2025 Adventure #2: Paris and the Île de France: Crucible of Creativity
Themes: The Adventure will revolve around the immense contribution of Paris, and France generally, to some of the most significant developments in European culture. Through presentations, discussions and visits to important sites in Paris and elsewhere, we shall explore through the lens of history such fields as music, Gothic architecture, painting and sculpture from the late 18th to early 20th centuries, and the successive varieties of social and political organisation adopted by France during this period, along with the ideas that inspired them. Special (but not exclusive) attention will be paid to the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.
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Location:
Bois-le-Roi & Vulaines-sur-Seine, in the Île de France
Dates:
September 9 - October 2, 2025 (includes travel from and to Canada)
Group Leaders:
Brett Bowen and John Black
Location: Bois-le-Roi & Vulaines-sur-Seine, in the Île de France, are about 30-40 minutes by train south of Paris. Learning activities, and accommodation for up to 9 participants, will be provided in two rented villas.
Maison de la Mare at Bois-le-Roi
Group Leaders
John Black has MAs in Philosophy from Cambridge and Simon Fraser, and a PhD from the University of British Columbia. He taught for twenty-four years in the interdisciplinary Liberal Studies BA program at Vancouver Island University, and led study-abroad trips to Europe for twenty years before retiring in 2017. He has a special interest in the way developments in French artistic expression during the 19th century reflect transitions in political thinking and practice during that period.
Brett Bowen (B.A., B.Ed., M.Sc.), as a Calgary Board of Education secondary school teacher, received the Alberta Award for Excellence in teaching and the provincial award for contributions to Gifted and Talented Education. After retiring, he moved to Vancouver Island, where he paints and pursues outdoor activities such as kayaking and cycling. Brett has taught for Elder College for a dozen years and has spoken to a wide variety of audiences about the impacts of history on today’s world.
Tentative Itinerary
Day 0
Leave Canada
Day 1
Arrive in Paris. Settle into Hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport
Day 2
Minibus to Bois-le-Roi/Vulaines-sur-Seine; Groceries; Group Meal
Day 3
Seminars: Overview, Imagining the Past and Church Architecture
Day 4
Paris: Basilicas of Saint-Denis and Sacré-Coeur
Day 5
Rest Day
Day 6
Seminars: Pre-Revolutionary France, Revolution Ideas/Conservative Society
Day 7
Château, Tennis Court and Gardens of Versailles
Day 8
Paris: Notre-Dame Cathedral, Sainte-Chapelle, Conciergerie
Day 9
Seminars: Revolution and Reaction, Towards Terror and French Painting from Neoclassicism to Romanticism
Day 10
Paris: Musée du Louvre, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe
Day 11
Rest Day or Wine Tour (optional)
Day 12
Rest Day
Day 13
Seminars: Napoleon and Empire and Paint, Politics and Propaganda
Day 14
Paris: Musée de l’Armée/Invalides/Tomb of Napoleon, Eiffel Tower
Day 15
Seminar: French Painting: Impressionism and Its Aftermath
Day 16
Paris: Musée d’Orsay, L’Orangerie
Day 17
Chartres Cathedral (Labyrinth open)
Day 18
Château and Garden of Vaux-le-Vicomte (Candlelight Evening)
Day 19
Rest Day
Day 20
Seminars: France after Napoleon and French Classical Music
Day 21
Seminar (Constance): Bloomsbury in France; Final Dinner
Day 22
Minibus to Hotel at Charles de Gaulle Airport
Day 23
Fly Home
Additional activities to be arranged: Watercolour Sketchbook Journaling (Terri), Debates, Other Lectures, Shared Meals.
Inclusive Packages
Package costs include program overheads, accommodation, minibus rental, train and metro fares, tourist guides, educational materials and activities, and admissions to all cultural sites and events. Participants must arrange their own air travel to Charles de Gaulle airport and travel insurance, including medical. Food is not included, but the accommodation includes kitchens (so that food costs may be minimised), as well as wifi and washing machines.
Program Fee: $6,495 CAD
(double occupancy)
Shared Accommodation
Two people sharing a bedroom: included
Single Supplement: $1,000