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Our Tour "Themes"...

The Bike Tour
The Roman & Castle Tour
Art and Beach Tour
Camargue and Féria Tour
Le Lubéron Tour
The Wine Crush Tour
The Fall Colors Tour
The Marmiton Cooking Class
The Avignon Festival Tour
The Senior Tour of Provençe
American Student Tour of Provençe
Abbeys and Cathedrals of Provençe
The Dive Trip

Other...

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The Manse
The Cloisters
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The Senior Tour of Provençe

More than half the tours at The Parish have "Senior Tour" Themes. These are tours in which the average age of the participants is 60+. Age, however, is no gauge of a "Senior" tour. Commonality of interest makes a "Senior" Tour. The age is secondary. The distinguishing theme of a senior tour is that there Will Not Be Much Walking. Still, I need to know immediately what, if any, impediments you may have in walking moderate distances. However indiscreet, each guest must tell me their actual age, weight, any medical limitations, and the maximum flat distance they can walk in a half-hour. Now you'd probably like to know what distinguishes this tour from any other "Senior" Tour:

The important distinction of a Senior Tour of Provençe is that your Host is your Tour Guide. We also distinguish ourselves from every other tour by virtue of the low cost and the way we run the tour. First of all the cost is about 1/2 the cost of other tours. Instead of locking you into an airfare out of the U.S. that restricts you, we allow you to get essentially the same price ticket as you would get if it were part a tour package; this may be the time you want to finally use those Frequent Flyer Miles.

We have found that over half of our "well seasoned" traveler clientele come on our Senior Tour during the months of April and then again in September and October. The weather is milder and there is not as much chance that the heat will be an impediment to visiting some of the fine outside sites, in particular the Roman archeological digs at Vaison la Romaine and Glanum.

When we go on these trips, you'll probably not be aware that 90 % of English speaking people visit these sites without any understanding of the Roman history behind them, so we distinguish ourselves by actually explaining things to you in a way you can understand. Its a personalized tour, in which we are available, living a doorway away, but leaving you to enjoy the tranquillity of your own apartment.

We distinguish ourselves in another equally important way.  We do not drag you from one hotel to the next and give you planned menus. We reduce the cost so that you can either A) cook in your own kitchen or, B) go out to the dozens of restaurants (please see Restaurant Review) in Avignon and sample a wide selection on Parisian-quality menus. You've saved enough on this tour to be able to eat exactly what you want, when you want, and if you want. It is not uncommon for guests (limit 14) to decide to meet in each others' apartments and cook up a pot luck get-together. They've been known to have a little party, sometimes. This is the kind of ambiance we encourage. The important things is that you do not have to participate, because you live on your own floor. Half the guests are very content by themselves, and their solitude and desire for privacy is respected at The Parish House.

The Parish House itself is a three story "Maison de Ville" in its own cul-de-sac only 200 ft from the splendid Palace of the Popes, within the walled medieval ramparts of the ancient city of Avignon, and only an ancient stairway away from the Pope's private garden, the now-public Jardin des Doms. The Parish is two side-by-side buildings: "The Manse", its top floor opening on a large terrace overlooking the tiled roofs of Avignon, and "The Cloisters" with its more apartment-like suites of three rooms. All are on their own separate floor, all with private bathrooms. The large atriumed & Gothic-tiled Great Room of the Cloisters serves as a sunny Assembly Room, where we meet each morning for breakfast, and where we plan our next day's exploration of Provençe.

You stay in the same apartment for 14 nights. Unlike other tours, which count the departure day at both ends, we do not. You get a full 14 nights at The Parish House. Their tours cost at a minimum about $180 per day. Ours cost about $100 per day. On our tour you have to buy your own lunch and dinner. This can be done easily for $20 per day using the restaurants, or $8 per day using your own kitchen. Breakfast is on us. Economical and Flexible, the Parish Senior Tour is a good deal. That is why the majority of our customers are well-seasoned travelers, who know where to spend their hard-earned dollar. They also tend to be independent and adventurous, full of questions and usually well-read about Provençe, or at least France. Most have no more than a smattering of the language, have usually brushed up on their high school French, and approach their vacation as an educational experience, always willing to try something new. If not before they arrive, by the time they leave, they've developed a new understanding of France, from the perspective of a resident.

You get 5 days on your own, out of the 14, and you don't have to go outside of Avignon to fill these 5 days. It is a very interesting, old town, with two palaces, 2 excellent museums, several dozen art galleries, cafés, movie theaters, even an opera house with an active schedule. There is plenty to do on those 5 days, without walking more than three city blocks. We pride ourselves on giving you a personal tour, never more than 7 people per Day Trip. The Day Trips (9 total) visit StRemy/Glanum, Arles, Uzés/Pont du Gard, Isle-sur-Sorgues/ Fontaine de Vaucluse, Orange/ Chateauneuf du Pape, Les Baux/Daudet's Mill, and Gordes /Abbey of Sénanque, and a long day trip to our secret haunts on the Côte D'Azur. These places are definitely "de rigueur" if you want to hit the high spots. The Day Trips can be modified to a special "feature". For instance, the Camargue Tour allows us to spend one day at either the Nîmes or Arles "Ferîa", a yearly festival. Otherwise, we might visit a nature preserve, walk a beach, watch the flamingos fly, picnic at a seaside castle, sometimes taking in one of those yellow Van Gogh sunsets on our way home. The next day, we might visit an olive oil mill, a monastery, or the lavender museum, depending again on our discussion of the previous evening, where we decide which trip fits our mood.

When you have decided when you want to go, give us a call. Senior Trips make up half of our tours, and they run all the time.

For more information, please contact me at:

toursofprovence@aol.com

or call

970.241.5034