Pilgrimage Itineraries for 2008
Bei Pellegrini tours are all scheduled in the Spring and Fall seasons of the year when there are fewer tourists and the opportunity for more personal interactions in the special places we visit.
Although we repeat many of our tours, they are never the same twice as we are in a constant state of discovery, along with you, meeting new people, finding yet another good restaurant, or one more sacred site that calls to us.
We also create and lead personalized ancestral sojourns.
Please note:
- Land only, double occupancy
- If more than a 10% currency exchange fluctuation,
additional charges will be assessed - Itineraries subject to change
Pilgrimages 2008
France
The Sacred Flame —
Mysteries of Southern France
October 17 to October 28, 2008
12 days, 11 nights — $3750
(land only and double occupancy)
Fitness Level: Athletic Walker
Land of the Templars, Cathars and Mary Magdalene — Southern France: revered sites are devoted to Mary Magdalene; and ancient castles reveal the birthplace of the Troubadours and their Courts of Love. Black Madonnas will draw us with their mystery; the aura of the Knights Templar will enfold us, and Cathar legends entrance us... stand on the medieval battlements of Carcassonne and the parapets of Montsegur; attend the Fête of St. Sarah in Stes. Maries de la Mer, climb to the grotto of Mary Magdalene at Ste. Baume, visit her basilica in St. Maximin,... Eat, drink and make merry as the mysteries of this beautiful area are revealed to you.....
Niobe Weaver, sound healer, singer, songwriter, musician with 25 years in the performing and healing arts will join us to add a sound dimension to our journey, opening and closing each day with a song, chant or prayer. Join us on this exceptional pilgrimage.
Optional add–on: Paris Whimsy (see below).
Paris Whimsy Tour
A Pilgrimage of Joyous Wonder
Walking, Biking & Boating in the City of Light
(Optional add-on to France itineraries)
October 29 to November 1, 2008
4 days, 3 nights — $1100
(land only and double occupancy)
Fitness Level: Easy Walker
Paris, The City of Light — finding the unusual, witty, fun, places that most visitors never see in this sophisticated capital of unexpected whimsy. Walking, biking and boating are a few means of transport we will use to get around. Interactive and playful, you need to bring your sense of humor and penchant for adventure along for this itinerary. We will visit out-of-the-way museums and historical sites unknown to the average tourist. We will eat where the locals do, have an opportunity to shop on neighborhood market streets, at the booksellers along the Seine, and browse some posh up-scale places, as well. Each Paris Whimsy tour will be random abstract, with many selections for the group to make individually and collectively, from our zany collection of eclectic things to do and see.
Cloisters, Chants & Labyrinths in Northern France
TBA
10 days, 9 nights — $3500
(land only and double occupancy)
This Pilgrimage offers profound experiences of holiness and hilarity for pilgrims of all walks of life. Beginning in Paris, we will stay at a Benedictine priory in the heart of Montmartre and then travel to the world-renowned medieval labyrinth located in the beautiful Chartres Cathedral. Our sacred journey will then take us through the Normandy countryside and on to stunning Mont St. Michel to hear the chanting of the monks on Sunday morning. We will stay with the Carmelite sisters at the Hermitage of St. Therese in Lisieux and visit selected revered sites of this dear saint. From Lisieux we also make a reflective sojourn to the Normandy D-Day landing beaches and the war cemeteries. Then back to Paris, for laughter and levity in the City of Light.
Spain
The Way of Saint James
The Camino de Santiago
A Pilgrimage to Compostela
October 4 to October 14, 2008
11 days, 10 nights — $3400
(land only and double occupancy)
Fitness Level: Athletic Intermediate Walker
This beautiful path, the Road to Santiago de Compostela, began in the 9th century. It has been walked by kings and peasants, crusaders and monks, sinners and saints, and men and women from every walk of life. The route, changed little since the Middle Ages, is marked by the scallop shell to guide and inspire your way. Santiago, the city itself, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Special guest, Gil Yslas, master guitarist, songwriter, composer and lifetime musician will join us to share his music and insights on this ancient path.
It is splendid and especially beautiful to the pilgrim as one of the three sacred centers of Christianity, in company with Jerusalem and Rome. Now a lively university town, Santiago boasts busy streets, pretty squares, historical buildings, many churches and, of course, the Cathedral of St. James. The Road to Santiago is friendship, sore feet, beautiful sunsets and a continually receding western horizon. It is history, tradition, poetry, oak forests, farm fields, sheep bells, cows and coffee shops. It is ancient but each step is new.
Find your own way on ‘El Camino — The Road.’