A wonderful trip across five states that immerses you in the music, cuisine and culture of America’s Deep South. This trip promised a lot on paper, and delivered so much more in reality, exceeding my expectations. Our group leader managed to cram so much in, while at the same time allowing a nice degree of freedom for us to do our own exploration and choose our own optional activities. The tour began with a deeply moving and affecting look at the civil rights movement, covering the life of Martin Luther King Jr (where he was born, the church at which he preached, his memorial garden and tomb; later on we would visit the place where he was assassinated); the slave trade and its role in creating wealth for the plantation owners and the country as a whole; and the continued oppression of the freed slaves after the Civil War and their struggle for basic human rights. As we went on, the focus shifted toward the music that was created on the plantations, the way it developed and seeped into mainstream culture in America before spreading across the world. While this was very informative and educational, there were plenty of lighter moments too and we were a great group who had a lot of laughs along the way. As well as visiting sites that were significant to the music history, there were opportunities to hear live music - jazz, blues and country - at many locations from New Orleans to Nashville. A wonderful experience that we will continue to savour for a very long time.
We had a blast, learned a lot, and fell in love with the Italian Market and the mosaics! Kenny, our tour guide, was fun to be with and did an excellent job.
The East Coast of the USA right up to Canada is a must see, its like candy to your eyes. Every rest stop to every place you stay for the night is filled with stunning views and interesting things to see and do. You will visit places that you will want to return too some day as there is just so much to experience. This tour is made extra special by one of the best and most informative tour guides I have ever had the privilege in travelling with in Mr Larry Schwarz. Larry is the information guru of this area and will go out of his way to ensure everybody is having a great time. I could not recommend this tour any more highly, in fact it was that good, I just did the tour for the 2nd time.