Western Mediterranean, 14 Nights

The airport for Puerto La Cruz in northeast on the Caribbean. Isla de Margarita is off the coast.

The French Riviera is synonymous with beaches, splendid scenery and fascinating people, and nowhere is this more evident than in Cannes. Artists, writers, actors and jet-setters from the world over come here to enjoy the elegant boutiques, art galleries, extravagant restaurants and hotels along the Cote d’Azur.

And of course, the annual Cannes Film Festival draws the creme de la creme of trendsetting celebrities. Nearby is the town of Grasse, known for its fields of fragrant blossoms and perfume factory, and further along is St. Paul-de-Vence, a fortified medieval town perched high atop a hill. It was here that painter Marc Chagall lived and was inspired to create many of his Expressionist masterpieces.

Cartagena, (kär´te-jê´ne) city (1985 pop. 563,949), capital of Bolívar dept., NW Colombia, a port on the Bay of Cartagena, in the Caribbean Sea. Oil-refining and the manufacture of leather, textile, and tobacco goods are major industries, and there is an expanding petrochemical complex. Founded in 1533, Cartagena became the treasure city of the Spanish Main, where precious New World minerals awaited transshipment to Spain. It was often sacked despite its massive fortifications, some of which still stand. It declared its independence from Spain in 1811 and was incorporated into Colombia in 1821. Its rapid development in the 20th cent. was due largely to the discovery of oil in the Magdalena basin. One of the most picturesque of Latin American cities, with shady plazas and cobblestone streets, Cartagena attracts many tourists.

Today the port of Civitavecchia has the advantage of being the Italian “stepping stone to the Mediterranean” thanks to its excellent weather conditions and ideal geographical location.

From Civitavecchia it is a train ride to almost anywhere in Italy and a quick jaunt to Sardinia. Its position has helped make it the main national coastal shipping port.

Livorno (also known as Leghorn), is situated on the Tyrrhenian coast at the southern edge of the Arno alluvial plain and is an important commercial and industrial center and port. It was founded on a former auxiliary Pisan port between 1576 and the early 17th century, on the orders of the Grand Duke Cosimo I who made it Tuscany’s main outlet to the sea after the Pisan port was filled in. Originally constructed to a pentagonal design and with a still visible orthogonal street system, the town grew in the 19th century; it suffered serious damage during the last War and now has a modern appearance.

Lava, spewing from a live volcano–no, you won’t see this in Naples, Italy, and you’re lucky, because the last folks in these parts who witnessed such an event were the natives of Pompeii, who were buried under 30 feet of ash and pumice stone in AD 79. You can, however, visit the beautifully preserved remains of this unfortunate city on a short tour from Naples.

There’s much more to Naples, of course. This picturesque city is one of the great cultural centers, full of extraordinary works of art and architecture in the classical Greek and Roman styles.

Naples, on its justly famous blue bay, is the great city of the south. Located on the southwest coast of Italy, south of Rome. The Amalfi Drive to the south arguably is the world’s most scenic motor route. Naples enjoys a very dry and warm climate year around.

At the northwest of the Canaries archipelago, a few hundred miles from the coast of north-west Africa, lies the island of La Palma, also known as La Isla Bonita, because of its extraordinary natural beauty.

La Palma is one of the smaller of the Canary islands, with a surface area of 706 square kilometres and a population of only 80,000. It is unusual in that it rises exceptionally steeply from the ocean, the entire central mountain range exceeding
2000 m in altitude. The highest point on the island is the Roque de los Muchachos (2426 m), the location of the astronomical observatory.

Southampton Parish, on Main Island, is one of the nine parishes each of 2.3055 (two point three zero five five) square miles. It was named after Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton (1573-1624), an English aristocrat, one of the most colorful Elizabethans, the patron and friend of William Shakespeare.

Visit Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California.