A couple of weeks ago, archaeologists from all over the UK left their trenches, labs, libraries and museums and descended en masse on London’s Senate House. The occasion? Archaeology Live! Current Archaeology’s annual conference, now in its fourth year. As always Andante Travels was there, along with hundreds of professionals and amateur archaeologists and historians.

Dr Denise Allen, our intrepid Deputy Director, has just returned from Australia, where she has been seeing as much as possible (in this very hot, wet summer season) of our brand new Australia: Aboriginal Rock Art Tour
Along with the amazing sites and scenery, what really struck Denise was the powerful narrative behind Aboriginal Rock Art: the story of a Palaeolithic people – undisturbed for over 50,000 years – coming into contact with 19th and 20th century Europeans.

In 1812, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, a Swiss adventurer, Orientalist and Arabic scholar, set out on an expedition from Damascus. Disguised as a Bedouin tribesman, he joined a desert caravan and “descended into the valley of the Jordan”. There, he eventually stumbled across:“The remains of an ancient city, which I conjecture to be Petra, a place which, as far as I know, no European traveller has ever visited. In the red sand stone of which the valley is composed, are upwards of two hundred and fifty sepulchres entirely cut out of the rock, the greater part of them with Grecian ornaments. There is a mausoleum in the shape of a temple, of colossal dimensions , likewise cut out of the rock...It is a most beautiful specimen of Grecian architecture, and in perfect preservation.” Travels in Nubia 1819

We were delighted to discover recently that we have another Andante wedding between a couple who met on one of our tours. This time the groom is our Guide Lecturer, Professor Tony King, and his bride was one of the guests, Lisa Thomas, and they met whilst exploring the glorious churches and mosaics of Ravenna and Aquileia – a wonderfully romantic backdrop. We wish them great joy, and, whilst we can’t guarantee that all our holidays will have such a particularly happy outcome, we do think that most tours deliver even more than we promise in the brochure!

Tony is leading another tour to Ravenna & Aquileia Tue 1 - Tues 8 May this year.

We’re pleased to announce our new Albania Tour is now up and running. Scheduled due to popular demand, the tour follows the same itinerary as the Albania - Land of the Eagles Tour: exploring over 2000 years of (largely untouched) archaeological heritage, set in spectacular unspoilt landscapes.