For a week this May, Restless publisher and Quixote scholar Ilan Stavans leads a trip through the knight errant's La Mancha with Scholarly Sojourns, the series of international tours led by acclaimed scholars.
Tour Dates: May 28 - June 4, 2017
Price: $3,995/Person (DO), $4,695/person (SO)
Where: Meet Madrid, Spain ~ Depart Barcelona, Spain
Take a Magical Journey Through the Land Where Dreaming Became Art
Perhaps no other novel has made more of an indelible stamp on modern consciousness than the one which lovingly recounts the chivalrous antics of Don Quixote and his colorful sidekick, Sancho Panza, as they traverse the varied and evocative Iberian landscape while meditating on the value of life and the meaning of heroism. The work and its themes are inextricably tied to the rugged beauty of this terrain and there is no more fitting way to explore its wonders than to encounter them in the land where the novel is set. Join us for an enchanting week of wandering down cobblestone lanes through majestic medieval cities, exploring picturesque byways and rustic villages, discovering stunning, off-the-beaten-path locales, and, perhaps, even coaxing our own imaginations enough to glimpse two silhouettes on a distant hillside while we delight in their dalliance with windmills.
Tour Highlights
- Sojourn leader Professor Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, and is also an internationally recognized author, translator, publisher, and TV personality
- A visit to the world-renowned Prado Museum
- Two days in Spain’s capital Madrid, including a privately guided walking tour of its historical center
- A visit to Alcalá de Henares, the birthplace of Cervantes and a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- A special luncheon at a 17th century “venta” (inn) much like those depicted in Don Quixote
- Three days exploring locales associated with Don Quixote amid the rugged beauty of the historic Castile-La Mancha region
- An overnight stay and privately guided walking tour in the breathtaking city of Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- A visit and overnight stay in the enchanting seaside city of Barcelona
- A Scholarly Sojourns’ signature picnic along the picturesque shores at Lagunas de Ruidera
- Overnight stays in the exquisite paradors of Almagro and Alarcón