Offers

 

EXCLUSIVE OFFER TO AWWT       The Ultimate Pampering Ladies Only Tour to The Deep South, USA Oct 19th - 29th 2010   Only £2579.00 Per Person inclusive of flights        (SIngle Supplement £655.00) A fully escorted, guaranteed departure to: Nashville & Memphis, TN Jackson & Natchez, MS Lafayette & New Orleans, LA Detailed Itinerary Tue, Oct 19 (Nashville) Depart London Heathrow with Continental Airlines (via Newark) Arrive Nashville and check-in the deluxe Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  You will be greeted by your Sweet Magnolia Tours’ escort and coach.  Overnight Gaylord Opryland Hotel Nashville. Wed, Oct 20 (Nashville) This morning you will be pampered in the Relâche Spa.  Nationally renowned as a premiere spa for exclusive luxurious treatments, Relâche offers soothing massages, rejuvenating facials, relaxing body treatments and invigorating fitness options. The perfect place to soothe the body and soul.  You will be able to choose from 4 different types of massages or 2 different facials. Late morning & early afternoon is free to explore the many shops at Opry Mills next door.  Opry Mills features the best names in manufacturers' and retail outlets including Nike Factory Store, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5TH, Bass Pro Shops, Gap Outlet, Bose Factory Store, XXI Forever, Ann Taylor Factory Store, and Old Navy; high quality entertainment venues and themed restaurants including Rainforest Cafe, Aquarium Restaurant, Regal/IMAX Cinemas and Dave & Buster's.  Also, you will be provided with a discount coupon book providing you with great shopping opportunities. Mid afternoon you will board the coach for a tour of Belle Meade Plantation & Wine Tasting.  Belle Meade Plantation represents a history of agricultural and Thoroughbred breeding success without equal in the American south.  It was a world-renowned thoroughbred stud farm and nursery in the 19th century. This 30-acre site features 10 out buildings, which include an 1832 slave cabin, a colossal carriage house and stables and the centerpiece is the mansion built in 1853. Tonight you will board the General Jackson for a wonderful dinner cruise.  You’ll take a nostalgic journey through America’s music as we cruise the Cumberland River. Join us as we explore the history of country music through the songs that gave a voice to America. We’ll start with the music of country legends like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and other icons of the Grand Ole Opry. We’ll explore the hits of the 90’s from Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. And finally, we’ll enjoy the blockbuster hits of country music today through the music of Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts. This authentic American musical journey includes a delicious prime rib dinner and a three-hour cruise.   Overnight Gaylord Opryland Hotel Nashville (B, D). Thu, Oct 21 (Nashville to Memphis 210 miles / 338 kilometers) Today you depart for Memphis.  En route the group will stop a Casey Jones Village featuring the world famous Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store Restaurant serving delicious Southern buffets daily with an authentically recreated 1890's Ice Cream Parlor & Fudge Shoppe, charming Southern Gift and Confectionery Shoppe and the convenient Old Country Store, all accented with an amazing collection of over 15,000 Southern antiques (lunch not included in pricing).  Upon arrival in Memphis you will check-in the luxurious Hilton Hotel. This afternoon you will enjoy a Memphis city tour.  Memphis is the Gateway to the Old South.  It is one of the most beautiful cities in the Southern United States.  Filled with Southern charm, beautifully restored mansions, sculptured tree-lined parkways, on a setting high on the Fourth Chickasaw Bluff, this river city boasts of glowing sunsets over the Mississippi, the world’s finest BBQ restaurants, and the “Red, Hot & Blue” sounds of the Beale Street Historic Entertainment District.  Come with us on this inclusive tour to explore the city that is called, “The City of Good Abode.”  This tour will take you to the Mississippi Riverfront and through downtown Memphis where tradition and modern progress collide to form an exciting modern city filled with historic sites, fun & adventure.  Sites include the Mighty Mississippi River Front, Harbor Town, the first residential community built on the Mississippi in the last 100 years, Mud Island, the Pyramid, Historic Cotton Row, Beale Street & South Main Historic District, the National Civil Rights Museum / Lorraine Motel, Sun Studio and Victorian Village.  We will drive by Overton Park, Brooks Museum, Pink Palace Museum, University of Memphis, Rhodes College, the Medical Complex and the beautiful mid-town homes of Chickasaw Gardens.  Optional stops to tour inside will be the Danny Thomas Pavilion at St Jude’s Children Research Hospital (or) A. Schwab’s Variety Store on Beale St. where Mr. Schwab says “if you can’t find it at Schwab’s, you didn’t need it in the first place.  Evening is at leisure.  Overnight Hilton Memphis (B). Fri, Oct 22 (Memphis) This morning you will head to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.  The audio tour of Graceland Mansion is full of music and interesting stories about how Elvis lived in the home he loved so much.  You will see the largest privately owned collection of gold records in the world and Elvis' elaborate stage costumes and jewelry.  The mansion tour ends with a quiet visit to Meditation Garden where Elvis and members of his family are buried.  You can also see Elvis' famous 1955 pink Cadillac in the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum and climb aboard his custom jet the "Lisa Marie."  Graceland plaza also offers fabulous shopping and restaurants. You’ll return to the hotel just after noon for some free time to explore the various local shopping areas.  Your hotel is located in the heart of Memphis’ most upscale homes & shops.  Then at 4:00 pm you will board the coach and travel downtown to see the famous Peabody Duck March, which began in the 1930s, when the general manager placed his live hunting decoys in his lobby fountain and started a tradition. Today the Peabody Ducks have become a world-famous symbol for The Peabody and for Memphis hospitality. Every day at precisely 11 a.m., the ducks arrive marching on their own red carpet to John Philip Sousa's "King Cotton March." The fanfare repeats at 5 p.m. when they retire to their penthouse pond. Throngs of spectators gather daily in the mornings and evenings to witness this charming tradition in the spectacular Grand Lobby of The Peabody Hotel.  Tonight you will explore Beale Street, one of America's most famous streets where W.C. Handy first penned the Blues music of the Mississippi Delta.  Located downtown stretching several blocks east of the river bluffs.  Nightclubs and restaurants offer a variety of food and live music including traditional Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, and Rock'n'Roll. Shops and boutiques throughout the district provide visitors with the opportunity to purchase souvenirs, t-shirts, memorabilia, and novelties. The world-famous street also features a statue of W.C. Handy, a musical "Walk of Fame," and Church Park, built by the South's first Black millionaire, Robert Church.  Then you’ll go to Kings Palace Café for a great dinner & live music entertainment on Beale Street.   Overnight Hilton Memphis (B, D). Sat, Oct 23 (Memphis – Jackson, MS 225 miles / 362 kilometers) Our first stop will be at the Tunica Museum in north Mississippi.  Inside the permanent exhibit galleries of Tunica Museum you will learn the rich and colorful history of the area now known as Tunica County. The county and Town of Tunica take their name from the Tunica Indians who once inhabited this land before migrating south. After the Tunica the Chickasaw Indians controlled the area. Eventually all of the land of Tunica County was sold by the Chickasaw to settlers. The early settlers either worked the land themselves or with slaves brought from the east. Trees were removed and plantations began the production of cotton.  You will actually get to touch & feel cotton as comes directly from the field and learn how it is processed. As you leave Tunica and drive down legendary Highway 61, you will realize that you are in the true "Birthplace of the Blues". Out of these fields came the original blues singers who performed in local honky tonks and juke joints. The best of these brought their talents to Beale Street in Memphis.  Highway 61 takes you through the heart of the Mississippi River Delta, which is the world’s richest farmland.  Our next stop is in B.B. King’s hometown of Indianola, where you will tour the outstanding new B.B. King Museum & Delta Interpretive Center, which is dedicated to creating a welcoming place where visitors find meaning, value, and perspective by exploring the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form of the blues.  It also tells the story of B.B. King’s life from a kid without anything but the dream in his heart and a destiny that would take him around the world.  Against all odds the kid became the King of the Blues.  Next you will continue on to Jackson and check-in the new Hilton Garden Inn.  Tonight you can walk about two blocks to the new Farish Street development of restaurants & nightclubs.  Overnight Hilton Garden Inn Jackson (B). Sun, Oct 24 (Jackson to Natchez 180 miles / 290 kilometers) You will have a leisurely morning before checking out at 10:30 then you will get a very special treat by attending a local African-American church service where you will be treated to a lively gospel singing hallelujah service.  Before leaving Jackson you will tour the beautifully restored Old Capitol Museum.  For sixty-four years (1839 – 1903) this building was the original seat of state government. Next we will jump on the famous Natchez Trace Parkway, which stretches from the Mississippi River in Natchez through the Shoals area in Alabama and across the Tennessee Valley to Nashville.  The Old Trace was first trod by buffalo, then American Indians. In the early 1800's it was the main return route for Ohio Valley traders who, rather than fight the Mississippi currents, sold their flatboats for the value of their timber in Natchez and walked home via the Old Trace. By the mid-1820's, steamboats made the dangerous trek unnecessary, and the Old Trace disappeared into the trees.  Today, the 444-mile National Scenic Byway and All-American Road has emerged as one of America's most important examples of our nation's natural and cultural heritage. Administered by the National Park Service, the road's non-commercial environment coupled with a wide variety of historic sites, wayside exhibits and beautiful venues make it a memorable destination for an unhurried trip that both reveals and explains a unique time in our country's history. Welcome to Natchez – for almost 300 years she has been an international destination glistening with Southern charm & grace!  Natchez adorns the banks of the Mighty Mississippi with her magnificent antebellum homes, fascinating history, exciting events, romantic atmosphere, and unlimited activities.  You will stay at the historic Monmouth Plantation.  Monmouth Plantation is home to nearly every luxury amenity you can envision or imagine.  You will be provided nightly turn down service with chocolates, plush in-room robes, satellite TV in every room, mini-bar in every room, Gilchrist & Soames amenities in every room, in room spa service.  You will have some free time this afternoon to walk around downtown Natchez and enjoy its many quaint shops.  Next you will enjoy a fascinating Natchez City Cemetery Tour.   A tour of the Natchez City Cemetery is a glimpse back in time to the early days of historic Natchez, revealing the rich and colorful tapestry of this early Southern city on the Mississippi River. You will find many of the builders of the magnificent Natchez antebellum homes are buried here.  Numerous beautiful, creatively designed iron fences, benches, iron mausoleum doors, tombstones and monuments are found within the cemetery. The varied patterns of ironwork represent almost the entire spectrum of ironwork produced in America in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Artistically sculptured markers with often-poignant inscriptions add to the unique character of the burial ground. Later tonight you can visit Natchez Under-the-Hill, which was the most dangerous landing on the entire Mississippi River. In its day, 165 years ago, Natchez-under-the-Hill was the most notorious river landing on the entire Mississippi.  From 1785 until about 1820 Under-the-Hill was the departure point for frontiersmen and their last chance to "whoop it up" before their long trek home on the Natchez trace.  Overnight Monmouth Plantation Natchez (B). Mon, Oct 25 (Natchez) This morning our local tour guide will take the group and show them the beautiful city of Natchez and give you the full story of its exciting history.  Perched on the highest bluff north of the Gulf of Mexico, Natchez is the oldest settlement on the entire Mississippi river – older by two years than New Orleans.  After the Natchez Indians controlled this region, the history of Natchez begins in 1716, when the French established a settlement and built a fort they named Fort Rosalie. In 1798 Natchez came under American control. With the rich soil of this region Natchez quickly became a major producer of cotton and enormous fortunes were made through the use of slave labor. Vast plantations were carved from the wilderness and ocean-going vessels would sail up the Mississippi to deliver goods and pick up cotton for European markets. You will tour the Longwood House, the grandest octagonal house in America. It is a superb example of mid-19th century Oriental style. Designed for Haller and Julia Nutt, it retains original furnishings.  You will also tour the Rosalie House (ca. 1820), located on the Mississippi Bluff near the site of the Natchez Indians' massacre of the French at Fort Rosalie. It was the headquarters of the Union Army during the War Between the States. Tonight you are in for a very special treat.  The evening begins with complimentary drinks & hors d’oeuvres in the Quitman Study.   Then you will enjoy a gourmet 5 course dinner featuring contemporary Southern cuisine at its finest.  You will dine under 17th century Waterford crystal chandeliers on the Empire table with beautiful china, silver and first class service.  Overnight Monmouth Plantation Natchez (B, D). Tue, Oct 26 (Natchez to Lafayette 147 miles / 237 kilometers) This morning you will depart for Lafayette.  Upon arrival in Lafayette you will tour Vermilionville, a Cajun/Creole heritage & folklife park that authentically portrays a way of life preserved with a distinctly French accent.  Situated on the banks of the Bayou Vermilion, this Cajun/Creole heritage and folklife park recreates life in the Acadiana area between 1765 and 1890.  The beautiful grounds, which are laid out as an historic village, contain eighteen structures, including six restored original homes.  In most of the structures, costumed interpreters demonstrate traditional crafts or musical styles.  Cooking demonstrations, a full-service restaurant, bakery, gift shop and art gallery enhance time spent at Vermilionville.  The gift shop and art gallery are filled with Cajun and Creole items (many of which are made by our craftspeople) that you are sure to bring home and treasure.  Then we will check-in the beautiful Crowne Plaza Hotel. Tonight you are in for a real treat.  We will take you to Mulate’s the Original Cajun Restaurant.   Mulate's features live Cajun music and dancing along with great authentic Cajun food seven days a week.  Mulate's is a place where Cajuns come to celebrate their heritage and the world comes to join them in their celebration.  You will be encouraged to get up and dance and learn the Cajun dance steps.   Overnight Crowne Plaza Lafayette (B, D). Wed, Oct 27 (Lafayette to New Orleans 137 miles / 220 kilometers) Today you depart for New Orleans.   En route we are going to drive through Cajun back country and make a stop at Avery Island and tour the one and only original, Tabasco Factory.  Your next stop will be near Houma for A Cajun Man’s Swamp Cruise on a 49-passenger vessel fully narrated by authentic Cajun singer-song writer.  Relax on the motor vessel Cajun Man, as Captain Ron "Black" Guidry guides you into the Cypress Swamps of Southern Louisiana.  Ron is a former Army Green Beret and Louisiana State Trooper will not only take you into the swamp to see all types of wildlife & alligators, but will also sing for you. We will continue on to New Orleans and check-in the elegant W Hotel located beside the French Quarter.  Tonight is free to explore the famous French Quarter.  At the heart of New Orleans' enduring allure are the hundred-odd squares of the French Quarter. Alive with history, myth, music and a joie de vivre, the Vieux Carre attracts visitors from around the world to its time worn streets. For jazz, for food, for history or for frivolity the French Quarter is a legendary destination.  Overnight W Hotel New Orleans (B). Thu, Oct 28 (New Orleans) This morning will be somewhat at leisure.  You walk next door & try your luck at the huge casino or do a little early bird shopping.  At 10:00 you will go to the New Orleans School of Cooking with lunch.  Their entertaining classes and the Louisiana General Store are located in a renovated molasses warehouse built in the early 1800s in the heart of the French Quarter. They teach the basics of Louisiana Cooking in a way you'll never forget. Fun is a primary ingredient in their kitchen!  Their Creole/Cajun experts teach New Orleans specialties such as Gumbo, Jambalaya and Pralines, and season them with history, trivia and tall tales. It's a "ga-ron-teed" good time for all.  The classes are taught by well known local chefs; skilled in the arts and traditions of Cajun and Creole cuisine. Visitors will be treated to a wide range of local classics such as Jambalaya, Gumbo, Corn & Crab Bisque, and Pralines.  Your class will include generous samplings of the demonstrated menu items as well as recipes, coffee, iced tea and Abita beer. This afternoon you will enjoy a New Orleans City Sightseeing tour, where you will visit one of its historic cemeteries, referred to as "Cities of the Dead," and learn about this unique above ground burial system.  Marvel at stories of voodoo and piracy on Bayou St. John, the waterway used by Jean Lafitte and his band of pirates, as we make our way to the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. View the longest bridge over water in the world, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.  Follow the path of the St. Charles Avenue streetcar, the oldest continuously operating passenger railway system in the world (until service was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina).  See the homes of former Kings & Queens of Mardi Gras, stately mansions and the world-famous, exclusive Garden District. Your final night in New Orleans promises to be really special.  We started off the tour with a dinner cruise in Nashville and will end it with a Dinner Jazz Cruise on the Mighty Mississippi River aboard the authentic steamboat Natchez.  You will have a breathtaking view of the city while enjoying a freshly prepared on board Cajun dinner.  You will also be treated with live jazz music by the “Dukes of Dixieland.”  Overnight W Hotel New Orleans (B, L, D). Fri, Oct 29 Depart for Home This morning will be your last opportunity for shopping and best of all New Orleans & Louisiana offers duty free shopping!  It is time to bid a sad farewell to your many new friends made along the way and head back home. Your tour includes 10 nights deluxe accommodations, all coach transportation, full escorted by an experience female tour leader, 10 full breakfasts, 5 dinners & 1 lunch, plus all the attractions and tours listed in the itinerary in bold print. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS GREAT OFFER PLEASE TELEPHONE (01892) 779900 OR EMAIL info@awwt.co.uk