Exclusive 10-Day Journey Offers Insider's View of Cezanne, Picasso

Exclusive 10-Day Journey Offers Insider's View of Cezanne, Picasso

NEW YORK, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- For 10 days next summer, lovers of post- impressionist and cubist artists Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso can experience an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the lives of these masters by booking a 10-day customized tour through Aix-en-Provence and Barcelona.

This exclusive package, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of Cezanne's death, is only available through Ensemble Travel Group's 1,200 travel agency members in the U.S. and Canada. Dates for the two 2006 departures are June 22-July 1 and Sept. 7-16.

"This trip will only be experienced by 40 privileged individuals," said resident scholar Pamela Morton, who will lead the journey in Aix-en-Provence, the setting where Cezanne created perhaps his most powerful and prolific work. "To touch, to feel, to appreciate Cezanne's paintings in their original context and to walk in his footsteps through places that influenced his masterpieces is truly the chance of a lifetime."

Highlights in Provence include private tours of Cezanne's family home (Jas de Bouffan) and studio (Les Lauves), lunch at his favorite bistro (Relais Cezanne), and special entry to the site of much of Cezanne's early work (Bibemus Quarry).

Leading the journey in Barcelona will be art historian Bianca Cadena. Highlights include an expert-led tour of the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, cocktails at Bastide Grimadli with the Dutch sculptor Gabriel Sterk, private wine reception with American sculptor Raquel Cohen, and a private meeting with art foundation collectors at the 17th century Chateau Borely, currently under renovation and set to reopen in 2006 as the much-heralded Museum of Decorative Arts.

Accommodations feature the 4-star Grand Hotel Roi Rene in Aix-en-Provence and the 4-star Hotel Avenida Palace in Barcelona. Cost of the 10-day journey is $4,990 per person, and space is limited.

For more information about the Cezanne-Picasso tour or to find the nearest Ensemble travel agency member, call (866) 350-7460 or visit http://www.ensembletravel.com/ .

Ensemble Travel Group

New York-based Ensemble Travel Group is an international organization of 1,200 professional travel agencies that creates and arranges exclusive travel specials for its members to offer their clients. With expert knowledge of every travel segment -- from the leading cruise lines and tour companies to hotels and resorts around the world -- Ensemble Travel Group member specialists offer customized itineraries and accommodations featuring value- added services and special privileges designed to make each client a recognized "VIP" and each trip memorable.

Source: Ensemble Travel Group

CONTACT: Lois Shore, Ensemble Travel Group, +1-800-442-6871

Web site: http://www.ensembletravel.com/

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