Follow the footsteps of Kevin Spacey and Judi Dench in a tour based on their movie, The Shipping News, which has been entertaining audiences since Christmas Day last year. Set in windswept Newfoundland, the film is based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx. The tour, based on both book and film, includes ten nights in charming hotels and country inns (or B&Bs if you prefer), a midsize car rental (unlimited mileage and drop charges included) and airfare. Did I mention that you visit all the film-friendly locations where the movie was filmed and where the book was set?
The charges are low for such bountiful service, priced at $1,289 from Boston, $1,249 from Detroit, $1,319 from New York (or Philadelphia or Cleveland); $1,419 from Atlanta and $1,569 from Los Angeles. What's more, these prices for the ten-day tours are good throughout 2002.
Sites visited include St. John's, the provincial capital (and the most easterly city in North America); Cape Spear (easternmost point); the Avalon Peninsula; Conception Bay; Trinity Town; Gander; Grand Falls; Gros Morne National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); and L'anse aux Meadows, where Leif Eriksson and his fellow Vikings became the first Europeans recorded to have landed on this continent.
You also get a copy of the book and theater tickets when you confirm your booking. And prepare to eat hearty, including suppers such as those featured in the film, with crab, lobster and freshly caught fish. Depending on your dates, you may also attend a performance of Trinity's noted pageant when you are not traversing the village's narrow streets or visiting its several museums and historic sites.
Contact Maxxim Vacations, one of Canada's premier tour operators, at www.maxximvacations.com, or at 800/567-6666 or 709/754-6666. Their address is 251 Empire Avenue (200), St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 3H9.
