns and its equally grand canopied path of southern live oak trees – the epitome of a plantation home. Creole-owned Laura Plantation is more modest, but has a fascinating history and well-preserved slave quarters. After lunch at the café at Laura we head to New Orleans airport, where the tour ends. Flights to Australia via Los Angeles depart in the late afternoon. (B)

Louisiana scenes, top to bottom: The streetcars that run through the Garden District of New Orleans; Oak Alley, the most picturesque of the Mississippi Delta plantation homes; Nottoway Plantation, where we spend the final night of the tour.

Fitness Requirements of THIS tour

Grade Two

It is important both for you and for your fellow travellers that you are fit enough to be able to enjoy all the activities on this tour. To give you an indication of the level of physical fitness required to participate on our tours, we have given them a star grading. Academy Travel’s tours tend to feature extended walking tours and site visits, which require greater fitness than coach touring. We ask you to carefully consider your ability to meet the physical demands of the tour.

Participation criteria for this tour This Grade Two tour is designed for people who lead active lives and can comfortably participate in up to five hours of physical activity per day on most days, including longer walking tours, challenging archaeological sites, climbing stairs, embarking and disembarking trains and/or boats, and a more demanding tour schedule with one night stops or several internal flights. You should be able to: keep up with the group at all times walk for 4-5 kilometres at a moderate pace with only

short breaks stand for a reasonable length of time in galleries and

museums tolerate uncomfortable climatic conditions such as cold,

humidity and heat walk up and down slopes negotiate steps and slopes on historic sites, which are

often uneven and unstable get on and off a large coach with steep stairs, train or

boat unassisted, possibly with luggage move your luggage a short distance if required

A note for older travellers If you are more than 80 years old, or have restricted mobility, it is highly likely that you will find this itinerary challenging. You will have to miss several activities and will not get the full value of the tour. Your booking will not be accepted until after you have contacted Academy Travel to discuss your situation and the exact physical requirements of this tour. While we will do our best to reasonably accommodate the physical needs of all group members, we reserve the right to refuse bookings if we feel that the requirements of the tour are too demanding for you and/or if local conditions mean we cannot reasonably accommodate your condition.

Tour Price The tour price is $9,950 per person, twin share (land content only). The supplement for a single room is $3,500 per person. A non-refundable deposit of $500 per person is required to secure a place on the tour.

Included in the tour price

14 nights accommodation in hotels listed in this itinerary All breakfasts (some continental only) Six dinners and lunches in hotels or local restaurants One way economy class air travel Charleston to New

Orleans All entrance fees to sights mentioned on itinerary Concert or opera in Washington and live jazz in New

Orleans Services of tour leader from arrival to departure in

destination country Local guides, museum and gallery ‘docents’ at all major

sites Five background lectures, expert onsite commentary

and tour notes All tipping to local guides, drivers and restaurants

Not included

International airfares Travel insurance Meals not explicitly stated as included in itinerary Personal expenditure such as laundry, phone calls or

internet usage

Air travel OPTIONS The tour price quoted is for land content only. For this tour, we recommend Qantas, United or Delta. Please contact us for fare quotes and booking information. Transfers between airport and hotel are included for all passengers booking their flights through Academy Travel. Transfers may be group or individual.

Enquiries & bookings For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Jemma York at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email jemma@academytravel.com.au

Weather Many locals in the southern United States regard October as one of the best months to visit. Temperatures should range from about 15 degrees to the high 20s, with some remains of the summer humidity, especially in South Carolina and Louisiana. There is a chance of some late summer rain and a few grey days, but October is a relatively dry month 0on average.