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News
ABOVE: Dessert takes on a bicycling theme with Austin-Lehman Adventures. Austian-Lehman Adventures will offer 26 cycling itineraries in 2009BILLINGS, MT, Oct., 2008 – Austin-Lehman Adventures (ALA) is rolling out in April 2009 the first of 26 comprehensive, active and culturally rewarding European cycling itineraries. Two examples of ALA's new journeys are Italy - Veneto's Prosecco, Prawns, Villas & Vistas with departures beginning April 25 and France - La Loire: Castles to Coteaux with departures beginning May 9. Both itineraries are 8 days and 7 nights. The Italian journey weaves Venice into the overall tapestry known as the Veneto, once the sanctuary of wealthy Venetian nobles and today lavished with agricultural pursuits including robust vineyards. Guests cycle for up to 40 miles daily through fortified towns and by opulent villas enroute to Asolo from the Brenta Canal. The five departures are April 25-May 2, May 30-June 6, June 20-27, Sept. 5-12 and Sept. 26-Oct. 3. These trips begin and end in Venice and are priced at US $3,498 per person, double occupancy ($780 single supplement). In France, cyclists retrace the footsteps of King Charles VIII, Catherine de Medici, Leonardo da Vinci and Joan of Arc along the Loire, Indre and Cher rivers offering up superb dining and wine-tasting opportunities. This journey begins in Versailles before traversing up to 50 miles a day amidst chateaux, sunflowers and medieval wine caves and ending in Tours. The seven departures are May 9-16, June 6-13, July 11-18, Aug 1-8, Aug 15-22, Sept. 5-12 and Sept. 27-Oct. 3. The cost is $3,498 per person, double occupancy. ($565 single supplement) Go to: For 2009, additional itineraries offered in France include Bordeaux to Dordogne, A Taste of Provence, La Provence Complète and the Brittany Coast to Normandy Beaches. In Italy programs include the Tuscan Coast & the Isle of Elba and Tuscany: the Heartland. There are also new trips being launched in Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria plus a series of family adventures beginning midsummer 2009. A special feature of ALA's European program is that guests can choose travel based on specific itineraries, dates and level of luxury. Designated "Luxury" tours offer stays in distinctive 4- and 5-star accommodations. "Comfort" tours include stays in 3-star hotels (with the occasional 4-star), offering a savings of up to 25 percent. On all trips lodgings are selected to blend well into daily cycle routes offering comfort and history and steeped in local charm. Aside from the hotel ratings, Luxury and Comfort tours are virtually the same. They follow the same exclusive routes and are both fully supported with daylong roadside van support and around-the-clock guide service. Meals at both levels showcase the same gourmet regional specialties, and breakfast is always included. The Austin-Lehman Adventures forte is to give guests a comprehensive and authentic insider's view of regions visited. "Our programs are about the luxury of learning, stimulating activity and the tender loving care we lavish on our guests," says Paul Lehman, ALA founding partner, noting that his company's 6 guests to one guide ratio has set an industry standard that makes these immersive trips personally rewarding. Austin-Lehman Adventures manages all of the arrangements for its selected destinations that include iconic regions of North, Central and South America as well as southern Africa and now Europe. Small groups are limited to 12 guests (18 on family departures). Rates include first-class accommodations, most meals and beverages, expert guides, park entry fees, multisport activities such as hiking, biking, rafting, horseback riding and more, ground transportation and luggage service. Not included is round trip travel to the host city. For a copy of the 2009 catalog
as well as information on ALA's 66 unique itineraries for active adult and
family travel, please call toll-free 1.800.575.1540 in the United States, or
e-mail info@austinlehman.com. To review current trips, schedules and itineraries
you can log onto its website:
www.austinlehman.com. Photo copyright © Austin-Lehman Adventures.
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