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 San Francisco highlights
Chinatown discovery - a walking excursion
The City and the Bay
Historic San Francisco
Magical Marin
Magical Marin with lunch and ferry
Alcatraz: 'The Rock'
Monterey, Carmel and the 17-mile drive with lunch
Antiquing across the Bay
Splendid survivors
Golden Gate Bridge experience
Nature ramble
Hot air ballooning over the wine country
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Booking Excursions
Please complete the Excursion Registration Form and make cheques payable to: Mana, Allison & Associates, 1388 Sutter Street, Suite 525, San Francisco CA 94109, USA, fax: +1 (415) 474 1989.
Excursion Schedule
All tours will depart from and return to the San Francisco Marriott.
Guests may attend the Cultural Issues programme, 'The human face of ICT (information and communication technology)' on Tuesday 16 September, 0900-1200.
Click here to download the Excursion Schedule.
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Monterey, Carmel and the
17-mile drive with lunch
(Approximately 11 hours)
0730 - 1830 Sunday 14 September
0730 - 1830 Monday 15 September
0730 - 1830 Friday 19 September
On this excursion, you will drive down the
San Francisco Peninsula and cross the
Santa Cruz Mountains to the historic
seaport of Monterey; once the capital of
California in Spanish colonial days and
centre of one of the world's most
beautiful coastlines.
Here you will drive through old
Monterey, seeing adobe houses that date
back to the early days of California, and
pass along Cannery Row, immortalised in
the writings of John Steinbeck. Not far
from Monterey is the picturesque village
of Carmel-by-the-Sea, an artists' colony
that possesses dramatic white sand
beaches, quiet streets, quaint cottages
and unusual boutiques. Carmel's many
vivid galleries and arts oriented lifestyle
are irresistible to any who are lucky
enough to visit. Ample time will be
provided for some personal exploration.
A visit to the Monterey peninsula
would not be complete without a drive
along the 17-mile drive, a romantic and
rugged coastline featuring rocky coves,
windblown cypresses and multi-million
dollar seafront mansions.
During your excursion you will enjoy a
delicious luncheon, either in Monterey
overlooking the historic yacht harbor or
in cultural Carmel, celebrated for its
gingerbread look and celebrity
inhabitants.
At the end of this eventful day, you will
return to San Francisco, enchanted by the
magic of California's diversity.
PRICE: $104 per person
(Based on a minimum of 35 participants)
Excursion includes:
- Transportation via deluxe motorcoach
- Narration by professional, uniformed
guide
- Admission to 17-mile drive
- Luncheon
- Tax and gratuity on food and beverage
Driving time to and from the Monterey
peninsula is 2˝-3 hours in each direction.
There will be approximately one hour in
Carmel; one hour in Monterey; one hour
for lunch and 1˝ hours driving along the
17-mile drive.
Antiquing across the Bay
(Approximately 5 hours)
0930 - 1430 Tuesday 16 September
0930 - 1430 Thursday 18 September
Today you will enjoy a delightful day of
antiquing in Marin County. Located north
of San Francisco, the county, as it is
known by locals, is full of quaint towns
and villages, and large tracts of unsettled
parkland. Your coach will take you north
on highway 101, the King's Highway,
to the Ross Valley, and the town of San
Anselmo. Settled and incorporated in
1907, primarily by San Franciscans fleeing
the earthquake and fire torn city, San
Anselmo remains small and village-like.
It boasts a disproportionately large
number of delightful shops, offering such
things as original handcrafted jewellery,
pottery, Indian crafts and antiques. In
fact, San Anselmo is famed as the antique
capital of Northern California.
You'll have a chance to see the eclectic
mix of cultures and styles that qualify as
antiques in the Bay Area. Antique hunting
on the west coast is always an adventure.
There is, for example, more than a hint
of the east in the west, so expect to see
objects and furniture from every port in
the Pacific. There will be time in San
Anselmo to shop and explore the antique
treasures hidden away in the town's
many charming shops.
PRICE: $28 per person
(Based on a minimum of 35 participants)
Excursion includes:
Transportation via deluxe motorcoach
Professional uniformed supervision
Splendid survivors
(Approximately 4 hours)
1330 - 1730 Tuesday 16 September
0815 - 1215 Wednesday 17 September
1300 - 1700 Friday 19 September
San Francisco is a living museum of
Victorian architecture, with hundreds of
picturesque houses built in the 1870-
1890s, when the city was known as the
'Paris of the West'. These ornate redwood
houses, embellished with turrets, bay
windows and elaborate trimmings, have
survived earthquakes and fires as well as
changes in personal tastes.
Many of these beautiful houses have
been restored to their original decorated
glory, and painted in bright colours,
recapturing the splendour of old San
Francisco. Today you will visit two of
these lovely 'Painted Ladies', each
carefully and lovingly restored to their
nineteenth century opulence by their
owners.
The artistic passions and sensibilities
that have inspired these individuals to
strip their homes of the sober plaster, laid
on in ages of simplicity and austerity, and
restore them to their original glory, often
does not stop at the doorway. You will
see these homes filled with a variety of
fascinating objects. Some home owners
have striven to emulate the original
Victorian look; knick-knacks, décor and
palms abound. Others collect a range of
interesting items - miniatures, mechanical
pianos, toys.
Your afternoon will draw to a close
with a drive through some of the
neighbourhoods noted for their
outstanding Victorian architecture.
PRICE: $44 per person
(Based on a minimum of 35 participants)
Excursion includes:
- Transportation via deluxe motorcoach
- Narration by professional uniformed
guide
- Private tours at two Victorian buildings
'Inside art'
An Insider's Tour to San Francisco Art Galleries
(Approximately 4 hours)
1245 - 1645 Tuesday 16 September
1000 - 1400 Wednesday 17 September
1230 - 1630 Friday 19 September
Today you will enjoy a special treat as
you visit San Francisco art galleries with
local art experts.
San Francisco, like New York,
Paris, London and Los Angeles, is an
international centre for the arts. Home to
a world-renowned symphony orchestra,
opera and ballet, the Bay Area also boasts
quite a few artists of impeccable repute,
including painters, sculptors and
ceramicists.
Today, you will get an exclusive guided
tour to some of the best galleries in the
area. Your tour will be conducted by
trained professional guides, who have
been working in the art world for years.
Their close relationships with the galleries'
owners and staff will add a personal
touch to this tour, and you will get an
insider's view of the art world not
available to the ordinary patron walking
in off the street.
You will visit galleries in the downtown
Union Square area. At each of the
galleries you visit, one of the senior
gallery staff, perhaps even the owner,
will meet you and conduct a personal
guided tour of the gallery's works of art.
You will hear interesting, and sometimes
humorous stories behind the creation of
these masterpieces, and gain a unique
appreciation for the artistic sensibilities
that have inspired these works.
At the end of your walking tour, you
will be free to return to any of the
galleries which have been visited, perhaps
purchasing something that caught your
fancy. If you wish, the guides will be
more than happy to offer suggestions and
directions to further galleries, if you
would like to continue your exploration.
This is certain to be an interesting and
enlightening day!
PRICE: $79 per person
(Based on a minimum of 20 participants)
Excursion includes:
- Private guided walking tour to four
San Francisco art galleries
- Tours of each gallery by gallery senior
staff or owner
- Transportation via deluxe mini-coach
Golden Gate Bridge experience
(Approximately 3 hours)
1330 - 1630 Sunday 14 September
0915 - 1215 Wednesday 17 September
1300 - 1600 Thursday 18 September
 San Francisco is a walkers' city. Although
the city offers many grand vistas and
impressive scenes, many of the best visual
treasures are glimpsed down a side street,
or gazed upon from a strategically placed
bench or neighbourhood park.
On this excursion you will experience
one of the true wonders of the world:
an early morning or late afternoon
walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Completed in 1937, the bridge is rightly
one of the most famous structures in the
world.
As you walk south across the bridge,
you'll marvel at the many sights that
comprise the San Francisco Bay region.
Enjoy the spectacular views including
Alcatraz and Angel Islands, Sausalito,
Berkeley in the distance, and of course
the city's skyline.
Once across the bridge, you can
explore the flower gardens, the gift shop,
and nearby Fort Point. The coach will be
standing by to return to the San Francisco
Marriott.
PRICE: $30 per person
(Based on a minimum of 35 participants)
Excursion includes:
- Transportation via deluxe motorcoach
- Narration and walking tour by professional, uniformed guides
Nature ramble
(Approximately 4 hours)
1230 - 1630 Tuesday 16 September
1230 - 1630 Wednesday 17 September
1230 - 1630 Thursday 18 September
1245 - 1645 Friday 19 September
Exchange the harsh sounds of the city for
softly clanging sea bells, barking seals,
and wind whispering in the chaparral and
thistleweed. Today's stroll, not designed
for the ardent hiker, but for everyone
who enjoys nature, takes you into the
magnificent Marin Headlands, across the
Golden Gate Straits from San Francisco.
Close to the city in distance and time,
but many moods apart, the Headlands
provide a quick departure from urban
activity. Windswept ridges, protected
valleys, and beaches offer nature's best
on the city's doorstep. From the hillsides
near the Golden Gate, you can enjoy
magnificent views of the San Francisco
harbour.
A guide will lead you on a leisurely
walk through the headlands, explaining
the natural history and geology of the
landscape. Your day will include a visit to
the Marine Mammal Center. This private,
non-profit organisation is licensed by the
federal government to rescue and
rehabilitate stranded marine mammals
along the California coast. Since its
incorporation in 1975, staff and
volunteers have returned hundreds of
wild animals to their natural environment.
You may also see a New England style
lighthouse, located through a tunnel and
across a suspension bridge. Whatever you
see, you will be sure to return to the city
both invigorated and relaxed.
PRICE: $45 per person
(Based on a minimum of 20 participants)
Excursion includes:
- Transportation via deluxe mini-coach
- Nature walk by naturalist guide
- Visit to the Marine Mammal Center
- All admission fees
Please note: Wear layered clothing and
a windbreaker, as well as comfortable
walking shoes.
Hot air ballooning over the California wine country
(Approximately 7 hours)
0400 - 1100 Sunday 14 September
0400 - 1100 Friday 19 September
 On this excursion you will experience the
peaceful serenity and pastoral scenery
which can only be encountered while
floating over California's wine country
in a hot air balloon.
You will arrive at the lift-off point
at dawn, the calmest time of the day.
You will board the handcrafted wicker
gondola for a lift-off so gentle, you may
not realise you have left. Launching just
after sunrise, the breezes will usher the
balloon high above the corridors of
grapes and between the mountains of
one of the most impressive valleys on
earth. As you slowly ascend, you will
observe the vineyards awakening to the
songs of birds. The flight will last approximately
one hour; a memory for a lifetime.
On your return to the launch site,
you will celebrate in the time-honoured
tradition of champagne, accompanied
by a delicious Napa Valley brunch.
At the conclusion of the adventure,
the mini-coach will return you to the
San Francisco Marriott.
PRICE: $335 per person
(Based on a minimum of 20 participants)
Excursion includes:
- Transportation via deluxe mini-coach
- Narration by professional, uniformed
guide
- Approximately one-hour balloon ride
over the Napa Valley
- Brunch as outlined
- Champagne and orange juice
- Tax and gratuity on food and beverage
Sample brunch menu
- Freshly baked muffins, croissants and
danishes
- Quiche
- Fresh seasonal fruit
- Freshly brewed regular or decaffeinated
coffee or tea
- Champagne
- Orange juice
Deadline booking date is Friday
25 July.
If bad weather prevents a launch, you will
receive a refund of the tour price less a
20% administrative fee.
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